Home Energy Labels in Oregon  

Home Energy Labels in Oregon is one of the first and best evaluated implementations of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Home Energy Score^TM. The Home Energy Score^TM was developed to provide homeowners, buyers and renters with credible and directly comparable details about a home’s energy consumption. The ultimate goal was for homeowners to implement energy efficiency renovations. During the six months between July and December 2023, 464 participating households carried out home upgrades that saved 840,974 kWh per year, or 1,812 kWh per home per year. They undertook energy efficiency upgrades eleven times as often as non-participating households, and they claimed an upgrade incentive twelve times as often. An increase in consumer knowledge about energy efficiency, provided through assessor interaction and scorecard information, was a leading factor in the increase in upgrades. Designated a Landmark case study in 2024 by our building energy panel.

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Better Cotton  

Better Cotton has changed farming techniques (behaviors) that in turn, among other social benefits, decreased the amount of water used per hectare when cultivating cotton (climate change adaptation). In addition, in 2021 it set a target of also reducing greenhouse gas emissions per ton of Better Cotton produced by 50% from a 2017 baseline (climate change mitigation). Its primary focus is on fostering voluntary action by the commercial sector, not regulations for the commercial sector, nor consumer communications. A similar approach could be used to increase the sustainability (or other desired traits) of many different commodities that are grown, caught or mined, and then used to manufacture items for sale. Designated in 2024.

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Carbon Cure  

To meet global greenhouse gas targets, we will need to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, not just slow down emissions. Carbon Cure was designed to promote a shift in specification and purchasing behaviors across the construction supply chain, to recapture a significant amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and help abate climate change. This case study focuses on how the company promoted the rapid adoption by concrete plants of a new type of concrete – one that in its manufacturing process, removes and permanently stores significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. By 2021 it had enabled the capture of 142,046,000 lb. of CO2 over nine years, an average of 15,782,889 lb. / year. Designated a Landmark case study in 2024.

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Chicago’s Building Energy Rating System  

Chicago was the first U.S. city to require building owners to prominently post a building’s energy performance rating, and to share that that rating with potential buyers and/or renters. While the rating system was being introduced, ComEd and Peoples Gas ran extensive complementary incentive and rebate programs that enabled building owners and managers to make energy improvements at little to no cost. From 2017 to 2020, this program saved 7,293.6 million Btu (2.1 million kwh) per year. Designated a Landmark case study in 2022 by our climate change peer review panel, and in 2024 by our building energy panel.

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Portland’s Transportation Wallet  

Portland’s Transportation Wallet is a demand management strategy that encourages people to drive less and try alternative travel modes, while reducing the use of single-occupant vehicles, the demand for on-street parking, and the burdens of transportation costs for people with low-incomes. Users see it as a package of valuable travel options at a deep discount, or at no cost when trading in a parking permit or meeting income criteria. The program reduced participants’ drive-alone rates to 10% in 2023, from 24% in 2021. It is funded by charging for choosing the ‘competition’ (i.e. making it more expensive to drive / park a car.) Designated a Landmark case study by our transportation panel in 2024.

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Norway’s Promotion of Electric Vehicles  

Several policies / incentives, in place over an extended period, have made Norwegians more likely to purchase electric vehicles (EVs) than people in any other country. These incentives have included: exemption from vehicle registration and high purchase taxes, reduced road tolls, free parking, and access to some bus lanes. A similar long-term approach could be adapted for other big-ticket purchasing behaviors where the impact justifies the expense – for example energy-efficient home / building retrofits and appliances. Norway's electric cars are close to zero-emission as 98% of its electricity came from hydropower. Designated a Landmark case study by our transportation panel in 2024.

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Flashfood  

According to Second Harvest, almost 60% (35.5 million metric tonnes) of food produced in Canada is wasted annually. Roughly 32% (1.2 million tonnes) is still edible. This app informs users about local food in surplus or nearing its best before date,  discounted by 50% or more. While some items should be consumed within a day or two, others can last for weeks – especially if frozen or cooked. The Flashfood app enables food stores to sell food that would otherwise be thrown out, while reducing their carbon footprint.  Consumers are able buy food that they would otherwise deem too expensive.

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Google Maps  

In 2021, Google introduced a feature in Google Maps to help drivers lower their greenhouse gas emissions through their route choices. As a result, between the feature’s launch in October 2021 and December 2022, Google Maps users reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 1.2 million metric tons using this new option.

