4.2 the Role of Systemic Transition Management

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Final Version: July 7, 2010

AUTHORS/ RESEARCH TEAM Thomas Petruschke Elli Kotakorpi Neil Coles

PROJECT MANAGEMENT Elli Kotakorpi Thomas Petruschke

LAYOUT Ina Schneider

SUPERVISION Michael Kuhndt

UNEP/Wuppertal Institute Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) Hagenauer Straße 30 42107 Wuppertal | Germany Phone | +49.202.45 95 8.10 Fax | +49.202.45 95 8.31 www.scp-centre.org [email protected]

FUNDED BY The Norwegian Ministry of the Environment

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors would like to thank Adriana Zacarias Farah (United Nations Environment Programme – UNEP) and Fabienne Pierre (UNEP) for their valuable inputs to the study.

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Content

1 Introducing Basic Concepts Related to Sustainable Consumption...... 5

2 A Framework for Selecting the Case Studies...... 10

2.1 Using the 4 E’s for Supporting Sustainable Lifestyles...... 10 2.2 Case study selection...... 12

3 The case studies ...... 13

3.1 Cases Studies of Initiatives that Encourage Sustainable Consumption...... 13 3.1.1 EcoEnergy Retrofit programme in Canada...... 13 3.1.2 The “One tonne less” campaign – Denmark...... 15 3.1.3 The Environment Train in Algeria ...... 17 3.1.4 UN Intercultural Sister classrooms ...... 19 3.1.5 UNEP/UNESCO YouthXchange platform...... 21 3.1.6 One Did It...... 23 3.1.7 The Story of Stuff documentary...... 25 3.2 Case Studies on Engaging Consumers in Sustainable Consumption ...... 27 3.2.1 Transition Towns ...... 27 3.2.2 Energy neighbourhoods in Europe ...... 29 3.2.3 One Planet Sutton ...... 31 3.2.4 Communities Supporting Sustainable Agriculture in China – The Agri-Fond Association.. 33 3.2.5 TeamS - Sustainable Lifestyle Award...... 35 3.2.6 The 10:10 Campaign ...... 37 3.3 Case Studies that Exemplify Sustainable Consumption ...... 39 3.3.1 Vegetarian Alternative ...... 39 3.3.2 Echt Elly reality show – The Netherlands ...... 41 3.3.3 Cool Biz campaign in Japan ...... 43 3.3.4 Green Public Procurement Activities by Swedish Environmental Management Council... 45 3.4 Case studies that Enable Sustainable Consumption ...... 47 3.4.1 The “Velib” Bike Sharing Programme – Paris...... 47 3.4.2 Top ten in Switzerland ...... 49 3.4.3 Sustainable Mobility in the City of Freiburg in Germany...... 51 3.4.4 Sustainable Weeks in Austria ...... 53 3.4.5 Making Public Transport Attractive ...... 55 3.4.6 Smart Start Up ...... 56

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4 Conclusions...... 58

4.1 The Top Ten Recommendations for High Impact Sustainable Consumption Policies58 4.1.1 From product and service information to emotional storytelling ...... 58 4.1.2 From one off actions to brand building for lasting relationships...... 59 4.1.3 From targeting individuals to facilitating collective action ...... 59 4.1.4 From sporadic changes to truly sustainable lifestyles in high impact areas ...... 61 4.1.5 From static to evolutionary information instruments ...... 61 4.1.6 From predicting doom to creating positive visions...... 62 4.1.7 From stand alone facts to comparative and contextual information ...... 62 4.1.8 From asking for change to providing concrete alternatives ...... 62 4.1.9 From awareness raising to learning by doing ...... 63 4.1.10 From giving orders to leading by example...... 63 4.2 The Role of Systemic Transition Management ...... 66

4.3 The Importance of Impact Evaluation ...... 66 4.4 The Road Ahead...... 67

5 Annex 1 - Case categorization ...... 72

6 Annex 2 - Additional cases ...... 75

7 Screened studies ...... 78

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1 Introducing Basic Concepts Related to Sustainable Consumption

Changing consumption patterns towards environmental and social sustainability is one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Despite increasing efficiency in production processes and energy needs of products, consumption patterns continue to put high pressures on the environment. These pressures are already exceeding the planet’s carrying capacity and are likely to increase dramatically by the growing consumption trends in emerging economies. However, some innovative approaches have already been taken that hold the promise of really impacting lifestyles. In addition to developing new effective approaches, these existing good practices need to be mainstreamed, replicated and scaled up. This paper is a review of projects and initiatives aimed at encouraging sustainable consumption patterns and changing our lifestyles. We present more than 20 case studies from around the world and show how positive impact has been created. The first chapter sets the scene for changing consumption patterns and highlights key concepts related to encouraging sustainable lifestyles. Chapter 2 ex- plains how the cases were selected and describes the approaches that can be taken to achieve behavioural change. Chapter 3 contains a selection of cases highlighting these key approaches and chapter 4 draws up conclusions from the case study analysis, to give recommendations on the best procedures to be followed in sustainable consumption initiatives. This paper has been produced by UNEP/Wuppertal Institute Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) for the Norwegian Ministry of the Environment.

When using the term “consumers” within the frame of the study, mainly private households are meant. However in the few cases dealing with public procurement the term refers as well to institutional consumers. In addtion the paper follows a definition of Sustainable Consumption the UN CSD established in 1995: "The use of services and related products which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants over the life-cycle so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations."

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The Four E’s The actions government can take to change consumption patterns towards sustainability can be grouped as the “Four E’s” encourage, engage, exemplify and enable. Encourage means measures that set incentives for behavioural change e.g. through price signals and information dissemination. Engaging means involving people in the formation of sustainable lifestyles as active agents, not just targets of campaigns. Exemplify refers to practically demonstrating the importance, possibilities and opportunities for sustainable consumption and giving an example to consumers e.g. through green public procurement. Lastly, enabling sustainable consumption through providing concrete and easy alternatives to unsustainable choices is a prerequisite for changing behaviour. This popular framework has been used in the case study analysis and is explained in more detail in chapter 2. A comprehensive policy comprises and combines measures from all these categories.

Need for systemic change In the past policies that addressed both, sustainable consumption and production, used to focus more on the production sidei. The last years show however, that there is an approaching trend for policy- makers in the EU and the international level to address the topic of sustainable consumption. In particular the UN Marrakech Process, a global process to support the elaboration of a 10-Year Frame- work of Programs (10YFP) on sustainable consumption and production, emphasizes the importance to encourage consumers to adopt more sustainable lifestyles. In this context International Task Forces on Sustainable Lifestyles, Education for Sustainable Consumption and Sustainable Public Procurement were founded. For example the Task Force on Sustainable Lifestyles, explores means by which consumers can be encouraged to make sustainable choices. In doing so the Task Force works with the concept of lifestyle as a series of 'social conversations', in which people signal their social position and psychological aspirations through purchased consumer goods. Thus its is recognized that lifestyles are closely linked to material and resource flows in society. That’s why several activities of the Task Force tackle capacity building on education and communication for sustainable lifestyles.

Figure 1 shows how policies to promote sustainable consumption and production have emerged from 1960 until today. It becomes clear that policy-makers have addressed the topic of sustainable production on a broader range than the topic of sustainable consumption. Therefore, sustainable production policies have already reached the extension level and are slowly entering the mainstreaming level. But

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also policies to promote sustainable consumption are catching up strongly, very often by applying progressive policy approaches.

Figure 1. Policy measures aimed at sustainable consumption and production (CSCP, 2009).

Because of the measures aimed at the production side, many advances have been made in environmental technologies and making products and production processes more sustainable. Despite the good results achieved, these changes are not enough, as they are constantly cancelled by so called

rebound effects. For example, despite an increasing fuel efficiency of cars, the levels of CO2 patterns from car usage remain high due to increased kilometres driven, because lower running costs allow increased usage. Therefore, a systemic change targeting the whole economy, including our lifestyles, is needed.

This systemic change towards sustainable consumption patterns offers great opportunities for cooperation of the main actor groups directly and indirectly involved in the consumption process. Business, government and civil society need to

work together to create the triangle of change required to achieve good results. Figure 2. The triangle of change.

Consumption as a social process and the context of consumption choice One reason behind the past focus on the production and supply side is that it is more straight-forward

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to target the activities of companies, who work according to a profit-maximising logic, than the actions of people. Indeed, targeting personal consumption choices is a much more complex question, as people don’t make their choices based on clear cost-benefit calculations and rational deliberation. On the contrary, our consumption choices are shaped by habits, the choices of people around us, routines, identity and social norms (See for example Mont, O. and Power, K (2009). Understanding factors that shape consumption. ETC/SCP 2009). Material goods are also important because they play symbolic roles in our lives, not just because of their functional use value. Consumer goods symbolize e.g. status, identity and group norms (Jackson, T. (2005). Motivating Sustainable Consumption – a Review of Evidence on Consumer Behaviour and Behavioural Change. Centre for Environmental Strategy, Uni- versity of Surrey). Furthermore, the availability of sustainable alternatives and their convenience af- fects our choices. These factors form the action space of consumers (Kotakorpi, E; Lähteenoja, S. and Lettenmeier, M. (2009). Household MIPS – The Natural Resource Consumption of Finnish Households and its Reduc- tion. Finnish Environment 43en/2008). If consumption patterns want to be made more sustainable, this context of the consumer choice rather than the actions of individual consumers has to be targeted. In addition, targeting groups of consumers is more efficient, as people need to see that others are doing their bit as well, and share experiences with others. Furthermore, most often a mix of instruments is needed. It is for example unlikely that a higher tax on petrol alone will lead to a society wide switch from car-use to public transport, bike-use and walking. Such a change can occur if at the same time the public transport system is improved, bike lanes are extended and campaigns inform about the environmental impacts of individual car-use changing societal paradigms on this topic. Furthermore, Sustainable consumption shouldn’t be understood only as the purchasing decisions people make in shops. The products and appliances people buy form a part of consumption but the largest environmental impacts are caused by our basic activities food, housing and mobility. Together these fields of demand account for approximately 70-80% of environmental impacts arising from all products over their life cycles (EIPRO-Study (2006). Main report IPTS/ESTO project). Therefore changes in consumption patterns need to target the way we live, move and eat, not just the products we buy in shops.

The role of message in behavioural change Following from the fact that people are not rational decision makers, the design of sustainable initiatives should address people as they are, complex and subjective. One way of doing this is to use methods already well-known by marketers and advertisers. The key point to understand is that the framing of the message is crucial to changing behaviour. Many of the cases featured in chapter 3 demonstrate that communication needs to position initiatives relative to existing frames of reference or even re-frame these (such as cultural habits that no longer serve our interests) to establish new norms. Where few references have been established new information will even provide the anchor for future understanding. These frames illustrate that we are locked into patterns of behaviour, but also that this lock-in is dynamic and can be changed.

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The advantages of Social Marketing To overcome the lock-in to unsustainable patterns of consumption the concept of social marketing offers some interesting starting points. Social marketing, where the goal is to change social behaviour rather than sell a product, shares many of the same principles and tools as product marketing but it also has some distinct characteristics. Social marketing appeals to social norms, rather than market norms, allowing it to encourage behaviours without economic benefits, but driven by core values. Thus, social marketing can be used successfully to encourage sustainable consumption. Social marketing can endow initiatives with high credibility and allow access to new channels, where commercial messages are rejected. The emergence of online social networking is the best example of this. Social initiatives still compete with private companies for share of voice but this shift from a broadcast to a ‘nar- rowcast’ model favours the spread of values-based messages from person to person. Non profit- initiatives also have the possibility to request cost-free support and endorsement from high profile celebrities and leverage media coverage. A good cause is usually a good story, with high PR value.

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2 A Framework for Selecting the Case Studies

2.1 Using the 4 E’s for Supporting Sustainable Lifestyles1 Encouraging and mainstreaming sustainable lifestyles is a truly challenging question, as discussed in chapter 1. Government can play a leading role in driving sustainable lifestyles by supporting the rise of new social norms and creating an environment that fosters long term behaviour change. What are then the options for national governments to change consumption behaviour? In this paper we group the approaches that can be taken as the “4 E’s”: Encourage, Engage, Exemplify and Enable2. A comprehensive policy comprises measures from all these categories and thus expands the action space (see chapter 1) of consumers (picture 3).

Picture 3. Widening the action space of consumers with the 4 E’s.

1 The categories have been originally developed in Sustainable Consumption Roundtable (ed.) (2006). I will if you will. Towards sustainable consumption, and have since been used in many research studies, for example in the work of the European Topic Centre on SCP (see ETC/SCP 2010. Towards a Set of Indicators on Sustainable Consumption and Pro- duction (SCP) for EEA reporting. ETC/SCP working paper 1/2010)

2 Another source: A report by the Task Force on Sustainable Lifestyles (2010) was also used, which is not available in the internet.

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Encourage – provide information and set incentives Encourage means measures that set incentives for behavioural change e.g. through price signals (tax systems), information dissemination, funding, reward schemes or penalties, fines and enforcement action. Economic and regulatory instruments are the domains of government authorities, but information dissemination can be done by civil society and business as well. Traditionally governmental actions have focused on the encourage part of the four E’s and relied heavily on information dissemination and awareness raising campaigns. Government needs to help people to make responsible choices by providing them with the necessary education, skills and information, but other measures are needed as well, because little impact can be achieved with information alone (see chapter 1). In this review, the focus is on individual and innovative environmental initiatives and campaigns and not the overall policy framework and policy instruments as such. Therefore, traditional policy instruments regulation and legislation have been left out of the case study selection. However, regulation and legislation e.g. in the form of product performance standards are needed as well.

Engage – target social norms through collective action ‘Engaging’ means involving people in the formation of sustainable lifestyles as active agents, not only as targets of campaigns. Sociological studies show that consumption is increasingly a collective process that takes place in social groups and contexts. Consumers’ lifestyles are strongly influenced by habits, other people’s choices, social traditions and people’s willingness to express themselves in their peer group with the products and services chosen. Therefore, policy should support changing these social norms towards mainstreaming sustainable consumption patterns. One possibility of achieving this is to build real or virtual communities where people can exchange experiences as well as learn and demonstrate and reinforce that changes in everyday life are possible and rewarding.

