Solving the current environmental crisis poses quite a challenge. Global issues such as climate change and energy scarcity can only be addressed if every person is engaged as part of the solution. Yet, because these problems are so daunting, people increasingly feel that their individual actions have no impact. For any environmental initiative to succeed, it is vital that people believe they can make a difference. Telling them that their choices count is not enough; they have to see it for themselves.
One Change programs empower people to believe that simple actions matter and that they can make smart energy choices in their daily lives without huge sacrifices. Our programs work because they offer people a free, hands-on way to make an immediate change that leads to others.
Improving on traditional information-based campaigns, One Change programs are built on the tenets and tactics of an innovative new approach to behavior change called community-based social marketing (CBSM). As explained by Canadian psychologist Doug McKenzie-Mohr:
“Community-based social marketing is based upon research in the social sciences that demonstrates that behavior change is most effectively achieved through initiatives delivered at the community level which focus on removing barriers to an activity while simultaneously enhancing the activity’s benefits.”
– CBSM.com
One Change has proven that community-based social marketing works. It empowers people with the knowledge and resources to make smart energy choices in their daily lives. We tie a simple, action-oriented message to universally understood technologies (such as light bulbs and tire gauges), making individual action free and easy, and connecting it to global impact. We then mobilize existing community groups to deliver these tools and messages locally. Doing so creates new community networks for action that can be used again.
The award-winning Project Porchlight is our flagship campaign. But we aren’t stopping there. By engaging people in their own neighbourhoods, our volunteers have personalized contacts and been able to ask questions at the door that can help refine future energy conservation and environmental campaigns. With each program, One Change grows stronger.
Project Porchlight “Change within reach”
The light at the front door is a beacon, a symbol of community, and a declaration of welcome to others. It’s also the place where the person-to-person communication at the heart of One Change occurs. Since 2005, over 7,000 volunteers in 300 North American communities have been engaged to carry the “Simple Actions Matter” message with a free energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) door-to-door in their own neighbourhoods. To date, more than 1.5 million CFLs have been delivered, with Project Porchlight campaigns currently running in four provinces and two states.
Green the Season
In 2007, One Change was hired by the Ontario Power Authority to run a province-wide campaign promoting the use of seasonal LEDs (energy efficient Christmas lights). Working with two retail partners and more than 200 volunteers, we held light exchange events in 28 Ontario communities over one weekend in November 2007. Nearly four tonnes of wasteful incandescent light strings were collected and recycled in exchange for energy efficient LED light strings.
Get the Gauge
One Change’s newest “Simple Actions Matter” campaign focuses on fuel efficiency. Building on the success of Project Porchlight, our team will deliver free keychain tire gauges to communities across North America, offering a gateway to awareness and individual action on personal vehicle efficiency. A series of on-site pressure clinics and public events with local celebrities will roll out in the spring of 2009, with a new set of energy, automotive and retail partners and sponsors. Stay tuned!
Water
Join us in protecting the most valuable resource of all. We’re working on an innovative water conservation campaign for 2009, unlike anything you’ve seen before. Be part of the creative group!
We’d like to hear your program ideas and comments. Contact us today.