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Cool Block  

Cool Block promotes over one hundred actions that can help make households, neighborhoods and entire cities more sustainable. It has been saving 20 billion pounds (9.07 million metric tons) of greenhouse gasses per year.

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Money Saving Boiler Challenge  

This campaign focused on hot water heaters that provide water on demand for heating a home and also for cooking and cleaning. Lowering the water flow temperature from 80°C to 60°C could save a 9% reduction in total gas use, but only one in ten households had adjusted their water flow temperature in the previous year. Nesta developed and pilot tested an online tool to help occupants lower their own water flow temperatures. 

In 2022 and 2023, over 214,000 people used the online tool and indicated that they had turned down their water flow temperatures. Based on Nesta’s research, that would save around 200,304,000 kWh and £20 million on energy bills and would avoid the release of 37,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. The campaign created £33 of savings for every £1 spent on marketing.

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Proffers for New Development in Fairfax County, Virginia  

Fairfax County established Transportation Demand Management (TDM) requirements (“proffers”) for new development that would have significant traffic impacts. For buildings within the urban centre of Tysons, trips had to be reduced between 25% and 65% during peak hours, depending on the size of the building and its proximity to the Metrorail stations. The county proffers required large new properties to annually monitor trips, conduct tenant commuting surveys, and show that they were meeting their trip reduction goals. They also had to conduct surveys every three years. Over seven years, 13 such developments generated 63% fewer trips, which was 34% beyond their goals. For the office buildings, this was likely at least partly a result of more people working from home during the COVID pandemic.

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Carpooling Promotion in Paris  

France provides financial incentives to local travel authorities (LTAs), employers and employees to promote carpooling. It also funds the development of carpooling infrastructure, ridesharing platforms that make it much easier to carpool, and fraud prevention mechanisms. This case study covers the formative research and early implementation in Paris of France’s National Daily Carpooling Plan.

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Coolfood  

Coolfood – World Resources Institute’s (WRI) initiative for curbing diet-related emissions – provides the food service industry with the tools and expertise to reduce emissions by 25% by 2030, in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

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Smart Trips Austin  

Smart Trips Austin encourages residents of Austin Texas, USA to take multi-modal transportation options (walk, bike, ride transit, and share rides) more often, rather than drive alone. The program focuses on personal interactions — educating individuals on their options and overcoming barriers to multi-modal travel. Smart Trips reinforces this new information using community-based programs such as learn-to-ride classes, transit instruction, and group walking activities. Initially, the program targeted residential neighbourhoods of Austin Texas; each year a different area was targeted. In 2020 the program expanded to city-wide and began to segment using a Stages of Change approach. In 2021, it started targeting residents who had recently moved to or around Austin. Smart Trips Austin averaged a participation rate of 5-10% of households contacted, a 5-10% reduction in drive-alone trips among participants (about 41,000 vehicle trips per year), and a corresponding 5-10% increase in active and shared trips. This account of the program was designated a Landmark case study in 2023, making the City of Austin one of the few governments with more than one program designation. 

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Fridge Night / Use Up Day  

The Fridge Night programme offers simple, practical solutions to help people be more resourceful with and enjoy eating the food they have at home, thereby reducing food waste and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Participants pledge to use up expiring perishables one evening a week for a month, and complete weekly challenges. They are sent reminders and tips. In return, they save time and money and get tools for easily planning meals with leftovers.

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Co-Ownership of Wind Farms  

What if you want to move away from gas and oil, but rent, are about to move, or can’t afford solar panels? If your energy supplier has not already pledged to go green, you have few options. The co-ownership of wind farms engages and makes it practical for more homeowners and renters to buy wind-generated power.

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Liftshare and Mobilityways, U.K.  

Liftshare is a social enterprise that has worked with over 700 of the UK’s largest employers to reduce the number of single occupancy vehicle trips using carsharing, active transportation and public transit when commuting for work. With an online community of over 1 million members, it is estimated that Liftshare members have avoided the release of 300 million kg / 300,000 tonnes of commuter carbon emissions (averaging 50 million kg / 50,000 tonnes per year). In 2020, Liftshare launched Mobilityways, a sister platform that enables employers to evidence, track, plan and change their commuter emissions via a set of tools / modules that work seamlessly together.