Exemplify – demonstrate the benefits of sustainable consumption A further leverage point for behavioural change is to practically demonstrate the importance, possibilities and opportunities for sustainable consumption. This field comprises for example real world pilot projects (e.g. eco villages) or the involvement of multipliers like film stars or famous politicians who act as high profile demonstration of sustainable consumption practices (leading by example). Interesting in this context are as well public procurement decisions, which can accelerate the diffusion of sustainable products and services, support economies of scale and demonstrate the commitment of public authorities to sustainable consumption.

Enable – provide alternatives and make sustainable lifestyles easy Any attempt to encourage new behaviours needs to consider the wider context and choices available to people, rather than focusing narrowly on the desired behaviour. Providing concrete and easy alternatives for unsustainable choices is a prerequisite for changing behaviour.

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This includes for example comprehensive and well-functioning public transport and a good selection of environmentally friendly products in the supermarket shelves. Ideally, sustainable alternatives would be cheaper than conventional ones. In this aspect this category overlaps somewhat with the “encourage” theme.

2.2 Case study selection Box 1. Practical criteria for case The 23 case studies were found through a desktop selection research and using material previously gathered by the CSCP and UNEP. The case studies were selected to 1. The main actor of the initia- give good examples of the four change areas, called tive should be national gov- the 4 E’s which were presented above. In addition, the ernment, civil society or- guiding principle in case study selection was that the ganisation or a business selected set of cases should present clearly recognis- sector actor. able positive results, innovative approaches to chan- 2. The case should represent ging consumption patterns and initiatives replicable in one of the basic categories other regions. Furthermore, the practical criteria listed of environmental projects in box 1 were used. (see annex 1) and highlight In the following chapter, the cases illustrating each of at least one aspect of the “4 the four E’s are presented. The following pictogram E’s”. illustrates to which change area the case study be- 3. Enough written information longs. Some of the cases have features of more than (such as project reports and one of the categories. other publications) should be available about the project/initiative.

Picture 4. The pictogram representing an initiative that aims to change consumer behaviour by “engaging” and “exemplifying”.

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3 The case studies

! 3.1 Cases Studies of Initiatives that Encourage Sustainable Consump- tion

3.1.1 EcoEnergy Retrofit programme in Canada

Thinking of ways to make the homes of mass-market consumers more energy efficient? “Retrofit your home and qualify for a grant!” is the slogan of the ecoEnergy Retrofit scheme, a federal grant that aims to overcome the lack of financial resources for energy improvements in households and thus to reduce energy-related greenhouse gases and air pollution. The scheme was launched by Natural Resources Canada, a government agency, in 2006 and was closed in March 2010.

A grant system based on comprehensive audits Property owners can qualify for federal grants by improving the energy efficiency of their homes. The maximum individual grant one can receive per home or multi-unit residential building is Can$5,000; whereas the total grant amount available to one individual or entity for eligible properties over the life of the program is Can$500,000. Currently, six provincial governments offer home improvement grants that complement the federal ecoENERGY Retrofit program. The steps that residential homeowners have to follow to get the ecoENERGY Retrofit grant are as follows: (1) have an energy audit done (the Natural Resource Canada website has a list of certified energy auditors, based on location). The energy audit will detail which areas of the house would benefit from energy-efficiency improvements, and will assign a score to the home's energy efficiency. (2) Do the renovations to make the home more energy-efficient. (3) Have a post-renovation energy audit done. This will determine the home's new energy efficiency score. (4) The energy auditor will send the report to Natural Resources Canada. Natural Resources Canada will then send a cheque.

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Various benefits The ecoEnergy Retrofit program creates various benefits for its users and the environment. Compre- hensive retrofits can reduce annual energy consumption and costs by 20 percent on average and can make the building more healthy and comfortable. Using less energy reduces greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, thereby contributing to a cleaner environment for the whole community. In addition retrofits pay for themselves over time, with payback times from most measures ranging from one to 10 years.

Providing an alternative by setting small scale economic incentives The programme encourages sustainable consumption behaviour by setting economic incentives for relatively small investments on the household level. By “getting the prices right” it provides a realistic alternative for consumers to change their behaviour towards increased sustainable consumption. Since this program was expanded under the Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan, there has been a 50 percent increase in the number of pre-retrofit assessments and more than 140,000 grant applications have been received. Canadians were responding quickly to this popular program and thus creating economic activity for their communities, a great example of how a ‘green’ economic stimulus can help in a financial downturn.. As of January 20, 2010, more than 1,800 energy advisors are now employed across the country, an increase of 700 since April 1, 2009. In addition it is estimated that for every $1 invested by the program, homeowners are investing $10 directly in the renovation industry.

More information: www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/retrofit-summary.cfm

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3.1.2 The “One tonne less” campaign – Denmark

Can we take responsibility for the future and reduce our personal CO2 emissions without waving goodbye to our modern way of life? Yes, all we have to do is to change some of our everyday habits say the founders of the Danish “One tonne less” awareness and commitment raising campaign. The initiative, which took place between 2007 and 2009, was launched by the Danish Ministry of the Environment and the Danish Ministry of Transport and Energy. It built strongly on a collaboration between municipalities, utility companies, NGOs, retailers and enterprises aiming to reach out to the whole Danish population with knowledge and advice on how to reduce their CO2 emissions.

Multiple communication channels and activities were used The four cornerstones of communication were an internet-based CO2 calculator, a variety of specific instruc- tions on how individuals can reduce CO2 emissions in their everyday life, local partner activities and the campaign's trademark, a giant "1 tonne less" globe, which toured throughout Denmark. In 2009 the campaign focused on solutions where investments can reduce energy consumption in private homes, with the launch of a campaign site on energy- saving in households. The campaign ended with a broad pallet of activities during the United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen in 2009. Campaign globes were established at various locations around the conference buildings and a climate camp was arranged in collaboration with the Danish Scouts. In addition the "One Tonne Less" message was disseminated through a partnership with the nationwide radio station NOVAfm, reaching a broad cross-section of the population. The "One Tonne Less" campaign also supported the Danish TV’s youth program "Ignorant" where young people learned to live in a more climate-friendly way. Furthermore, "One Tonne Less" globes were included in a big event hosted by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation on the Town Hall Square in Copenhagen during the Climate Summit. Expectations were more then met The initial target of the campaign was to get 50,000 Danes to deliver a climate pledge to save 1 tonne

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of CO2 a year. By the end of the campaign there were over 92,000 climate pledges that together represent a saving of approximately 163,000 tonnes of CO2. After only six months, an evaluation showed that almost every other Dane had heard about the campaign; that almost everyone was supportive of its message; and that one in six had taken steps to bring down their CO2 emissions. A final evaluation of the programme is still to come.

Multiple partnerships and unconventional activities were the backbone of the success The very foundation of the campaign’s success was the partnerships behind it. These included more than 100 enterprises, municipalities and NGOs, who committed themselves to spreading the word and logo of the campaign in their communication. Many of the partners have gone even further than this , using the “One Tonne Less” campaign as the backbone of their own climate-change initiatives. The involvement of many diverse partners and the extra resources they brought to the campaign in the form of sponsorships, activities and PR were invaluable. The variety of target-group-tailored activities made the campaign a uniting platform for a broad range of people and organisations who wanted to get involved. Another success factor was the good timing between the clear campaign message and interest from the general public and media in the climate change issue due to the Copenhagen Summit.

More information: http://www.ens.dk/enUS/ClimateAndCO2/climate_campaign_1tonneless/Sider/Forside.aspx

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3.1.3 The Environment Train in Algeria

How can awareness of environmental issues be brought into the heart of communities to create an interesting event and reach new audiences?

The Environment Train was an exhibition that introduced the public in Algeria to environmental issues and national environmental policy, shown in the setting of a train carriage travelling to all corners of the country.

A coordinated approach to rolling out national policy Algeria's environment had suffered greatly following many challenges and a period of civil war. The Ministry for the environment was set up in 2001 and a new national environmental policy was established following the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. The environment train was conceived as part of a package of measures to bring this policy into civil society and raise awareness quickly. Green theatre, green radio, tree planting and clean up days were also used as tools. The environment train was developed with support from the German ministry for economic cooperation and development (BMZ) and the GTZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit), recognizing the need for international action to address a global problem wherever its effects occur.

A unique context for awareness campaigning The gallery itself was divided into 4 themed carriages addressing major environmental issues: the urban environment, the industrial environment, biodiversity and environmental education. Multimedia presentation and materials such as leaflets were reinforced by matching external decoration for each carriage. A team of volunteers were on hand to ensure the message was delivered well at the point of viewing. The choice of a train to present environmental information succeeded on two levels. Firstly it allowed the exhibition to reach a wide range of locations including more remote towns. In this sense it connected the campaign objectives with the everyday setting where impacts are made. Secondly the unusual choice of medium created a higher level of interest in the topic than might normally be achieved. The train gallery was a context re-frame, where the context of presentation changed perceptions of the event and possibly the information also. This generated high levels of media interest which served to promote the event far beyond the well-planned national campaign. The mobility of the exhibi-

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tion allowed fringe events to be set up around stations further increasing publicity.

Wide reaching results on awareness and attitudes. The ‘gallery’ travelled around the Algerian rail network for five months, visiting 23 cities and reaching over a million people. The level of co-operation with the train companies was also a great achievement. The initiative was so popular with members of the public, especially young people, that many cities requested that it should stay longer. As a result, the campaign was expanded for 2003. The train acted as a catalyst for change with all stakeholders - 35 mayors signed environmental charters and 22 companies committed to environmental management systems. Although no formal evaluation of impact has been made, GTZ describes adverse environmental effects as 'visibly reduced' in pilot regions. The combination of a coordinated campaign and an innovative new context for communicate environmental issues to the public enabled fast progress in a region with a previous lack of environmental focus, suggesting the packaging and delivery of the message can have a big effect.

More information: http://www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/DTIx0679xPA-CommunicatingEN.pdf

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3.1.4 UN Intercultural Sister classrooms

How to use dialogue between countries for educating youth for sustainable lifestyles? Intercultural sister classrooms is an educational pilot project that encourages and engages teachers and students in Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico and USA through new ways of learning and acting. The main coordinator of the project is Eco Global and funding has been received from the UN Marrakech Process Task Force on Sustainable lifestyles, led by the Swedish government. The core of the project is to support school classes to implement local projects on social and environmental improvements and to share experiences gathered through the projects with students and teachers in other countries.

Using dialogue and a ‘learning by doing’ approach as tools for learning Intercultural Sister Classrooms has adopted a so called Freirian approach to learning. This approach, based on the work of Brazilian educator and influential theorist Paulo Freire, emphasizes the importance of dialogue to facilitate collaboration, and the potential for this type of working to enhance communities and build social capital. Students are actively engaged by supporting them in making their own local projects on sustainability. In one Brazilian school for example, students initiated a weekly morning radio show that was broadcast throughout the school. Students created the material themselves from topical local issues related to lifecycle analysis, environmental awareness and global citizenship. The experiences gathered in the local projects are shared through an internet platform: The website of the project provides a space for students and teachers to document what they have done when addressing local sustainable consumption issues through specific projects. The website also provides an easy way to disseminate the training material to educators all over the world. In addition, the participating teachers have met face to face in three international workshops where other experts have also been invited.

Focus on cultural learning The project has successfully incorporated social aspects and the idea of global citizenship to environmental issues. A focus on ‘cross cultural learning’ between the USA and its ‘developing’ counter- parts in Costa Rica and Mexico has been a rich and complex element. For example, students from a private school in Costa Rica, where every student had a laptop, were put in contact

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with students from a rural American school with only one computer. This process has helped to break down traditional notions of the ‘developed’ vs. ‘developing’ dynamic for those involved and to build social capital. Educational projects are important because engaging people early in their lives through education has the potential to create a lasting impression. The Sister Classrooms project has shown that education projects can achieve better results through dialogue and actively engaging with students than by pas- sively lecturing at them. However, as always in education projects, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly how the things learned will translate into action in the everyday life of the students. In any case, engaging students is a crucial step to building a more sustainable future led by a new global generation of responsible individuals.

More information: www.sisterclassrooms.org,http://www.slideshare.net/SustLifestyles2010/task-force-on-sustainable- lifestyles-presentation www.unep.fr/scp/marrakech/taskforces/lifestyles.htm

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3.1.5 UNEP/UNESCO YouthXchange platform

How to encourage the youth of the 21st century to adopt Sustainable Consumption? – Young people in developed and rapidly developing economies can play a massive part in fighting climate change while being cool and keeping the planet cool, too. ‘The YouthXchange training kit on responsible consumption - towards sustainable lifestyles’ is designed to assist youth groups, teachers and trainers in raising and acquir- ing awareness on the opportunities offered by the adop- tion of more sustainable consumer choices in a youth friendly format and on a global scale. The programme is developed and run by UNEP and UNESCO since 2001.

A holistic and international approach The YouthXchange programme addresses the problem of a lack of reliable resources for teaching about sustainable lifestyles. The project builds on an interdisciplinary, multi-methodological and holistic approach to sustainable consumption and life-long learning. The training toolkit, a backbone of the project, consists of a paper guide (translated in 18 languages and disseminated in over 400,000 copies), a bilingual website and related pedagogical resources (slides, exercises for teachers etc.).The implementation of training activities is secured through a large network of local partners and youth organizations that have translated, adapted and disseminated the guide in their region as well as providing trainings and workshops based on the materials. YouthXchange supports knowledge-building and -sharing as well as joint projects among youth in different countries and cultures. Altogether it aims to be a participatory process based on interaction and cooperation between teachers and youth, discussion and learning from experience.

