Having your commitment witnessed by your neighbours can be a spur, too, says Christopher Rootes, a Professor of Environmental Politics and Political Sociology at the University of Kent. Take a walk down the streets of Hampshire, for instance, and you won't have to go far before you come across a house with a card in the window which lists a number of energy-saving activities and highlights the ones that household is putting into action. It's part of a simple scheme called the Greening Campaign, the beauty of which, says Rootes, is that it "starts small, asks little and tries to establish a community norm. Bigger changes can be the sum of small changes." Indeed, the Greening Campaign has saved 3,000 tonnes of CO2 across 180 communities – so far.
Such "tangible markers of progress" are key to sustaining motivation, says Capener. Barnet Council in north London now uses posters to publicise individual actions. These show how many households on that street have pledged to reduce their carbon footprint. There's a similar scheme in Kansas called the Take Charge Challenge: a "friendly competition" between 16 towns to reduce their energy use and so take charge of their energy future. Over 6 million kWh were saved in 12 months, and the measures taken have 'locked in' future savings amounting to 7 million kWh a year. A range of supporting events included one where children played vampire hunters – scouring their homes for 'energy vampires' that sucked the most power. Some behaviour-savvy brands have cottoned on to this approach. Take Unilever's Cleaner Planet plan, currently being promoted in the UK through the Persil brand, with the strapline "lots of small actions = a big difference". Consumers behave very much like a flock, observing each other's movements and following trends, says Sally Uren, Deputy CEO of Forum for the Future. So if you motivate them as a group you can convince them that their own simple steps can indeed make a difference. But, she adds: "The consumer is also very clear that business needs to do its bit. There needs to be a clear contract between the brand and the consumer, based on a sense of: 'I will if you will'."
As with TheDoNation, a lively relationship is at the heart of any success. Brands need to keep on their toes with this, says Uren, because that relationship is changing fast: "The traditional model ofa linear value chain with consumers at one end and producers at another, with multiple intermediaries in the middle, is rapidly evolving. Consumers are now often producers themselves, too. So, a brand that makes no reference to the origins of its production can't engage the consumer effectively."
Such "tangible markers of progress" are key to sustaining motivation, says Capener. Barnet Council in north London now uses posters to publicise individual actions. These show how many households on that street have pledged to reduce their carbon footprint. There's a similar scheme in Kansas called the Take Charge Challenge: a "friendly competition" between 16 towns to reduce their energy use and so take charge of their energy future. Over 6 million kWh were saved in 12 months, and the measures taken have 'locked in' future savings amounting to 7 million kWh a year. A range of supporting events included one where children played vampire hunters – scouring their homes for 'energy vampires' that sucked the most power. Some behaviour-savvy brands have cottoned on to this approach. Take Unilever's Cleaner Planet plan, currently being promoted in the UK through the Persil brand, with the strapline "lots of small actions = a big difference". Consumers behave very much like a flock, observing each other's movements and following trends, says Sally Uren, Deputy CEO of Forum for the Future. So if you motivate them as a group you can convince them that their own simple steps can indeed make a difference. But, she adds: "The consumer is also very clear that business needs to do its bit. There needs to be a clear contract between the brand and the consumer, based on a sense of: 'I will if you will'."
As with TheDoNation, a lively relationship is at the heart of any success. Brands need to keep on their toes with this, says Uren, because that relationship is changing fast: "The traditional model ofa linear value chain with consumers at one end and producers at another, with multiple intermediaries in the middle, is rapidly evolving. Consumers are now often producers themselves, too. So, a brand that makes no reference to the origins of its production can't engage the consumer effectively."
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