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Southern Nevada Water Authority's Water Smart Landscapes Program  

As climate change leads to more drought situations, it will be important to understand how to best promote water conservation. Southern Nevada Water Authority’s Water Smart Landscapes (WSL) program pays homeowners to replace their non-native, ornamental lawns with plants and landscapes that use less water because they are better adapted to their dry climate. It is one of the longest running “cash for grass” policies. Designated a Landmark case study by our climate change peer review panel in 2022.

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Reduce Your Juice: Meaningful Gamification Motivates and Empowers a Challenging Consumer Segment to Save Money and Energy  

This innovative social marketing approach changed the energy use behaviours of low-income renters in Brisbane, Australia, through meaningful gamification. The gamified experience promoted desired behaviours and reduced undesired ones, all carefully chosen using McKenzie-Mohr's cbsm guidelines for selecting behaviors. The Reduce Your Juice program was designed to be fun, easy and impactful. On the exterior, it appears as a simple, fun and easy experience of games and gamified activities, communications, community, and rewards. However, below the surface lies a sophisticated intervention developed through the application of formative research and theory and implemented by a team of multi-disciplinary experts from the energy, social marketing, behaviour change, digital insights & technology, research, and social sectors. Designated a Landmark case study by our Building Energy peer review panel in 2022.

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How Copenhagen Became a Cycling City  

What makes a great cycling city? How did the medium-sized City of Copenhagen get its citizens to cycle to work / school 49% of the time? While topography and climate are significant influencers, safety, supportive infrastructure, and promotion also played key roles. Copenhagen increased cycling by making it safer, easier, and more convenient. This case illustrates the power of piloting alternative enhancements on an ongoing basis to further reduce barriers and increase benefits, based on regular surveys, traffic data and safety data. It also features a transparent planning process - the Bicycle Account – a research, evaluation, promotion, and citizen engagement tool used every two years since 1996. Designated a Landmark case study by our Transportation peer selection panel in 2022.

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Paris Reduces Car Use, Boosts Walking and Cycling  

Paris is an inspiration for large cities around the world, having reduced car traffic in its core (Ile de France) from a mode share of 12.8% in 2010 to 6% in 2020. How did Paris get to be one of the cities in the world with the lowest mode share for single occupant vehicles? The city is comparatively dense and has one of the top subways in the world. But what is most striking about its transformation is the increase in cycling and walking during this period – they increased from 55.4% in 2010 to 68% in 2020. Numerous programs offered by three levels of government explicitly prioritized bicycles over cars and reduced on-street car parking to make room for bike lanes. They taxed and restricted more polluting vehicles, and gradually phased them out, while providing a conversion bonus for the purchase or lease of electric-assisted bicycles and cargo bikes. In addition, car ads had to include messages promoting greener methods of transportation, and incentives were provided for bike repairs and tune-ups. Designated a Landmark case study by our sustainable transportation peer review and selection panel in 2022.

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Opting Out in Germany for Non-Renewable Energy  

While many people in Germany say they would use green energy if presented with a choice, very few consumers do so. In contrast, most people have been using green energy in a few German municipalities where citizens have had to opt out for non-renewable energy supplies rather than having to opt-in to get renewable ones. This case study also illustrates the connection between green power choices and clean air / environmental health, and the value of randomized control trials (RCTs) for measuring program impacts. Designated a Landmark case study by our Building Energy peer review panel in 2022.

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Too Good to Go  

About 75% of food waste goes to landfill, where it becomes one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions at 10% of total emissions. Too Good to Go turns food waste into a win-win situation for everyone, by creating jobs, generating revenue, reducing food waste, and diminishing environmental impacts. At its most basic, the app is a marketplace for surplus food. It enables you to see what extra food is likely to be available that day from nearby bakeries, stores, and restaurants - fresh food that would otherwise be thrown out at the end of the day because it would no longer be considered fresh and salable. Using the app, you can buy a ‘magic bag’ meal for roughly one third of what you would normally pay, then pick it up at the vendor’s closing time. As of June 2022, a total of 141 million bags had been sold, eliminating 775 million lb. (about 387,500 US tons) of CO2 emissions. In the first six months of 2022 alone, 88.5 million bags were sold, eliminating the equivalent of 973.5 million pounds (about 486,800 US tons) of CO2 emissions per year. 