Recognizing young people as they are Young people often try to establish their identities and seek social inclusion through what they purchase. YouthXchange recognizes this when empowering young people to make different choices in their daily lives and to be actors of change. For example the latest version of the training kit includes a chapter on how to balance aspirations of dressing fashionably while being aware of the impact of consumption on global warming. In addition YouthXchange exemplifies that targeting a group of individuals is often more effective than targeting individuals separately. Creating a virtual and real community, where people can learn, compare, and exchange experiences is a promising element for successful campaigns aiming to mainstream sustainable consumption. Another reason for the success of the campaign comes from the international outreach of the activities

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making the community very interesting for progressive young people who want to connect and network globally. In doing so YouthXchange builds on key success factors of modern web 2.0 communities like Facebook attracting youth worldwide. The implementation of the training material through a network of local partners like youth organizations that adapt the guide and know-how to local circumstances increases the impact of the programme. By making the teaching and advice more relevant to their daily life and cultural realities, it gives trainees the opportunity to act locally while thinking globally.

More information: www.youthxchange.net

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3.1.6 One Did It

How many of us are really aware of the environmental pressure caused by the different choices we make in everyday life, e.g. in the grocery store? What would the environmental impact be if we took the bus to work instead of using our own car? To answer these questions and many more related ones One Did It Ltd in cooperation with D-Mat Ltd and the Fin- nish Association for Nature Conservation has launched a unique and tailor-made web community service for consumers in 2008. The platform combines lifestyle assessment, action tips, and opportunities for friendly competition among its community. It provides users with the means to measure the impact of their lifestyle choices, and to see the effects of behavioural changes on their environmental impact.

What gets measured gets managed: the Ecological Backpack concept One Did It uses the ecological backpack or eco-backpack method to illustrate the volume of natural resources we consume. Eco-backpack calculations are based on the MIPS-method developed in the early 1990s at the Wuppertal Institute, Germany. MIPS stands for Material Input Per Service Unit and it can be used to estimate the environmental burden caused by a product, service, or even a lifestyle. The entire life cycle from cradle to grave (extraction, production, use, waste and recycling) is considered.

Friendly competition to save the earth One Did It starts a user off with its ecological backpack measurement test in which users provide information on elements of their lifestyle including: Housing, Transportation, Food, Leisure and Waste. From there, users can start taking positive action. The site offers tons of suggestions, along with the expected ecological backpack weight they remove. Users can even join groups, and have their actions included with others’ activity. Ultimately, the approach One Did It takes involves creating a game: both individuals and groups can compete with other members to create the lightest impact.

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Self assessment, comparative information on lifestyle choices and the virtual community create change People often feel that its difficult to know what the most sustainable option is when making lifestyle decisions. If information on environmental impacts are unclear or even contradictory there is nearly no chance to motivate consumers to live more sustainably. In this context One did it offers a profession- ally designed tool to enable consumers to get a quantified insight into their particular environmental impact. To get a comprehensive understanding on how you are performing relative to the status quo and to measure your progress towards your objectives are important preconditions for human change processes in general. In addition One Did It doesn’t scare consumers by asking them to fundamentally change their life in all areas from one day to the next. Rather it creates positive vision by taking a step by step approach. The later is another key precondition for most successful change processes. Finally the One Did it change model builds on the dynamics of virtual and physical communities by enabling users to communicate with each other and to compare their performance as individuals or teams. The group setting can overcome apathy and encourage people to help each other tackle new challenges.

More information: www.onedidit.com

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3.1.7 The Story of Stuff documentary

How can consumers be connected with the complex issues and consequences their consumption causes? Could a simple storytelling approach have a wider impact on attitudes towards consumption? The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute web based film that takes viewers on a provocative and eye-opening tour of the real costs of our consumer driven culture. The film is the brain- child of Annie Leonard, an activist who has spent the past 10 years travelling the globe. After seeing the conditions in which our consumer products are made and disposed of she searched for ways to transform systems of production and consumption to serve ecological sustainability and social wellbeing.

Simplifying complex economics for mainstream appeal The film ambitiously addresses the whole consumption cycle, its stakeholders, interdependencies and impacts. Leonard succeeds where many other initiatives fail by relating this at a human level. The film is targeted to the understanding of a consumer audience, simplifying the role of consumption in our lifestyles and the lifecycles of our products to short narratives or stories. The choice of animation to deliver this story helps to both entertain and illustrate. This format has also been key to its popularity. Since its release, The Story of Stuff has been viewed over 10 million times on-line and in thousands of schools, community centres and businesses around the world. As well as spreading virally through social networking and sites like You Tube, it has captured the attention of mainstream media outlets, having already featured in the New York Times, USA Today, "The Colbert Report", CNN, Grist, and others. This newsworthiness has generated enormous free publicity for the project to extend its reach both in the US and internationally. By packaging the message to fit the the mainstream methods consumer choose to receive their information by, the project has multiplied its reach and effect.

Encouraging a re-think through an appeal to higher values The story of stuff doesn’t just lecture on the faults of consumer culture, instead it poses questions at the level of self interest, encouraging consumers to re-examine whether there are so many benefits to western societies’ love affair with consumer products and its often hidden environmental and social consequences. The film is intentionally confrontational in its approach to the multinational corporations supplying our consumption. Thus, it falls short of being a true multi-stakeholder ap-

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proach, instead concentrating on re-involving consumers with their wider system and encourages them to exert pressure for progress from the other parties in the triangle of change. By putting consumption in a different frame, the film appeals to higher shared values of well-being, control over our lives and participation in society by putting consumption in a different frame. It not only raises awareness of the true cost of current practices but also questions the benefits of the system to the consumers it should serve. Most importantly it finishes with a positive outlook on the future by highlighting a sustainable alternative and stressing that just as people created the current system they have the power to change it.

The story goes on The distinct style and imagery of the story of stuff has already been extended to further sustainable consumption topics of cap and trade and bottled water. The potential to address many more issues through the format remains. Furthermore, by approaching the topic as a potential movement rather than just a film, the project is working in multiple direction and environments. The website features community boards, links to NGO’s for volunteering and support materials for educators. From the beginning the aim of the Story of Stuff was to encourage a strong, diverse, decentralized, cross-sector movement utilizing the recent growth in social networking media and low cost web distribution. Leo- nard has also launched a corresponding book and a supporting tour to promote the message heavily to a yet wider audience. Engaging consumers on their own terms, the project shows how re-framing research and information can bring a new agenda into daily life.

More information: www.storyofstuff.com

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3.2 Case Studies on Engaging Consumers in Sustainable Consumption

3.2.1 Transition Towns

Can a change from our current lifestyles to a truly sustainable lifestyle be a positive one, or would it require too many sacrifices? One solution is offered by a movement called Transition Towns, which aims to proactively and positively build local capacity to face the problems presented by climate change and peak oil. The movement believes that

solving these problems is too great a task for individuals alone, and is also difficult for governments to address. As a solution, Transition Towns provides community level action. The guiding principles behind this movement are a focus on the benefits of a low-impact, sustainable lifestyle, and finding practical solutions through social interactions.

An inspiring movement initiated by few motivated individuals The initial steps of the transition movement were taken in Kinsale, Ireland. Later on the interest on the efforts of Kinsale led to the establishment of Transition Network, whose role is to inspire, encourage, connect, support and train communities as they self-organise around the transition model. Transition communities can be be found in the UK, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Finland, Japan, Chile and New Zealand with new communities joining the list every month. One key element in the process of becoming a Transition Town is the formulation of an Energy Descent Action Plan. The projects that can be implemented as a part of the action plan include: • producing renewable energy locally • growing food locally (e.g. individual and community gardens) • organising ride-share schemes • organising re-use, recycling and repair schemes • producing essential goods locally • using a local currency in the community. One feature of the transition initiatives is to use a variety of methods to encourage conversations, in cluding Open Space discussion, where everyone can have their say.

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Community based action as a source of success Transition Towns is a promising initiative as it is fundamentally based upon people’s own collective action, which makes it very different from traditional consumer education campaigns. Without interested individuals, transition towns don’t exist. The initiatives are fundamentally local and grounded in bottom-up processes, which make further systemic change in our lifestyles possible. One of the characteristics of Transition Towns is the creation of ‘positive visions’, finding practical solutions instead of discouraging people with feelings of doom. Messages are given in a nondirective way, allowing people room for their own interpretation of what action they find appropriate. Its also relevant to their success that Transition Towns are not about sacrificing oneself for the environment, but rather about enhancing the quality of life while at the same time enhancing local resilience and decreasing climate impact. Even though the actions taken are on a relatively small scale and at the community level, they set examples for others and demonstrate that our lifestyles can be changed in a positive way. Despite its many benefits, there is also a downside to transition towns: There are some constraints to their replicability, as the initiative has to come very strongly from the community itself. Transition towns are not campaigns that an actor from outside could launch successfully, beyond providing the means for motivated individuals.

More information: http://www.transitiontowns.org/

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3.2.2 Energy neighbourhoods in Europe

Is it be possible to get communities, such as neighbourhoods to compete to be the most sustainable? In the Energy Neighbourhoods project launched in 2007 this was successfully implemented. The project involved a wide variety of different actors: Local energy agencies, environmental organisations, citizen groups, city councils and energy grid companies. Funded from Intelligent En- ergy Europe and other local supporting organisations, the project has already been implemented in Belgium, Eng- land, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, Sweden, France and Germany.

Reducing energy consumption through an engaging competition Local councils were involved in recruiting groups of 5-15 houses to form the individual neighbourhoods. In all countries the neighbourhoods started the programme with kick-off events and held interim information evenings. Training was provided to volunteers within these neighbourhoods to become an Energy Master for the group, providing expert support through a knowledge transfer approach. Once initiated the small groups competed against other communities for 5 national awards and against other countries across Europe for a grand prize for the top 3 international groups who saved the most energy. Instead on focussing upon how households should behave the initiative gave them two motivating incentives instead-a way of saving money and the chance to win something as part of a team. The use of competitive drives was a distinctive and novel feature of the scheme.

A wide range of tools and advice to enable results After the initial energy audit required for participation, participants received energy saving devices such as light bulbs and kettles. A range of information resources were also provided for householders with the goal to inform and motivate them to change behaviours, compile energy saving tips and carry out energy self checks. Months were themed in a step by step programme to learning: • November: Getting to know our home and habits • December: Comfy, cosy and entertained • January: Healthy homes • February: Marking progress • March: Consolidating knowledge • April: The bigger picture This was then complemented by weekly tips, quizzes, a top 40 Energy saving actions and a six section

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resource database covering fuel suppliers, behavioural change, meters and bills, heating and hot water, lighting and appliances, healthy homes and the wider picture, which included gardening and cooking. A web-based tool provided each household with an overview of the energy savings already achieved, a valuable feedback and evaluation step for their efforts. As a result over the 58 cases submitted in the UK a 9.6 % average energy saving was achieved and up to 20% saving in the winning neighbourhoods.

Facilitating collective action as a success factor The project innovatively combined raising awareness of individual energy usage with driving practical action through community based collective action. By linking households in an area they not only ap- pealed to competitive drives but also created an interdependence that encouraged households to act not just for themselves but also for the benefit of the wider group. The focus was upon on cost saving incentives rather than concepts of sustainable lifestyles and the provision of devices on a large scale would require higher levels of funding. The impact of a small number of households on national emissions is not in itself dramatic and the short 6 month running period of the project may also limit its ongoing effects. However the scheme is an excellent best practice example, combining a structured approach with a wide range of support mechanisms. It has potential for use as a high publicity example to others and perhaps even more so to activate groups towards further community action as a path to truly sustainable lifestyles.

More information: www.energyneighbourhoods.eu/gb/

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3.2.3 One Planet Sutton

What impact can a regional authority have in changing the lifestyles of its citizens? The London borough of Sutton is working together with the charitable BioRegional Development Group with the vision of becoming a ‘One Planet Community’, co-ordinating and promoting a wide range of initiatives to improve sustainability within their local area.

Promoting living within a fair share of the earth's resources The starting point for individual participation in the One Planet scheme is a personal profile calculation, based on an interactive questionnaire in 10 lifestyle areas: zero carbon, zero waste, sustainable transport, local and sustainable materials, local and sustainable food, sustainable water, natural habitats, culture and heritage, equity and fair trade and health and happiness. The current status is then used to give an example of how many planets would be required if everyone would have the same kind of lifestyle. After that, the test provides the user with a personalised action plan for these areas, rather than just leaving consumers feeling bad about their impact.

Demonstrating what sustainable future looks like through a variety of real‐life projects A central feature of the scheme is that the local authority acts as a role model and example in creating its own action plans along similar lines. The idea is to make one planet living to be seen as a desirable and positive lifestyle choice and change the views of a critical mass of the population, including politicians, businesses and individuals. Ultimately, sustainable living should be made a norm rather than the exception. BioRegional has developed a sustainability plan for the Sutton City Council where the council commits itself to becoming a One Planet borough. This should be achieved through housing construction and maintenance; supporting reductions in infrastructure and low impact materials and techniques; promoting energy-efficiency and renewable energy at homes and instilling green behaviour. Transport has also been targeted as a major area for local government to influence and enable sustainable behaviour. Activities include making low-carbon transport become the default mode, supported by car sharing clubs, bicycle clubs and improvements in the public transport system. More sustainable eating is enabled through changing food production through land availability and with gardening tool ‘libraries’. BioRegional has also been working on a number of other practical initiatives including an energy options analysis of the existing housing stock and household audit pilots.

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Beyond cutting carbon to visions of community The One Planet scheme has a wider vision of a world in which people everywhere can lead happy, healthy lives within their fair share of the earth’s resources. This vision includes a focus on the principles of community. The Sutton action plan also aims to make open spaces and community facilities more pervasive and attractive than shops and includes workshops with key voluntary sector organizations. All One Planet Communities include a plan to have One Planet Visitor Centres as a focus for education and training which, similar to the web based tools, make it easier for people to understand where their environmental impacts arise and how to do something about it. Because One Planet encourages consumers to suggest their own ideas, the scheme is an excellent example of community participation in action.

