Having recently spent nearly two years working for a sustainability communications agency, I’ve seen quite a few public climate change campaigns and initiatives from around the world come and go.
Whether at local, regional or national level, there are common threads that determine the chances of success. If a campaign can demonstrate how easy it can be for ordinary people to take part and show or measure the impact that their actions are having, then public interest and even long-term participation can become a reality. Furthermore, there is even the prospect of individuals becoming local advocates for a campaign if you make them really believe in it for themselves. This the best possible outcome, but obviously the most difficult to achieve.
The Team Green Britain campaign, sponsored by EDF and London 2012, may well have what it takes to make a difference. At it’s heart, it’s all about encouraging neighbourhood-based actions that people organise for themselves. The absence of any preachy language is refreshing. It uses gentle encouragement to suggest that climate change actions are more effective if they are ‘amplified’ by those of others, and that they can (and should) be easy and fun to do.
Getting together with neighbours and friends to organise street parties and swap stuff, or re-discovering your local area by walking around it are not new ideas. However, the ‘big idea’ is that they have been brought together in one campaign. For that alone, it deserves as much support as we can give it.
http://www.teamgreenbritain.org/
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