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Carpooling and Vanpooling in San Mateo County, California  

This program promotes carpooling and vanpooling instead of driving alone during peak commute periods, using advertising (online, video, and display), challenges, and prize-based campaigns to attract and retain its target audience. It also made its standard Guaranteed Ride Home system easier to use. This case study illustrates the timing of incentives to promote habit formation. It also exemplifies how benefits can be increased by integrating some of the participant-facing aspects of multiple, independent programs in neighboring regions.

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Energy Cat Game  

The Energy Cat computer game was piloted with social housing residents in Plymouth, United Kingdom, to motivate and help them learn about affordable, energy-saving steps they could take in their homes. The game provided an average electricity saving of 3.46% and an average gas saving of 7.48%.

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Solarize Boosts Installations and Transforms Solar Markets Across America  

Solarize is a group purchase program designed to simplify and reduce the cost of investing in solar energy. The campaign organizes a volunteer committee of residents to competitively select a solar installer who agrees to set pricing. At a series of free educational workshops participants can learn about the technology, incentives, and financing options. Interested, participants can then sign up for a free site assessment and are guaranteed the Solarize price, if they sign a contract within the campaign timeline. Customers can save as much as 25% of the total cost of installation. This approach enables grassroot and other solar advocates to build motivation and engagement over time, reduce key barriers to action, convert “interest” into “action”, and permanently transform the market for solar installations in their communities. Resulting installations generated 62,000,000 kWh of clean energy supply each year. Designated a Landmark case study by our Building Energy peer review panel in 2021.

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Virgin Atlantic’s Airline Captains Improve Fuel Efficiency  

Virgin Atlantic Airways (VAA) conducted an eight-month pilot in 2014 to test the potential roles and impacts of monitoring, performance information, personal targets, and prosocial incentives on the fuel-use behavior of their captains. All 335 of VAA’s captains were part of the pilot, and they were randomly assigned to four separate treatment groups. Since the pilot, the approach has become business as usual at VAA, and the technology was commercialized through Signol and updated to a web-app and email rather than post. Designated a Landmark case study in 2021.

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Climate Matters Program for TV Weathercasters  

Climate Matters trains and supports American TV weathercasters to report on the local impacts of climate change while reflecting current scientific knowledge and concerns. The program provides participating newscasters with weekly story packages with local data and broadcast-quality graphics that visualize the data. Because of an overt conflict in the meteorology community about opposing views of climate change, the program engaged a conflict mediator who worked with small groups of opinion-leading weathercasters to surface and work through the entrenched conflicts. As climate reporting became increasingly normative, the program ensured that everyone in the weathercasting community knew the behaviors were gaining in popularity. As of 31 October 2020, there were 968 participating weathercasters in 483 local TV stations, in 92% of all US media markets and 99 of the top 100 media markets. Viewers exposed to their climate education became more likely to understand that climate change is already a 'here, now, us' problem. Designated a Landmark case study in 2021.

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Day Zero: Cape Town Includes Fear Appeal to Avoid Running Out of Water  

 

Fear appeals must be carefully considered as they can too-easily backfire and discourage people from taking in and acting on our messages. And why spread fear unnecessarily? This case study illustrates an appropriate and effective use of a fear appeal to reduce water consumption in Cape Town South Africa. It tracks 30 years, from the time the City predicted severe water shortages to the point where the taps nearly ran dry and this city of four million people reduced water use enough to avoid disaster. Designated a Landmark case study in 2021.

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WaterSense Adds Up to Big Water and Energy Savings  

WaterSense, a partnership program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), seeks to protect the future of the nation’s water supply by offering Americans a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products, homes, and services. WaterSense labeled products, which are independently certified to use at least 20% less water and perform as well or better than standard models, have been on the market since 2007. As of 2021 there are more than 30,000 labeled models, including products used in residential and commercial bathrooms, and outdoor irrigation. EPA’s WaterSense program has also certified over 3,000 homes with WaterSense labeled fixtures and water-efficient features. By 2020 it had saved 5.3 trillion gallons of water and 603 billion kWh of electricity. Designated a Landmark case study by our Building Energy peer review panel in 2021.

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TDM at Seattle Children’s Hospital  

Seattle Children’s Hospital has operated a widely recognized trip reduction program since 1995. This program is an early and successful example of providing drivers with cash incentives to offset losing free parking (“parking cash out”). It is also one of the few ongoing examples of a program that pays people if they take a non-SOV way to work. Between 1995 and 2017, the percentage of employees who drive to work alone dropped from 73% to 33%. Further, the program’s commuting perks have helped attract & retain quality employees, and the program has enabled the hospital to avoid spending $20 million to build new parking facilities. Designated a Landmark (best practice) case study in 2021.