A concept designed with universal application in mind By targeting key impact areas and the most important consumption clusters at community level and combining education with the practical tools to enable progress, One Planet Sutton offers the local authority the chance to engage and demonstrate the true nature of sustainable living. One Planet Sutton is the pioneer for the One Planet programme. However the eventual aim from the start has been to build a worldwide network of such communities that demonstrate One Planet Living in action. Because the One Planet concept focuses on identifying opportunities as a community rather than prescribing solutions from above, the concept can be easily transferred to other towns. There are already four officially endorsed One Planet communities: three in the UK and one in North America; plus candidate cities with completed sustainability action plans in UAE, South Africa, China and Australia.

More information: www.oneplanetsutton.org

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3.2.4 Communities Supporting Sustainable Agriculture in China – The Agri-Fond Association

Eat Local, Buy Local, Be Local? Strengthening the link between local agriculture producers and consumers in order to stabilize and increase the supply and demand for sustainable agriculture products, is the purpose of the Agri-fond Association in Liu zhou, China. The Local Foods Movement has expanded worldwide in recent years because it represents an encouraging approach for creating change towards sustainable consumption by changing people’s diets.

A self organized community based network The Agri-Fond Association is a self-organized virtual and real network between communities and small scale traditional agriculture producers. It recognizes that people in cities nowadays have more interest in rural life and in traditional, high quality food, especially with the industrialization of agriculture and the related pollution of the environment. Within the network consumers and farmers agree on prices and quality issues on the basis of a long term relationship. With a more stable demand the individual farmers can stabilize income, finance investments and keep their traditional and local agriculture alive.

Local organic food and healthy communities based on trust At a time when food travels further than ever before, eating local is one of the significant changes consumers can make in their diet towards more sustainable consumption. It gives them a reason to be curious about their food — not just the number of calories it contains, but where it comes from and how it is produced. An interest in eating local food can help shine a light on many of the more problematic aspects of the food system, from animal welfare and labour abuses to environmental pollution. The good news is that the local foods movement has expanded worldwide in recent years, visible for example in the number of farmers markets, the range of supermarkets featuring food produced nearby, or the growing appeal of the slow food movement. Local ingredients are showing up everywhere from school cafeterias to restaurant menus. The benefits of strengthening local consumers and growers networks are diverse: tastier and fresher food, the chance to support “neighbours” and to keep cash in the local economy, and reduced vulnera- bility to oil shortages, transportation problems, and large-scale food contamination. In many developing

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nations, greater food self-reliance can also help retain valuable foreign exchange and to avoid the ups and downs of international markets. Overall the project shows how economic disincentives can be overcome through networking and community based action by establishing trust between farmers and consumers. The difficulty lies on the expansion of the network, since it will not be easy to sustain the “trust links” on a larger scale. Thus the focus should lie on creating the framework and conditions for local action.

More information: http://sustainable-everyday.net/cases/?p=113#more-113

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3.2.5 TeamS - Sustainable Lifestyle Award

How many resources are spent, when I ride my bike to school in the morning? Why are the old clothes of my brothers and sisters more trendy than new jeans? Change towards more sustainable lifestyles starts from small steps and bright new ideas! Being convinced of that the UNEP/Wuppertal Institute Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) formed the TeamS Award, an idea competition for school groups at the age of 13 to 20 launched in 2009 in Germany, soon to be expanded internationally.

A competition to foster creativity towards sustainable lifestyles The guiding objective of the award scheme is to encourage pupils to take action as individuals and in groups to change their everyday choices into more sustainable direction. In it’s first phase the competition will target schools in North Rhine Westphalia (NRW), Germany. Within a one-month period during the first term of the school year, the registered teams will learn about the environmental impacts of daily choices, for example, living, eating and shopping. In this context the CSCP provides an information package for teachers that will help to bring SC issues into school classes and lectures. The material includes basic information about global natural resource use and global distribution of consumption. The material also includes exercises and topics for discussion. The exercises challenge the pupils to think what would be reasonable in terms of personal consumption. Within the subsequent competition the students are asked to be as creative and as inventive as possible. The teams will show that they have understood the concept of sustainability and they can come up with ideas on how to re-create their own lifestyle in order to decrease their ecological backpack. Saved resources will be measured and the teams can compare themselves to others on an online web platform. In addition the students are asked to document their progress as creatively as possible e.g. by making a movie. The more innovative the students and their ideas are, the better the chance to win a “TeamS”-Award.

Enabling pupils to make a difference The activities around the TeamS award are designed as starting points for young people to think criti- cally about issues facing the planet and to find entry points to make a difference in their local and global communities. It demonstrates new ways and new contexts to look on consumption, opening pupils’ eyes to the possibilities of sustainable living. The interactive format builds on the fact that it is often

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easier for people to learn new things through an active learning approach than through merely receiving new information. A school planting the seeds of sustainability in students minds will help and encourage them to care for themselves, their health and well being, for each other across cultures and generations and the environment locally and globally. In this way, the award assists schools to serve as a sustainability role model for the consumers of the future.

More information: www.teams-award.org

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3.2.6 The 10:10 Campaign

How can a single public campaign drive commitments from consumers and diverse stakeholders to change their behaviours? Could being the partner for such a campaign benefit the long term success of a media partner and multiply consumer reach? In 2009 film-maker Franny Armstrong launched a simple but ambitious scheme. 10:10 is a sign up pledge to reduce the emissions of individuals or organisations by 10% in 2010

Reaching consumers through engaging tools and the right partners The 10:10 scheme works on a simple principle of human behaviour. Ask for commitment first and people feel the need to keep their actions consistent with their pledge. For this to succeed there are two further requirements: first to keep the promise in conscious thought and then for consumers to have the ability to follow up the commitment. Rather than just asking for commitment the 10:10 scheme provides consumers many tools to facilitate the cuts: Checklists, monthly saving themes, low travel holiday tips, a carbon calculator (developed by the Guardian newspaper). Examples from celebrities of how they are achieving their pledge along with material for schools, and logo key chains from recycled aircraft to keep the scheme visible. Programmes for education and business are also available as the scheme targets and publicises multi- stakeholders approaches. From the start the 10:10 campaign was based on consensus building approach and has been backed by a broad coalition ranging from the Guardian newspaper, several NGOs and major companies to leading political figures and the Carbon trust (a non-profit consultancy and accreditation agency for reducing CO2 emissions).

Mutual Benefits from building on strengths and seizing opportunity To reach consumers through mainstream media requires the right partners. For the Guardian its promotion and support of 10:10 was more than an altruistic gesture. It was a logical fit between its values and business model. Through through its web-based vision it has become the UK's no.1 online paper with a over 27 million users. Part of this transformation was a strong positioning as the prime source for educational, environmental and sustainability topics, taking these beyond news reporting and providing a portal for green living, shopping, events and discussion.

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For the guardian 10:10 is part of its consumer appeal, for the 10:10 campaign the Guardian is its prime access to the media and the right consumer segments who will lead change. The effect of this high profile campaign to date are: • 74,000 individuals have signed up as well as 5,000 businesses and organisations and 1500 schools and universities. • The two major Political parties signed up within 72 hours and the 3rd proposed a parliamen- tary motion for a 10% cut across public services. • The first 10:10 towns have now been established • Roll out to 30 further countries is planned in 2010.

A true example of movement throughout the triangle of change. From its origins as a consumer initiative to a wider popular movement, 10:10 has prepared the territory for further commitments The just elected coalition government has already signed up all government departments to 10:10 and this can be expected to impact its policy-making for regulation and procurement. Businesses, public services and consumers all provide examples for each other in a move towards change and the fit with the Guardian newspaper shows sustainable partnerships are not just altruistic but bring market based opportunities also. High profile publicity and creative tools help make reduced emissions engaging. The specific timeframe of 10:10 is a focus for action but also limits the lifetime of the 10:10 brand and its continuing effect. However a 2011 re-launch is already being considered. The initiative clearly in- spired a wide audience by providing a realistic target and a memorable theme.

More information: http://www.1010global.org/uk http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/10-10; http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/interactive/2009/oct/20/guardian-quick-carbon-calculator

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3.3 Case Studies that Exemplify Sustainable Consumption 3.3.1 Vegetarian Alternative Can declaring one meat-free day per week help reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Are the real benefits wider still? With the UN estimating nearly a fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions coming from livestock, reduced meat consumption is seen as one sustainable lifestyle choice with a significant impact. In 2009 The city of Ghent in Belgium, ad- opting a campaign idea of EVA (Ethical Vegetarian Alter- native), became the first city in the world with an official weekly veggie day. In targeting a key impact area- meat consumption- the project attempts to change deep rooted cultural habits.

One city and a radical scheme to change eating patterns The Flemish city of Ghent has designated every Thursday as "Veggiedag" — Veggie Day — calling for meat-free meals to be served in schools and public buildings, targeting all of the cities restaurants to have a vegetarian option on the menu and encouraging vegetarianism among citizens by promoting vegetarian eateries and offering advice on how to follow a herbivorous diet. To support the launch, 100.000 veggie street maps were distributed to the city, food samples were given away, city canteens were “greened” and one thousand veggie guides for restaurant chefs were distributed. Thirty-five of the city’s schools have since gone vegetarian on Thursday.

Public institutions providing the example and the opportunity for Consumers One of the most interesting components of the scheme is that it still favours free choice. The Labour Party councillor pushing the scheme, Tom Balthazar, said: "There's nothing compulsory. We just want to be a city that promotes sustainable and healthy living." Even in public institutions the vegetarian menu is a default rather than the only option. Studies show that default choices often have a high level of take up as consumers look for guidance and use the most prominent examples help them choose. A key aspect of this scheme is that Politicians and public servants can be seen to lead by example. The scale of public meal procurement is also big enough to make a difference in itself. Through educational tools and material for both consumers and restaurants, the scheme then facilitates other stakeholders to follow the public sector example.

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Changing attitudes through trial and an appetiser for new lifestyles. One vegetarian day can have an impact even though it may not represent a huge shift in consumption patterns. Instead the scheme encourages people to try alternatives and perhaps question their precon- ceptions of vegetarian diets and forgoing meat. This will also be further reinforced by the education on health benefits and could even lead to consumers feeling more connected and involved with other sustainability issues. EVA produced a video for the first anniversary of the launch highlighting not just the effect on emissions but also the potential impact of vegetarian diets. Meat farming is land and feed intensive with high levels of embedded water also, so a wider trend towards vegetarianism could help alleviate hunger and water shortages. The scheme is ambitious and may require more work in implementation to firmly establish it throughout the city. Reports directly after its introduction showed lack of awareness from many of the city’s restau- rateurs and even concerns about economic returns of vegetarian options to the menu. However the scope of areas it reaches and the different tools used to promote it have captured the imagination not just in Ghent but around the world, with interest shown from Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands and Canada shortly after launch. The city of Ghent has shown that municipal action on a targeted theme, with involvement from both public and private partners and choice rather than draconian measures can challenge daily habits and attitudes. Consumers have become more familiar with climate friendly vegetarian food in an approach- able way, through a simple and concrete idea. This opens the possibilities for mindsets to be challenged further in the future.

More information: http://www.vegetarisme.be/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=766, http://www.donderdagveggiedag.be/

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3.3.2 Echt Elly Reality Show – The Netherlands

Is it possible to motivate socio-economically weak members of society towards sustainable consumption, and what are ways to do so? Echt Elly points out one way to answer these questions. Echt Elly is a sustainability reality show, which was created and broadcasted in 2009 by ETV.nl, a regional educational broadcaster in the Netherlands and funded by the Dutch Federal Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports.

Building on the popularity of a reality based programme format and involving celebrities The program aims to foster sustainable consumption patterns among viewers, focussing on issues connected to the use of fuel, energy and water consumption, and on sustainability aspects of products, services and waste. The concept was to capitalise on the popularity of the reality-based program format within lower socio-economic target audience. The producers involved Elly Lockhost, a popular entertainer among the target group, who provided audience members with an impression how she deals with sustainable consumption issues in her everyday life. Additional sustainable consumption related learning materials were presented on the ETV.nl internet website.

Broad stakeholder involvement Representing government in the sustainability partnership, the Federal Ministry of Health Welfare and Sports provided partial funding support for the Echt Elly program. Moreover, government provided feedback on the storylines and helped to create learning materials. The City of Rotterdam funded the evaluation of the Ech Elly initiative. NGO stakeholders from four regional educational centres were involved in the partnership. The role of these stakeholders was to provide feedback on the Echt Elly storylines. In addition, these organisations took the lead in the project to create learning materials. The media market research company MetrixLab was involved as a private sector stakeholder during the planning process.

Emotionality, credibility, and being understandable as guiding principles The sustainability messages contained in Echt Elly had an emphasis on personalised experience. With the help of emotional connections, sustainability messages are effectively and positively framed for the target group, making audience members more likely to accept and integrate the sustainable consumption information into everyday life.

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An other core reason for the success of Echt Elly was the credibility and reliability of the sustainability messages in the eyes of the target audience. The primary reason for this credibility can be attributed to the celebrity host, Elly Lockhost, and her high level of acceptance among the targeted audience. The programme successfully reached audience members by presenting information that was easy for audience members to practice themselves. People were also provided opportunities to review and download information presented during the television program as a day-to-day resource. The show was guided by an evaluation of how the messages impacted viewers. As a consequence, fully one third of audience members learned new information during the program and about half changed something in their every day lives.

More information: http://www.etv.nl/index.cfm?act=programma.detail&pid=55 (in Dutch only)

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3.3.3 Cool Biz Campaign in Japan

How can a campaign target deep rooted social norms in order to reduce energy consumption in a creative way? Japan launched its Cool Biz campaign to lower CO2 emissions by encouraging office workers to wear casual clothes and to go without ties and jackets, so the thermostats on their air conditioners can be set no lower than 28C (82.4F) during summer.

Identifying and tackling a key national contributor to emissions The Cool Biz campaign was a creative solution to address connected topics- the use of air conditioning systems in offices as a major factor in energy consumption and the unsustainable cultural habit of highly formal business dress at all times. It followed that if the dress codes could be changed to fit to the hot summer weather then the need for air conditioning would be reduced. The scheme was not without initial criticism. The high temperature for thermostats led to fears of reduced productivity and also the potential of rebound effects as employees resort to using personal fans at their own desk. However this relates only to the temperature at which the system is set rather than the overall concept.

