iCARBCommunity Groups Workshop

data * feedback * measuring/reporting

charting progress * social norms * selling the journey

Alan Brown

Carbon @ Community Level

• Measuring Absolute, Incremental or both ?

• Systemic Behaviour Change and Rebound Effect

• Hidden & public change

• Theory vs. Actual

• Internal accounting vs. community reporting

• Mixed messages / complex language

• REAP-Petite vs. Act on CO2

• Greenwash - Tesco Solar PV ad.

• 4-Cornered Triangle - Government, Business, Community & Individual

• Relating Cause and Effect - Efficient Feedback loops are Critical

• Death by 1000 Surveys... Technology can help in data gathering

LinlithgowGas and Electric DECC data

• What we have:• Good baseline indicator• Metered & Accurate• Annual Reports• Communities can relate

• IGZ data• S02001232 Linlithgow South• S02001234 Linlithgow North• S02001235 Linlithgow Bridge

• On-tap data• Crime Stats• Health, Births, Deaths• Employment, School Numbers• Population Stats• Cars Per Household etc..

Linlithgow Gas and Electricity Consumption what it looks like

What’s Missing for community action

• Data age - 2009 latest• Feedback loop efficiency

• Quarterly vs. annual data. Show seasonal variations / Granularity• Drill Down to Lower Data levels.• Merge key data sets. EST HEED / Energy Bills / National Stats

• Legal issues on DECC data access - Scotland - England divide• National Standards - Super Output Areas (England) vs. IGZ (Scotland)• Data Rights, Access & Format - Data processing? Triangle not working.

• Data improving for individual - not community (charts in energy Bills)

• What’s also missing• DVLA - Annual Car mileage records from New Reg. not Year 3 at MOT• Food stats from ALL retailers. Food source / stats per community.• Farm data.• Local Authority data• HEED access loss. Excessive data security.

The language of Climate Action in communities.

Up is Good - Zero is Freezing

• Conditioned with words and charts where FASTER/UPWARDS/MORE are viewed positive, success, rewarding and beneficial.

• FTSE Charts

• Sales Figures

• TV News Graphics

• Church Thermometers

• Fear of Negative GDP negative growth!

• Gov: Faster Sustainable Economic Growth

• PERSONAL IMPACT EXCEPTIONS: Rising Petrol Prices?

top down messages... do these motivate us ?

Changing Norms

• Purchasing Information Labels

• Comet Website• Rated on a Scale of A-G

• (A being the most energy efficient)• Hover Over Item - (A-C)• Top/Bottom

• 111 (A)• 131 (A+) (315)• 26 (A++) (260)• 2 (A+++) (160)

• A to G vs A+++ to G

• Green is Good/Go, Red is Bad/Stop

• Up is Heaven, Down is Hell !

And what are we saying today ?

• Climate Change

• Peak Oil

• Zero Waste Scotland

• Low Carbon Society

• Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

• Energy Saving Trust

• We really are Selling the Sausage!

Sell the Sizzle - NOT the Sausage

Transition - Think Differently

“Mind your Carbon Language”

• The Importance of Story Telling

• Measuring growth of new good things not the decline of the present.

• Use the right colours

• Simple language (kg/£/numbers)

• Leveraging 50+ Years of marketing skills and using them for social change and not just consumerism. eg. Futerra.

• Selling the future - positive, rewarding.

• Consider Cultural Dynamics. What sectors of soc. are motivated by less? vs. New/Cheap/Modern/...

If we are going to sell a carbon message.keep it simple, use colour carefully, trend upwards for progress, watch your words, scale appropriately, reward, normalise, avoid complex language.

ABCDEF

£’s not kgCO2-e

Thank-you

• We need to focus on what’s worth measuring and do it really well

• We need to learn how to market our progress

• We must avoid complex language and confusing/conflicting advice

• Don’t presume that your community understands the problem, the challenge or the opportunity.

• Any questions ?