Reframing social norms with high profile figures The existing overdressed approach, although not so practical, was synonymous with professionalism. This symbolic meaning needed to be taken into account and such deep rooted traditions are resistant to change. The Japanese government addressed this with a combination of methods. Firstly a National awareness campaign promoted the scheme and captured further media coverage also. Secondly a directive was given to public service workers to adopt the new code. Although some reported feeling uncomfortable travelling to work alongside fully-suited private sector commuters they not only made a personal contribution to the scheme but also acted as a form of social proof to encourage take up by others. Finally the scheme was backed by the behaviour of high profile government and business figures. The Prime Minister Koizumi was frequently interviewed without a tie or jacket. Leaders and public figures act as powerful role models and in this case challenged the connection between dress code, status and professionalism. Corporate leaders were also involved in a fashion show to exemplify the new dress code, reframing casual dress as a statement of individuality.

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A new and lasting tradition In 2005, the Ministry of Environment announced results of the Cool Biz campaign. Survey results indi- cate that 95.8% of respondents knew Cool Biz, and 32.7% of 562 respondents answered that their offices set the air conditioner thermostat higher than in previous years. Based on these figures, the ministry estimated that the campaign resulted in a 460,000-ton reduction in CO2 emission, the equivalent volume of CO2 emitted by about 1 million households for one month. The results for 2006 were even better, resulting in an estimated 1.14 million-ton reduction in CO2 emission, the equivalent to the CO2 emissions by about 2.5 million households for one month. The programme been repeated every summer since. A ‘Warm Biz’ programme, dressing up warmer to reduce office heating in winter was proposed with less support-Perhaps because it lacked the same official support. The improved results of the second year demonstrate that just as old habits were established and repeated over a long timescale, new behaviour patterns may need time and repetition and reinforcement to be established. Some employees were reported still arriving with their jackets and ties in hand because of remaining concerns that others would not comply. With the high awareness of the scheme there is also a wider impact-Introducing the concept of energy saving and addressing climate change to mainstream business culture and opening the way to launch similar initiatives in the future. The scheme has been introduced in South Korea and where the Cool biz brand and programme was deemed to be transferrable. Although the context was based on specific cultural norms, the principles of identifying key behaviours, creating recurring traditions and leading by high profile example are highly relevant elsewhere.

More information: http://www.env.go.jp/en/press/2005/1028a.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_Biz_campaign

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3.3.4 Green Public Procurement Activities by Swedish Environmental Management Council.

What kind of tools can be used to encourage sustainable consumption by public authorities? This is an important question, because governments as one of the largest purchasers of goods and services in the world can use their procurement decisions as a concrete tool to create markets for sustainable products and environmental technologies. The Swedish Environmental Management Council has been active in promoting green public procurement (GPP) through clear purchasing criteria, education activities and an award ceremony organised each year.

Different criteria for different ambition levels GPP can, amongst other things, include purchasing energy-efficient technology and recycled paper for state offices, offering sustainable food (organic, fair trade, vegetarian) in school and office canteens as well as in hospitals and using eco-electricity in public buildings. In Sweden, a national action plan for GPP was elaborated in 2007. Op- erational responsibility for implementing the action plan has been given to the Swedish Environment Management Council (SEMCo). Through a participatory process with different stakeholders from the private and public sector, SEMCo has developed clear criteria for environmentally friendly purchases for different product groups. The criteria and accompanying documents are published in the SEMCo website and updated periodically. One of the great ideas that SEMCO has been pioneering is to present three different sets of criteria: basic, advanced and spear- head criteria. Hence, purchasers using the criteria are able to select the appropriate ambition level for their purposes. SEMCO also provides two types of training: 1) a traditional class with lectures and a concluding workshop and 2) an online course for anyone interested in GPP that can be taken anytime in SEMCO homepage.

Involving suppliers and awarding best performers Suppliers have been tightly integrated in the criteria development process. The involvement of suppliers is important to inform them about the requirements of public authorities and to make sure that there will be supply of the products required. Furthermore, SEMCo annually awards two prizes to reward purchasers and suppliers who work effectively to solve environmental challenges. The prizes are

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called “Excellent Green Purchaser” and “Excellent Green Supplier”. The purpose of the Awards is to highlight good examples of purchasers and suppliers who work seriously and innovatively with green procurement. By picking up good examples of how green procurement can be used as a strategy to achieve environmental objectives, SEMCo inspires others to invest in a better environmental performance. Through its activities SEMCo is giving a good example on how to further GPP in a consistent way and demonstrating that public authorities are also “practising what they preach”. However, as the focus of their work is on purchases of the public authorities, the direct link to consumers is not very visible. To make the approach even more comprehensive, it would be beneficial to conduct information dissemination activities towards citizens, to let them know how the government is doing their bit.

More information: http://www.msr.se/en/green_procurement/criteria/

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3.4 Case Studies that Enable Sustainable Consumption

3.4.1 The “Velib” Bike Sharing Programme – Paris

Are there ways to enable everyone to take advantage of a practical, inexpensive and ecological means of urban transport 24 hours a day and 7 days a week? The municipality of Paris was occupied with this question when they took up and scaled up the idea of a public bicycle rental programme. The system was launched in 2007, following Lyon's Vélo'v success and is a public private partnership with the JCDecaux advertising corporation.

Large scale investment with a progressive financing scheme Bike sharing is a tough idea to implement. Rentals must be cheap enough for daily use but high enough to drive sustainable revenues. Furthermore, any implementation needs to be big enough to incentivize riders to use the service, but manageable enough to ensure that not too many bikes are stolen or repairs are needed. This seems like a complex system to organize but the city of Paris has found its way with the Velib. Ten thousand bicycles were introduced to the city with 750 automated rental stations each with fifteen or more bikes/spaces. This number has since grown to 20,000 bicycles and 1,639 stations, roughly one station every 300 metres throughout the city centre, making Vélib’ the largest system of its kind in the world. In order to use the system, users need to take out a subscription, which allows the subscriber an unlimited number of rentals. Subscriptions can be purchased at !1 per day, !5/week or !29/year. With a subscription bike rental is free for the first half hour of every individual trip; an unlimited number of such free trips can be made per day. A trip that lasts longer than 30 minutes incurs a charge of !1 to !4 for each subsequent 30-minute period. The increasing price scale is intended to keep the bikes in circulation. The 10-year contract for installation and maintenance was won by JCDecaux, a major French public relations and advertising. The deal is supposed to be good for Paris, but promises also to be lucrative over time for JCDecaux. In addition to setting up the rental bike system JCDecaux erected 1,628 bill- boards to rent. Altogether nearly $142 million were invested. The company expects a yearly turnover from billboard advertising services of about 94 Million Euro. The city of Paris gets the proceeds from the usage of the bikes plus some royalties from Decaux. In addition the city receives about half of that advertising space at no charge for public-interest advertising

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The beginning of a new eco attitude in Paris The system integrated itself into the daily life of users, and became a viable means of transportation, inexpensive, dependable and reliable. The popular attitude to the bicycle was an image of an outdated transport equivalent to social regres- sion. It was in fact negative, and a synonym for the past. It was essential for the success of the campaign to change this image. Vélib’ actually did it: after the first six months, users were happy to be part of a “community” and to have the “Vélib card.” It even created human interaction. The stations are now real points of cultural exchange. There are a Vélib’ Web site, Vélib’ fashions and a Vélib’ blog (http://blog.velib.paris.fr/blog); one recent posting discussed the best way to ride with a skirt. With the new bike sharing program, Paris’ Transportation department noticed a big increase by people using their own bikes. It is without any doubt the beginning of a new “eco-attitude”. Even if 10,000 bikes can’t reverse global warming, users have inevitably become more aware about environmental issues. Thus the Vélib bike is also an awareness-raising instrument The usage numbers are encouraging. Its first year, Velib’ attracted over 198,000 yearly subscribers, over 270,000 weekly subscribers, and over 3.5 million one-day subscribers! In all, bikes were rented 26 million times. These figures pertain to a fleet of 16,000 bicycles in circulation, a number which is already increasing. A similar scheme is being launched in London in July 2010.

More information: www.velib.paris.fr/

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3.4.2 Top Ten in Switzerland How can consumers be helped with informed sustainable choices on the most important sustainable purchasing decisions? The top ten is a web based consumer tool with the goal of giving information on best in class products in terms of energy efficiency, health and quality. Covering diverse categories only the ‘best’ 10 products are featured.

Providing trustworthy and dynamic advice through comparable performance tables The programme was first launched in Switzerland by Top10 GmbH. The site covers a wide range of product categories where energy consumption is an issue such as transport, office and home appliances, heating, renewable energy providers and lighting. Most of these are high cost, high involvement products where consumers will seek out information before purchase. The initiative was part funded by the European Commission’s Intelligent Energy Europe Programme, which as well as financial support also adds credibility to the site for consumers. Further partners including NGOs such as WWF and Greenpeace helps to build a multi-stakeholder consensus that consumers can trust This addresses one of the key excuses for consumers not to include sustainability in their choice set–that product sustainability claims have no credibility. Choice of products is based upon a neutral transparent approach and despite retailer endorsement Top10 GmbH has no financial interest in the products featured. This credibility is further enhanced by the use of concrete comparable information. Measurements and are chosen relevant to the category-for example European energy labelling on washing machines, emissions per km on vehicles and watt power ratings on appliances. The use of a web based tool means information can be rapidly updated to keep up with increasing rate of product innovation.

The challenges of providing meaningful product information The format has its limitations. The focus remains within existing product classes rather than on sustainable lifestyles. A best in class 4x4 vehicle or large widescreen television may still have a higher environmental impact than some alternative products and there is some risk that this brings consumers false assumptions about their sustainability and could even encourage rebound effects such as increased product usage or compensation in other behaviours. The Top 10 sites also focuses only on the key hotspot of energy in usage phase. This does not reflect the full life cycle and impacts of product and there is therefore a risk that manufacturers will develop

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products to fit the site‘s criteria rather than use the principles of sustainable design. However this partly reflects current availability of product metrics throughout the whole value chain. Such detailed information is not available for the vast majority of products. The top 10 offers a pragmatic and dynamic tool to encourage consumers to at least consider their buying decisions. It provides some guidance in a current environment of overwhelming and often incomparable information and a positive step forward towards more transparent understanding of consumption effects.

A rapidly growing concept and platform for development Since its launch in 2009 the Top 10 concept has picked up an Energiestadt European energy award label and a 2010 Swiss Environment prize. The concept rapidly expanded to 15 other European countries. While the partners and presentation varies the concept remains the same with shortlisted categories and clear comparison tables. Further advice and information is available on most of these sites including guidance for professional installers and suppliers. The idea has the potential to be expanded or adapted in the future and provides a valuable reference for sustainable shopping. It provides easily accessible information and is a demonstration of how funding and endorsement from public institutions in partnership with entrepreneurial ideas can support sustainable consumption choice.

More information: http://www.topten.info/index.php?page=about_topten_info

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3.4.3 Sustainable Mobility in the City of Freiburg (Germany) Want to encourage citizens to be less car dependent? – Provide Alternatives! The city of Freiburg in Germany demonstrates careful land use and transport planning to promote the use of sustainable transport, particularly the introduction of car-free residential areas. The city was rewarded for its efforts with the "European Local Public Transport Award”.

Preventive traffic avoidance and environmentally friendly transportation are key concepts The most important objective of Freiburg’s traffic and transportation policy is traffic avoidance. The city can be crossed quickly and there are small centres offering shops, restaurants and nightlife opportunities in all major neighbourhoods. Urban development takes place along main public transport lines and priority is given to centralised development over pe- ripheral growth. In addition there is continuous management of the parking spaces and road network in many parts of the city. A system of financial incentives e.g. subsidised annual tram passes and fees, multi-storey car parks and parking guidance systems avoids bottlenecks and relieves residential areas near the city centre from motorised traffic and parking-space searches. The strategy of traffic avoidance is supplemented by strengthening those means of traffic that are environmentally friendly. Pedestrian traffic, cycling, and local public transport have all benefited from the extension of the corresponding infrastructure over the last three decades.

Freiburg is leading the way towards sustainable mobility in Germany Between 1982 and 1999, the contribution of cycling to the city’s volume of traffic increased from 15 to 28 percent. At the same time, public transport use increased from 11 to 18 percent, whereas the dis- tances driven by motor vehicles decreased from 38 to 30 percent. Compared with other major cities in Germany today, Freiburg has the lowest motor vehicle density, with 423 motor vehicles per 1,000 people.

Offering alternatives for sustainable consumption The activities point out the range of opportunities municipalities in particular have in supporting sustainable development. Asking consumers to change their behaviour is useless, if they can’t identify an

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alternative for their unsustainable practice. By offering concrete options- e.g. by strengthening the availability and comfort of public transport sustainable mobility- patterns are made possible for the inhabitants of Freiburg. In addition the well thought out system of financial incentives and fees helps to phase out the unsustainable alternative of car usage and related environmental problems in residential areas.

More information: http://www.fwtm.freiburg.de/servlet/PB/menu/1182949_l2/index.html

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3.4.4 Sustainable Weeks in Austria

Are there ways to overcome the vicious circle of tough competition and price dumping hindering the spread of high quality but premium priced sustainable products? To target this challenge the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Environment, and Water Management launched the “Sustainable Weeks” programme together with leading retailers from various industry areas. The focus was on joint objectives such as fair trade, doing business regionally, organic products, saving on resources, and raising awareness.

An additional brand mark used as an eye-catcher In order to advise the consumers to the diversified choice of more sustainable products in Austrians trade chains, the brand mark “Das bringt’s. Nachhaltig.“ (“Getting there the sustainable way”) was developed by the ministry together with involvement of trade chains. In addition a product-check-service was established and offered to these trade chains. The check-up of products according to the defined criteria of the label-programs should assure that products chosen by the trade chains were suitable for the sustainable weeks. The sustainable weeks campaign was supported by comprehensive advertising material such as folders (primarily for distribution in the subsidiaries of the trade chains and in independent merchants stores), dispensers and posters; shelf stoppers and more. The accompanying PR campaign included a press conference, media work and special activities in the provinces for kick off. For example the Austrian environment minister visited each province, whose provincial governments participated in the sustainable weeks as project partners.

Wide participation and acknowledgement The campaign was evaluated in 2007 which revealed its success. Four Austrian ministries, the Cham- ber of Commerce of Austria and four provinces as well as 28 of Austrian trade chains and also 2,700 independent merchants have supported the project in 2007. In approximately 8,000 subsidiaries of the participating trade chains were over 1 million folders about the sustainable weeks. Within the sustainable weeks numerous products were registered for the first time. In September 2005 only 15% of Austrians had already heard about the initiative of the sustainable weeks. In September 2006 the value raised already to 22% and in October 26%. More than 150

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media reports were achieved in 2007. This equates to an increase of approximately 50% compared to the previous year.

Creating alternatives by building markets, The change of consumer buying habits in the industrial countries is one of the fundamental conditions for accomplishing sustainable development. Because of an absence of alternatives as well as individual barriers in perception and realizing of available options, the scope for sustainable consumer behaviour is limited. In this context concepts like the Sustainable Weeks Campaign contribute to building appropriate markets for Sustainable Products which are the basic requirement for changing the way of production and consumption towards more sustainability.

More information: http://www.nachhaltigewochen.at/

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3.4.5 Making Public Transport Attractive

Why should riding the bus be so complicated? This was the question posed by the Karlstadsbus CEO in Karl- stad Sweden. As a consequence, a series of determined actions were taken to make public transport simpler to use and thus more attractive to passengers. As a result, the amount of people travelling by bus has increased by 30 percent since 2005. The municipality has invested 14 million SEK (about 1.4 million EUR) to this endeavour, and expects to get half of it back in increased revenue.

Getting rid of timetables One reason for people to use their own car is the fact that they feel it is much more straight-forward than hopping into a bus. One problem with bus traffic is that you have to check the timetable before going to the bus stop. In Karlstad this barrier was lowered by organising daytime bus traffic so that all parts of the city are served at a 10-minute interval instead of the 20-minutes used previously. In addition, the routes were made more direct so trips were faster. In addition, a twisting and turning route runs through the city centre for those who feel it is important to be close to the stops. A very clear route map was developed in the same style as metro network maps in big cities. Furthermore, the bus stops have been equipped with electronic signs that show when the bus is coming in real-time. Extra clear signs have been made for bus stops where a route change is possible.

Offering an attractive product All these measures together with marketing, design and advertising activities have helped to brand public transport as an attractive product. For example, the buses have been repainted with a sun on the front, and bus stops have been revitalised and given clearer names than before. Public transport has been made into a more distinguished element of the urban environment. In a giant garage in the Orrholmen residential area from the 1960s, which is home to three bus stops and many passengers, there are wall murals, mosaics and a walk-of-fame with handprints of local celebrities. The city officials in Karlstad have understood that they really have to market their product and make it attractive, in order to get people to use it. Simply telling people to leave their car at home, without providing an attractive alternative, would be futile.

More information: http://brs.skl.se/brsbibl/kata_documents/doc39454_1.pdf

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3.4.6 Smart Start Up How to combine sustainable lifestyle education with business development skills in order to promote successful, sustainable entrepreneurship? Together, entrepreneurial action, environmental integrity and social equity can enable long-term financial profitability -the triple bottom line. In the project Smart Start-up, launched in 2009 by the UNEP/Wuppertal Institute Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production, informal educational activities (interactive and experimental learning) are integrated with more traditional formal education to create training sessions that introduce sustainable entrepreneurship into African universities. In the pilot phase of the project, training has been arranged in three universities in Mauritius.

Introducing sustainability to entrepreneurs-to-be The aim of the SMART start-up is to integrate sustainability aspects into university curricula to encourage entrepreneurs-to-be to elaborate innovative business ideas based on sustainable lifestyles and to demonstrate the potential of business opportunities in this field. Through the training activities a basis is built for better supply of sustainable products and services. In addition, through participating in the training, the lifestyles of the students and teachers in question can be changed as well. So far two sets of training courses have been conducted: Pilot training in three universities in Mauritius and an “Educate the Educator” workshop in Germany. The workshop in Germany had participants from five African countries: Ghana, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia. Five teaching modules have been produced. They cover issues like turning sustainable lifestyles into business ideas, pitching ideas, running a business, and support networks for businesses working on sustainable lifestyles. The guiding principle of the Smart Start-up training is experimental learning and learning!by!doing. This includes lots of content specific games, as well as activities to encourage creative thinking and collective brainstorming. This experimental and experiential methodology has been chosen specifically since it allows for creativity to flow in a much better way than standard uni- directional teaching (creativity being a cornerstone of the students thinking “outside the box” and coming up with sustainable business ideas). The methodology encourages the participants to think beyond their traditional fields of academic specialization, also in many ways pushing them beyond their typical comfort zones, in a positive and proactive way.

Using a catalytic approach to build the basis for sustainable lifestyles in the

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future The SMART start/up initiative is a good example of an innovative approach to target entrepreneurs-to- be who are already in the education phase. These kind of catalytic approaches, which involve the whole triangle of change (see chapter 1), are needed in order to change step-by-step the way business is done and to achieve truly systemic change. Furthermore, the pilot trainings have had very good reception among the participants. Some have even said that it has been a life-changing experience for them.

More information: http://www.scp-centre.org/projects/ongoing-projects/african-universities.html

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4 Conclusions

This final chapter draws up conclusions from the case studies in the form of Top Ten Recommenda- tions for High Impact Sustainable Consumption Policies. After that there are short sections on the need for systemic change and the importance of impact evaluation. The review is concluded with reflection on what to consider when replicating sustainable consumption initiatives in a new context.

4.1 The Top Ten Recommendations for High Impact Sustainable Con- sumption Policies

4.1.1 From product and service information to emotional storytelling A recurring feature in the successful cases covered, is going beyond a purely fact-based approach in order to engage consumers on a personal and emotional level. This can be seen in different forms, from the multimedia presentations of the Environment Train to the emphasis on dialogues in the collaboration of the Intercultural Sister classrooms and the adaption of know how to daily life and cultural realities in the YouthXchange programme. In this way, sustainable initiatives reflect the learnings of private sector consumer marketing and re- cognise that the seeds of the current consumption crisis may also contain some of its solutions. Since the 1950s marketers have chosen personal, identity-based storytelling to advertise products, setting the foundation for an explosion of consumerism that started in the United States and spread around the world since. Such stories present symbolic situations analogous to our own experience that we grasp and accept it at an intuitive, values-based level. For example, a long running 1960s advertising campaign of VW, repositioned themselves as an alternative to mainstream car makers. Apple com- puters did the same in the 1980s against the PC market, creating their lasting brand image as a lifestyle choice. In this way the campaigns created the feeling among consumers that the car someone drives or the gadgets they use says a lot about who the person is. This has been extended to drive demand through the concept of perceived obsolescence, especially in the electronics area. The consumer is made to believe that despite the fact that his current electronic devices are still working per- fectly he needs to purchase the latest inventions in order to gain social acceptance. The same personal connection applies to social marketing also, where marketing principles are used to change social behaviour rather than sell a product. Facts alone do not cause behaviour change. To reach audiences on a personal scale, people working to foster sustainable behaviour should add storytelling and similar tools to their policy portfolio . The case of The Story of Stuff connects globalised production chains to a human perspective and in the case of Echt Elly the topic is fully integrated into a narrative of someone’s life. 58 scp-centre.org

However is has to be clearly stated that transparent and increased product and service information are crucial for every Sustainable Consumption policy strategy. They enable consumers to decide according to their individual preferences and to make a sustainable choice. There are enormous opportunities and a good momentum for these kinds of approaches. Social marketing has a 40-year history of experience to draw upon, plus there are vast lessons to be learnt by observing traditional consumer marketing. The Internet has rapidly levelled the playing field in the media marketplace by reducing distribution costs and removing the barriers of traditional corporate spend- ing and gatekeepers who limited the broadcast of messages that ran counter to consumerism’s values. The recent emergence of social media has spawned a distribution model through which an inspiring message that connects with personal values can move almost instantly and at nearly no cost through networks of mutual trust. The One Did It and YouthXchange initiatives took advantage of such possibilities to create virtual communities as a tool for future change. 4.1.2 From one off actions to brand building for lasting relationships One of the key challenges when designing Sustainable Consumption Campaigns is to generate interest and awareness in an initiative itself. This usually requires concerted effort and investment that need not all be lost after initial campaign as long as the initiative creates sufficient brand identity. A brand identity helps build a relationship with consumers based on an emotional and meaning asso- ciations with a product, service or in this case initiative. The brand becomes an entity and brings powerful benefits of recognition and familiarity, allowing existing trust to carry to new campaigns and trig- gers learning and reinforcement at the point of exposure or experience. For example when a person sees a Velib bike with its specific appearance in Paris, he or she gets reminded of the campaign and that bikes are an essential part of a city. Many of the cases used key elements of brand identity: the choice of name such as Cool Biz or UNEP/UNESCO YouthXchange, distinct logos like 10:10, and endorsement of social references like Elly, the celebrity hosting the Echt Elly show. This can be taken further with harmonised colour coding, typography and imagery (as with the story of stuff) and even creation of a personality for the initiative itself. Good branding can not only save future investments by building brand capital, but is also a bind- ing factor for different aspects of an initiative and a key to changing consumption behaviour with the same tools that currently shape it. 4.1.3 From targeting individuals to facilitating collective action Another promising way to ensure long-term commitment to a policy (target) is to emphasize the social aspect of Sustainable Consumption. People build their identities through consumption, and most of the time they do not want to act much differently than the surrounding community. Belonging is a powerful part of identity and a powerful motivation. Shared experiences and commitments to others increase the level of consumer action, thus targeting a group of individuals is often more effective than targeting individuals separately. In other words SC initiatives should be supportive to collective progress aiming to mainstream sustainable consumption. Creating virtual or real communities, such as in the One did it or in the Intercultural Sister Classrooms, where people can learn, compare and exchange sustainable consumption experiences are promising elements for successful campaigns. The good 59 scp-centre.org

results of the Transition Towns, among others, demonstrate that group setting can overcome apathy by showing that people are not acting alone and by encouraging them to help each other to tackle new challenges. Collective problem solving is an effective way to find creative answers and can be further enhanced by the participation of experts. A special emphasize should be put on strong community based action. It is important that people are enabled to work together, both as consumers and perhaps more importantly, as citizens. Transition towns and other community level initiatives have the potential to influence governance and decision making at the local level and thus foster more active citizenship. Furthermore, community level action has another concrete benefit in creating demand and supply for sustainable products. As demonstrated in the Agri-fond case, economic disincentives can be overcome through collective, community based action and through networking between producers and consumers. However some contextual parameters need to be considered when making the decision between an individualistic or collective approach. New findings from research (Kramer et. al., 2006: Individual Pre- ferences Versus Group Preferences: The Effect of Cultural Orientation on Consumer Receptivity to Customized Offers) may help policy makers better target their messages for more effective returns. According to study and survey results, individual consumers are best persuaded with an alluring promotional approach. Conversely group members respond to messages of prevention and social cohe- sion. The effectiveness of persuasion depends on the kind of benefits promised, and whether consumers view themselves as either autonomous beings or members of an interdependent group. Cultural factors outside anyone's control as well as message content both play a role in making one type of appeal more effective than another. Consumers with a culturally more "independent" mindset tending toward self-improvement and self-enhancement goals are engaged by an individualistic approach, while a collective approach is more effective among consumers with an "interdependent" mind set, who rather think of themselves in a context emphasizing responsibilities to others. For example, a social marketing campaign trying to convince citizens to do more sports in order to prevent obesity and related health issues could promote sports as energizing and fun. In addition the policy could emphasize the aspect of meeting friends and enjoying shared happiness. One approach relates to the consumer as an individual, the other shows the individual surrounded by “family”. The findings have significant implications for cross-cultural policy making. Members of collectivistic cultures are less likely to perceive it to be their right to make choices that reflect their personal inner attributes, and are less concerned with being distinct from others. They rely more on external factors, such as their role in a group or their relationship with other group members, than on their internal attributes. This supports the view that customizing policies to individual preferences may be limited by the cultural orientation of their citizens. However, the research also found out that collectivists may only respond more favourably to incentives not based on their own preferences when these are targeting behaviour conducted in public, so targeting collective action should consider its visibility too.

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4.1.4 From sporadic changes to truly sustainable lifestyles in high impact areas In recent years the debate on sustainable consumption was dominated by the paradigm of consuming differently. It was highlighted that the transformative power of the market is able to deliver greater efficiency in industrial processes, cleaner and greener products, and more sustainable consumer choices. However this ratio neglects one of the key lessons from the past: efficiency improvements are often outstripped by increased consumption levels elsewhere. Thus the debate has been supplemented by emphasizing that people actually might be happier and enjoy a better quality of life by consuming less. In this context concepts like voluntary ‘down-shifting’ introduce benefits like better work-life balance, wellbeing or more quality time with families and friends. For example the Velib project in Paris or the mobility concept in the city of Freiburg, Germany focus not only on spreading usage of more sustainable products but also on educating and enabling people to lead ‘ happy, healthy lives’ within their fair share of the earth’s resources. It is important to keep in mind that the two basic approaches are not competing. A comprehensive policy approach to reach a true one planet society needs both change models. One aims for increased self-reliance and simpler lives, calling for large-scale changes in people’s aspirations and behaviours. The other seeks higher sustainability in the continuing march of progress, opening up the possibility of new, more sustainable products that simultaneously improve our lives. Furthermore, many studies have shown that the biggest environmental impacts are caused by the consumption cluster of housing, mobility and food thus the emphasis should be put on achieving big lifestyle changes in these areas, instead of increasing the share of sustainable products consumed. However, it is beneficial to complement initiatives aimed at food (e.g. Vegetarian Alternative case), mobility (e.g. Transport in the City of Freiburg) and housing (Eco-energy Retrofit scheme), by initiatives focusing on products, such as the Top Ten initiative. 4.1.5 From static to evolutionary information instruments Rapid technological advance is a major force in many consumer goods markets. This observation applies not only to electrical and electronic goods, but also to, for instance, non energy-using products such as cleaning products. ‘Classical’ policy instruments, such as obligatory efficiency labelling or voluntary eco-labelling, are increasingly incapable of coping with accelerated product and market development. Hence, a dynamisation of requirements and a shortening of revision cycles becomes a crucial success factor for a policy that is to stimulate innovation and to support dissemination of greener products. Public-private-partnerships, such as the Top Ten initiative, that establish information platforms to present the ‘best-in-class’ in different product groups is one way of meeting this need for increased adaptability. The One Did It platform also contains attributes of a dynamic information instrument. It offers the user information on how much their ecological backpack is reduced by their daily choices and after that offers more tips on how to decrease even more their natural resource consumption in a step-by-step manner. Also the regular revision of teaching sources like in the case of the UNEP/UNESCO YouthXchange recognizes the fast growing and changing body of information on sustainable consumption.

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4.1.6 From predicting doom to creating positive visions Historically campaigning has focussed upon the potential dire consequences of our consumption patterns to the welfare of the planet. While awareness of these may be important in understanding the need for change this can often leave consumers with nothing more than unsatisfied fear and bad feeling for problems that seem out of their control. Research and practical experience has shown that the best way to motivate people is to give them positive visions about the impact of their actions instead of portraying threats. For example the Energy Neighbourhoods and the Sustainability Award initiatives focus on solutions rather than problems and engage people through entertaining competitions. The One tonne less campaign, even though it was in principle a quite traditional awareness raising campaigns, focused on the positive impact individual people can have through their daily choices. Further- more, the Environment Train in Algeria demonstrated the effectiveness of an entertaining “road show” to spread the message in a positive way. 4.1.7 From stand alone facts to comparative and contextual information Even though the environmental impact of a product or a service is quite often a complex question, it should be communicated to consumers in a clear way whenever possible. However people often feel that it is difficult to know what is in the end the most sustainable option. If information on environmental impacts is unclear or even contradictory, it might decrease the motivation of consumers or provide a reason to dismiss sustainability criteria altogether. In particular it is important for consumers to be able to compare among the products and services with regards to their environmental impact. Research has repeatedly proven that human beings make decisions on the basis of comparative information e.g. relative prices or relative quality. The Top Ten, One Did It and Sustainable Weeks in Austria are good examples of initiatives that enable easy comparisons between consumption choices. Also the UNEP/UNESCO YouthXchange platform is build to enable young people to understand how their daily consumption and lifestyle choices connect to global developments like resource depletion or climate change. 4.1.8 From asking for change to providing concrete alternatives Asking consumers to change their behaviour is useless, if they can’t identify an alternative for their unsustainable practice. Providing well-functioning public transport (such as in the Karlstad and Freiburg cases,) or bikes all around the city (see the Velib bike-sharing case) makes it easier to use private cars often . Realistic alternatives needs to be positioned with reference to existing choices to ensure that comparisons are acceptable and attractive- A key element of this includes “getting the prices right”. If a sustainable alternative is much more expensive than a conventional alternative, it is unrealistic to expect people to change their behaviour. The Energy Retrofit Scheme is a good example of getting the prices right. Special mention should also be given to default choices, such as those provided in schools and public institutions participating in the Vegetarian Initiative. Faced with complex choices, consumers often defer to a default so this should be the most sustainable option. More progressive approaches, such as the Smart Start Up, focus on building the base for a better supply of sustainable products and services to provide choice in the future. 62 scp-centre.org

4.1.9 From awareness raising to learning by doing It is often easier for people to learn new things through an active learning approach than through merely receiving new information. Most of the initiatives presented in this report contain an aspect of active and/or interactive participation. The types of action range from using a web based calculator to determine your own CO2 emissions or natural resource consumption (One tonne less, One Did It), to competing with others on sustainability achievements (Energy Neighbourhoods, the Sustainable Life- style Award) to involving the whole community on concrete projects towards sustainability (Transition Towns). Also the UN Intercultural Sister Classrooms project strives to enables students all over the world to collaborate on undertaking local projects for social and environmental improvement and sharing these experiences. Doing approaches are more likely to lead to further success and there are several behavioural explan- ations for this. It is human nature to search for consistency in our behaviours, which makes it hard to break old patterns but also easier to repeat new behaviours a second time and so on. This effect is also demonstrated in the way we reinforce our beliefs to fit our actions-for example finding reasons to justify what we already bought. Such behaviours begin to form part of our identity in the same way possessions do and we have a strong aversion to losing them. For these reasons it is sometimes easier to target behaviour first and attitudes later as seen in the Vegetarian Alternative initiative. 4.1.10 From giving orders to leading by example Sometimes when cultural habits have outlasted their original purpose and become part of the problem it is necessary to challenge them directly. Then reframing of the behaviour and social proof of change is important. To do so it is essential to demonstrate that the “new behaviour” is a priority for the whole country especially for the so called elites, opinion leaders or celebrities. The cool biz programme used a reframing of responsible virtues and the Prime minister as a role model in order to change positive perceptions of hot formal business wear. Also other projects such as the 10/10 initiative by Guardian, the One Tonne Less –campaign, and Echt Elly initiative demonstrate that public authorities as well as prominent public figures are convinced about the importance of changing lifestyles and that they also “practice what they preach”. Further- more, a very important aspect in giving an example is green public procurement, i.e. sustainable institutional consumption as exemplified by the activities of Swedish Environmental Management Council.

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markets, institutions and hierarchy (the three basic forms .

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4.2 The Role of Systemic Transition Management

The transition towards increased sustainable consumption seems often to presuppose the need for radical changes. However change in the context of sustainable development should be seen as a long-term process in which steady progress in the right direction is regarded as more essential than quick success. Pressing for radical changes bears a serious risk of becoming counter productive, because it is often wasteful and may prevent the best possible ways to exploit innovations. In addition rapid change over a wide front of applications and sectors is usually impossible. Not to forget pressing for rapid changes usually encounters strong opposition from interest groups, thereby risking to get involved in tough and resource consuming acceptability discourses. Thus the concept of transition management is a helpful frame and tool for sustainable consumption strategies since change towards sustainability in a world of complex and dynamic human-ecological systems, is an unending process of transformation. The model conceptualises the sustainability challenge for policy as a transition process: unsustainable, different but interdependent functional systems have to undergo a co-evolutionary transition. Thus transitions involving system innovation can- not be managed in a controlling sense but they can be aimed and guided in an iterative, forward- looking, and adaptive manner. Transition management breaks with the old plan-and-implement model aimed at achieving particular outcomes. It is based on a different, more process-oriented philosophy. This helps to deal with com- plexity and uncertainty in a constructive way. The current cases found fall short of this, reflecting huge remaining opportunity. However the success of combining diverse stakeholder groups in the 10:10 campaign or One Planet Sutton hint at this potential and the combination of the right communication, policy indicators and incentives in the eco- retrofit, City of Freiburg and Karlstad cases show signs of a more systemic way of thinking. True transition management does not aim to realise a particular path at all costs. It engages in the exploration of promising paths, in an adaptive manner. It does not consist of a strategy of forced development, going against the grain, but uses bottom-up initiatives, catalysts and business ideas of alternative systems, offering sustainability benefits beside user benefits. It puts government policies in a different, longer-term perspective and tries to better align specific policies. It is not based on blueprint thinking. No choice is made about ideal future functional systems. Different visions and routes are investigated through adaptive policies: decisions are made in an iterative way.

4.3 The Importance of Impact Evaluation

Despite the large amounts of money spent on sustainable consumption policies each year, there is still very little known about the actual impact of projects on consumer behaviour. As the introductory paragraph of this study shows there is a growing scientific understanding on the basic action areas in order to address consumer behaviour. But for a specific program or project in a given country, the

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questions very often remain open if the intervention produced the intended benefits and what the overall impact on the population was. Could the program or project be better designed to achieve the intended outcomes? Are resources being spent efficiently? These are the types of questions that can only be answered through an impact evaluation, an approach which measures the outcomes of a program intervention in isolation of other possible factors. Many Governments, institutions, and project managers are reluctant to carry out impact evaluations because they are deemed to be expensive, time consuming, technically complex, and because the findings can be politically sensitive, particularly if they are negative. Many evaluations have also been criticized because the results come too late, do not answer the right questions, or were not carried out with sufficient analytical rigor. A further constraint is often the limited availability and quality of data. Yet with proper and early planning, the support of policy makers, and a relatively small investment compared to overall project cost, a rigorous evaluation can be very powerful in assessing the appro- priateness and effectiveness of programs. If programs are poorly designed, do not reach their intended beneficiaries, or are wasteful, with the right information they can be redesigned, improved, or eliminated if deemed necessary. The knowledge gained from impact evaluation studies will also provide critical input to the appropriate design of future programs and projects. Only a number of projects discussed in this study were reviewed by more or less comprehensive impact assessments. (according to the publicly available information). By the end of the One tonne less campaign there were over 92,000 climate pledges that together would represent a saving of approximately 163,000 tons of CO2. A great achievement without any doubt. Nevertheless it must be criticized that there is no overview on the actually amount of people that kept there promises. The eco Energy Retrofit programme was assessed for example according to the number of pre- retrofit assessments, grant applications, number of energy advisors employed etc. However no clear environmental evaluations for example on tons of CO2 emission saved were conducted. The later would be very important to compare the effectiveness of the policy instruments compared to others in terms of the amount of money invested. However it seems that there are still opportunities for improvements in with regards to planning, scope and effort.

4.4 The Road Ahead

Researching markets and replicating success When considering inspiring and successful cases the question remains to what extent they can be replicated elsewhere. Cultural factors, development stages, existing attitudes and infrastructure may all affect suitability at the local level. Taking a campaign approach to initiatives it is useful to distinguish strategy and execution. All initiatives can be assessed for fit with wider overall policy strategy and in this respect many of the cases featured share common objectives replicable across borders - 'One tonne less' and 'One did it' both worked to reduce personal emission levels.

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Creative executions inspire but they should be seen as the last step of a well designed campaign. Transferring specific executions requires reviewing them in a local context. For example The Envi- ronment train in Algeria was successful in its objective of taking environmental themes to the public, but both the information and medium may need changing for awareness levels and interests in Eu- rope. Most initiatives analysed in chapter 3 demonstrated good understanding of their target audience, such as Cool Biz identifying working practices or Echt Elly hooking into popular media tastes. All local executions work best when informed and supported by basic market research insights. An idea of socio-demographics, media preferences and dominant attitudes are an essential base for campaign strategy and are often available from existing studies. Going further, a segmentation approach to groups of consumers enables identification of how initiatives can fit to their world-views, lifestyles and behaviours, allowing them to mobilise, exemplify and influence those around them. Messages can be designed for broad appeal but targeting key groups and agents of change is more effective.

A marketing mix for sustainable consumption initiatives One possible framework to review execution is a marketing mix. The traditional product marketing mix of the 4 P's - Product, Price, Place and Promotion plus 3 additional P's of service marketing- People, Process and Physical Evidence all have corresponding meaning in sustainable consumption initiatives, as do 2 recent additions of macro Politics and Public opinion. Table 2 outlines a draft checklist of questions to help consider the design and replication of initiatives. They are not exhaustive or definitive but provoke consideration of the relevant dimensions that influence an initiative's success and effectiveness. A well rounded initiative is likely to be aware of all of these. A key concept at the heart of the mix is congruence. The effect of the initiative is multiplied when a mix of approaches is being used, for example a selection of different media to reinforce the same message or the combination of different tools inside the same initiative. The 10:10 campaign, UNEP/UNESCO youthxchange programme and One Planet Sutton are good examples of this.

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Table 2. Considering Replication - a check-list for sustainable consumption initiatives. Marketing Dimensions Questions for sustainable consumption initiatives The Product Dimension

PRODUCT • Is the core offer or meaning of the initiative relevant to the end consumer or agent of change? • How will they relate to it and what does it bring to their lifestyle or wellbeing? • What will their references for comparison be?

PRICE • What is the expected cost vs. benefit perception? • Does increased well-being, image or social approval justify the 'price' of consumer 'buying-in'? • How do investments and paybacks compare in short and longer term?

PROMOTION • What methods are chosen to advertise, communicate and incentivise awareness and involvement? • What channels and media will reach the target audience? • Are all these tools diverse and aligned to reinforce and multiply effect?

PLACE • Where will the initiative reach the consumer or be used or experienced by them? • Does the environment fit with the presentation of the message?

The Service Dimension

PEOPLE • Is the right team in place to deliver the initiative? • Have all relevant stakeholders been involved and partnerships initiated? • Are staff and individuals at points of contact trained and congruent with the message? PROCESS • What is the critical path and are there barriers to foresee and overcome? • What steps ensure smooth execution? PHYSICAL EVIDENCE • Where and how does the initiative show it's worked and 'prove' its worth. • How should success be evaluated? • What will be the social proof needed for mainstream acceptance?

The Macro Dimension

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Marketing Dimensions Questions for sustainable consumption initiatives POLITICS • What stakeholder interaction is required to ensure successful cooperation? • What conflicting interests need to be overcome? • How can the the whole triangle of change be activated? PUBLIC OPINION • What is the status quo and dominant mindset? • Where must opinions travel from and to? • Who are the key opinion leaders and groups to target?

Open questions for improving success This study relates to one of the most pressing questions in achieving sustainable consumption, namely how existing experience and knowledge can be used in a best practice approach. Certainly the chosen framework of the 4 E’s have a high value in creating the action space for facilitating change, especially when they are combined together. Furthermore 10 characteristics of successful programmes were identified in order to create high impact and deliver meaningful results. These success factors begin to form a toolbox for initiative design. For a rounded strategy and in transferring existing ideas to a local context the 9P’s provide a further tool. It sketches a marketing framework for executions and proposes some of the key considerations in planning initiatives. So the presented findings build the base for developing a full model for consumer initiatives design and evaluation to be used as a blueprint in the international setting. While some of the initiatives had clear results, it became clear that future work also needs to be di- rected towards establishing clearer and more sophisticated evaluation and monitoring processes to determine lasting impacts. In addition the study touches on several behavioural factors, which affect the likelihood of actions or lasting results, and which are not comprehensively understood and applied. Many insights and findings of social science are of growing importance here. Further research and pilot projects on changing consumer attitudes, values and norms will deliver valuable knowledge towards the transition to a sustainable society. In this context social networking and the field of new media constitute a new and fast developing leverage point in the area of sustainable consumption policy. Their effective use will require new creative approaches, the right platforms and monitoring of what works. The role of combining such diverse expertise and approaches in a trans-disciplinary approach to initiatives on sustainable consumption remains an opportunity. In this way future initiatives can further fulfil their potential to transfer good science and policy to everyday behaviours.

Governance towards sustainable consumption: The end is open The final characteristic with implications for governance is that sustainable development is an open- ended process. It is not usefully conceived as a particular specified or specifiable

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short or mid term target. Pursuit of sustainability is a long-term, indeed continual process. The notion of sustainable ‘landing places’ that is sometimes used in the political discussion is therefore misleading. It suggests that the problem of sustainable development can be ‘solved’ whereas in reality specific issues always need to be resolved and managed. There always will be challenges and needs for change Furthermore, implementing a commitment to sustainable development in the long term demands a substantial transition not just a broader understanding and a more ambitious set of objectives. More coherently aligned institutional structures and processes governing markets and consumer choice on a every day scale are needed. Clearly, this is not a transition that can be done quickly or easily. The challenge is map out how such a transition can be accomplished and to develop a core set of tools that would make systemic governance for sustainable consumption manageable.

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5 Annex 1 - Case categorization

Basic categories of consumer oriented environmental initiatives: 1. Sector-specific initiatives (transport, food, energy, tourism, housing, leisure, health, etc.) 2. Initiatives aimed at specific environmental challenges such as climate change, biodiversity, air pollution, etc. 3. General environmental awareness-raising campaigns targeting consumers (consumers include purchasers, business, etc); 4. Educational programmes and capacity-building activities (formal education from primary school to higher education; informal education); 5. Entrepreneurship and business initiatives aimed at developing sustainable B2B offers, sustainable procurement and supply chains; 6. Marketing and advertising campaigns (green/social marketing, corporate communications), promotional operations, standards and certification schemes; 7. Other responsible consumption initiatives aimed at integrating environmental concerns/challenges into consumption schemes (e.g. carbon compensation mechanisms, community based action). 8. Governments’ efforts to lower barriers to environmental actions

Summary of the cases: Which category of the basic framework the case belongs to and what is the geographical area.

Num- Case name Which basic category Coun- Sub-category ber belongs to3 try/region 1 Eco Energy Retrofit 1 Canada Encouraging through public Scheme authority action 2 One tonne less – 2 Denmark Encouraging through public campaign authority & private sector & civil society partnership

3 See category numbers above the table.

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Num- Case name Which basic category Coun- Sub-category ber belongs to3 try/region 3 The Environment Train 3 Algeria Encouraging through public authority action

4 Intercultural sister 4 Latin American Encouraging & engaging classrooms and USA through formal education

5 YouthXchange platform 4 Latin America, Encouraging through formal West Asia, education Philippines 6 Transition Towns 7 Global Engaging through community

7 Energy Neighbour- 7 Europe-wide Engaging through civil society hoods & public authority partnership 8 One Planet Sutton 7 UK Engaging and enabling through civil society & public authority partnership 9 Agri-Fond Association 5 China Engagomg through community

10 Vegetarian Alternative 1 Belgium Exemplifying through civil society & public authority partnership 11 Echt Elly –programme 6 Netherlands Exemplifying through media

12 Cool Biz Campaign 8 Japan Exemplifying through public authority action 13 The Velib (free bike) 8 France Enabling through private sector programme & public authority partnership

14 Top ten 6 Switzerland Enabling through civil society & public authority partnership

15 Transport in city of 1 Germany Enabling through public auth- Freiburg ority action 16 Smart Start Up 4 Africa-wide Enabling through formal education 17 Sustainable weeks 6 Austria Enabling through private sector & public authority partnership 18 One did it platform 4 Europe Encouraging & engaging through civil society and private sector partnership

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Num- Case name Which basic category Coun- Sub-category ber belongs to3 try/region 19 The Story of Stuff docu- 3 Global Encouraging through media mentary 20 The Sustainable Life- 4 Germany Engaging through formal edu- styles Award for School cation 21 Public transport in 1 Sweden Enable through public authority Karlstad action 22 GPP in Sweden 5 Sweden Exemplify through public authority and private sector partnership 23 10:10 3 UK Engaging through media

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6 Annex 2 - Additional cases

1. Austrian Environmental Performance Eco- Austria http://www.umweltbildung.at/cgi- Label for Schools (since 2002 ongoing) bin/cms/af.pl?ref=en 2. KonsuManiac Austria http://www.umweltbildung.at/cgi- bin/cms/af.pl?contentid=10839 3. Internet-based Electricity-Consumption- Austria http://www.e- Check by e-control control.at/de/konsumenten/service-und- beratung/effizienz-checks 4. Sustainable breakfast (2007) Austria www.score-network.org 5. Clean Clothes Campaign Austria http://www.cleanclothes.at/ 6. Bio-Action-Days – Action Days on Organic Austria www.bio-austria.at Food) 7. klima:aktiv Austria www.klimaaktiv.at 8. Sustainable Travelling Austria http://www.reisamitdemplus.at 9. Green Money Austria http://www.gruenesgeld.at/ 10 ‘What’s at home counts!’ – Environmental Czech Republic http://www.cenia.cz education programme for young people 11 ORGANIC GOES TO SCHOOL Czech Republic http://www.bioinstitut.cz/english/documents/ rocenka_v_Aj_08-na_web.pdf 12 Packaging waste duty Denmark https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R071 0.aspx?id=14902 In Danish only 13 The Danish Electricity Saving Trust Denmark http://www.savingtrust.dk/ 14 Labeling of organic restaurants, cantinas Denmark http://www.foedevarestyrelsen.dk

Information Centre for Environment & Denmark http://www.miljoeogsundhed.dk Health 2003

15 Sustainable consumption portal Denmark http://www.forbrug.dk/baeredygtig/

16 Green Responsibility – Make a difference Denmark http://www.groentansvar.dk

17 Ecological ‘Bonus-Malus’ system for the France http://www.bonus-ecologique.com/ purchase of private cars 18 "Faisons vite, ça chauffe" Energy Cam- France http://www.faisonsvite.fr/ paign 19 Internet site of the Association Consodur- France http://www.consodurable.fr/ able 20 HVE (Haute Valeur Environnementale) - France http://www.legrenelle- voluntary environmental certification environnement.gouv.fr/ scheme for farms

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21 White Certificates France http://www2.ademe.fr/ servlet/KBaseShow?sort=- 1&cid=96&m=3&catid=15024 22 Retailers’ commitments with regard to France http://www.developpement- sustainable development durable.gouv.fr/article.php3?id_article=2832 23 Germany’s Climate Initiative Germany http://www.bmu.de/english/ clmate_initiative/general_information/doc/42 000.php 24 Energy efficiency and energy saving in low Germany http://www.isoe.de/english/projects/energyef income households f.htm 25 consumer alliance for climate protection Germany http://www.verbraucherfuersklima.de 26 Sustainable Shopping Basket Germany http://www.nachhaltigkeits- rat.de/en/projects/projects-of-the-council/ sustainable-goods-project- 20022003/?blstr=0 27 Environmentally friendly and healthy school Germany http://www.karstadt.de/redme- start dia/unternehmen/de/nachhaltigkeit/461.htm 28 Promotion of Eco-Fair Trade products Germany www.fairtrade.org, www.transfair.org, www.weltlaeden.de, www.oeko-fair.de, http://www.forum-fairerhandel. de/cms/, http://www.fairewoche.de/ 29 Sustainable Retail Initiative” (Initiative Germany www.nachhaltige-produkte.de or Nachhaltig handeln) towards better con- www.nachhaltig-einkaufen.de sumer orientation and information on sustainable products and CSR issues (2007 30 National Action Plan IN FORM on healthy Germany http://www.in- diet and more physical activity form.de/cln_090/nn_1511844/DE/Home/ 02InForm/InForm__node.html?__nnn 31 Environment & Greener Living UK http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Environmentand greenerliving/index.htm 32 Greener Living Fund (2008) UK http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/how-do- we-work/third-sector/strategy/ greener-living-fund.htm 33 Warm Front (2000) UK http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndB enefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSup- port/On_a_low_income/DG_10018661 34 Love Food Hate Waste UK http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/ 35 Courtauld Commitment (2005) UK http://www.wrap.org.uk/retail/courtauld_com mitment/ 36 Eatwell UK http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/ 37 Vehicle Excise Duty UK http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Ownin gAVehicle/ HowToTaxYourVehicle/DG_10012524 38 Bikeability UK http://www.bikeability.org.uk/

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39 Cycling City, Cycling Town UK http://www.dft.gov.uk/cyclingengland/site/wp -content/ uploads/2009/03/planning-for-cycling-exec- summary-10-3- 09.pdf 40 Low Carbon Buildings Programme UK http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/home/ 41 ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustaina- Global http://www.iclei.org/index.php?id=801 bility 42 Japan for Sustainability Japan http://www.japanfs.org/en/ 43 America’s great outdoor initiative USA http://www.doi.gov/americasgreatoutdoors/ 44 Homestar Individuals USA http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press- office/fact-sheet-homestar-energy- efficiency-retrofit-program

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7 Screened studies

Screened Studies CSCP Tunçer, B.; Kuhndt, M.; Schaller, S. (2009): How to drive Business Value through Sustainable Con- sumption Strategies? CSCP Booklet series on “Making the Business Case Towards Low Carbon and Resource Efficient Lifestyles”. Upcoming.

Herrndorf, M.; Tunçer, B. (2009): Consume more, use less: Business strategies for sustainable consumption in base-of-the-pyramid markets. CSCP Booklet series on “Making the Business Case To- wards Low Carbon and Resource Efficient Lifestyles”. Upcoming

CSCP/UNEP (2008): Retailers Calendar – A Guidelines Manual for Retailers towards Sustainable Consumption & Production, p. 11. Available at: www.scp-centre.org/RETAILERS_ROLE_TOWARDS_SCP.1938.0.html. Kuhndt, M.; Tunçer, B.; Schaller, S. (2005): An Analysis of the Potential of Sector-wide Initiatives to Achieve Sustainable Production and Consumption Systems and Implications for Governance Sys- tems, Contribution to the project Life Cycle Approaches to Sustainable Consumption; on Behalf of the Society of Non-Traditional Technology,

Kuhndt, M.; Schäfer, J.; Liedtke, C. (2002): Developing a system of sectoral sustainability indicators for the European aluminium industry. In: Industry and Environment, Volume 25 No.3-4, July – December 2002, UNEP/DTIE, p. 67-71. Available at: www.unep.fr/shared/docs/review/vol25no3- 4/I&E25_34.pdf and the project report, available at: www.alufuture.org/affg/pdf/Wuppertal%20FullReport.pdf.

UNEP

UNEP, Report on the work of the Task Force on Sustainable Lifestyle (2010, 68 pages)

UNEP/UNESCO YouthXchange Training Kit on Sustainable Consumption: Towards Sustainable Life- styles (2nd Updated Edition 2008) (2008, English, 84 pages)

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UNEP, Greening Shops and Saving Costs: A Practical Guide for Retailers (2006, English, 56 pages)

UNEP, Sustainability Communications: A Toolkit for Marketing and Advertising Courses (2006, Eng- lish, 90 pages)

UNEP, SCP Roundtables in China and India: An overview of Sustainable Consumption and Produc- tion challenges and opportunities (2006, English, 8 pages)

UNEP, Talk the Walk: Advancing Sustainable Lifestyles through Marketing and Communication (2005, English, 52 pages)

UNEP, Advancing Sustainable Consumption in Asia: A Guidance Manual (2005, English, 73 pages)

UNEP, Communicating Sustainability: How to produce effective public campaigns (2005, English, 66 pages)

UNEP, Tracking Progress: Implementing sustainable consumption policies - A global review of implementation of the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection (Second Edition) (2005, Eng- lish, 79 pages

Others Mont, O. and C. Dalhammar (2005). Sustainable consumption: At the cross-road of environmental and consumer policies. International journal of sustainable development 8 (4), 258-279.

SCORE! – Sustainable Consumption Research Exchanges (2008): System Innovation for Sustaina- bility 1: Perspectives on Radical Changes to Sustainable Consumption and Production.

Zadeck, S.; Radovich, S. (2006): Governing Collaborative Governance: Enhancing Development Out- comes by Improving Partnership Governance and Accountability. AccountAbility and the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative, Working Paper No. 23, Cambridge, MA. Available at: www.hks.harvard.edu/m-rcbg/CSRI/publications/workingpaper_23_zadek_radovich.pdf.

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WBCSD (2008): Sustainable Consumption: Facts and trends from a business perspective, p. 22. www.wbcsd.org/DocRoot/I9Xwhv7X5V8cDIHbHC3G/WBCSD_Sustainable_Consumption_web.pdf.

Goldman Sachs (2008): The Expanding Middle: The Exploding World Middle Class and Falling Glo- bal Inequality. Global Economics Paper No: 170, July 7, 2008. Available at: www.ryanallis.com/wp- content/uploads/2008/07/expandingmiddle.pdf.

IBLF – International Business Leaders Forum (2008): Under the Spotlight – Building a better understanding of global business-NGO partnerships. Available at: www.iblf.org/docs/events/Spotlight.pdf