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Canada-Wide Ban on Menthol Cigarettes  

Bans on menthol cigarettes across Canada from 2015 to 2017 led to a significant increase in the numbers of smokers who attempted to quit and who quit successfully, while reducing relapse rates among former smokers. Canada was the one of the first countries to implement a ban on menthol cigarettes, and the first country where such a ban was evaluated.

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Heat Loss Images, Norm Appeals Raise Impacts in Medicine Hat  

A Randomized Controlled Trial tested the impacts of providing consumers, on their monthly utility bills, with high-resolution infrared images of their houses, information about their heat loss relative to their neighbors, and estimated savings from improving their home’s insulation and air tightness. This treatment was twice as effective as a traditional Home Energy Report (HER) treatment. This demonstrates the power of visual cues that help make the intangible more vivid, concrete, and actionable. This case study also illustrates how norm appeals can backfire when descriptive norms are provided to those who are already doing “better” than most, without also providing an affirming injunctive norm. Designated a Landmark case study in 2020.

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Seattle’s Just One Trip Phase II  

Just One Trip Phase II illustrates the use of Propensity Modelling / Predictive Analysis, Street Ambassadors, Quality Online User Experience (UX), and trip planning to reduce the proportion of single-occupant car trips in Seattle WA, USA. It engaged over 21,000 people and on average participants reduced four drive-alone trips per week per person. Designated a Landmark case study in 2020.

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City of Austin’s Leave Time Travel Incentive  

The City of Austin reduced employee commute travel by one million vehicle miles within six months of making its Leave Time Reward (LTR) a permanent incentive. During this period, the percentage of drive-alone trips fell from 53% to 41%. Attribution of these impacts to the City’s time off incentive policy is strengthened because that policy was introduced in the pilot study, then withdrawn after the pilot, then later reintroduced for the permanent program (Reversal Design.) Designated a Landmark case study in 2020.

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Way to Go Durham  

This case study covers the formative research and pilot testing of the City of Durham’s Way to Go program with City staff and local university students. It illustrates the value of A/B testing and Randomized Control Trials for evaluating alternative program tactics. It exemplifies the effective use of personalized commute plans distributed en-masse and shows that they can have a substantial impact on travel behavior, even with no added incentives.

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London Hydro’s Price Plan Pilot Cuts Peak Use  

London Hydro ran a Randomized Control Trial to test the impacts of real time information (RT), and critical peak pricing (CPP) on peak time residential energy use. CPP participants delivered summer On-Peak and Mid-Peak energy savings that were statistically significant at the 90% confidence level. Adding RT to CPP did not make much difference. Both groups reduced their daily On-Peak consumption by approximately 5% on average, and their Mid-Peak consumption by approximately 3% on average.

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California’s Energy Conservation Competition  

Participants in California’s Energy Conservation Competition work to change energy conservation behaviors in their schools relating to lighting, plug-loads, and mechanical systems. They also develop campaigns to encourage fellow students to communicate with teachers, peers, and administrators about energy conservation practices. This comprehensive program cuts school energy bills by 5% to 15%, and integrates climate education and energy efficiency, with linkages to hands-on job training and career development. Designated a Landmark case study in 2020.

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It’s About Respect - Reducing Sexual Violence in Washington  

It’s about Respect is a program to prevent sexual violence among middle school students. This case study reports on the program’s initial pilot at one school, compared with a control school.

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BART Perks 2  

BART Perks Phase II used a Smartphone-based platform to incentivize shifts in public transit trips that reduced peak demand. The approach proved cost-effective relative to the average fare associated with each freed-up seat. At full-scale, the approach was predicted to be cost-effective relative to purchasing and maintaining more transit cars. This six-month randomized control study took place in San Francisco during the first half of 2019.

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Port of San Diego  

The Port of San Diego’s (Port’s) Green Business Network (Network) is an integrated energy efficiency and sustainability program that educates tenant businesses on sustainable business practices and identifies resources to implement building and operational improvements. The Green Business Network provides a forum for businesses across the Port’s five member cities to network on sustainability best practices. Between 2010 and 2017, participating businesses reduced energy use by 10.8 million kWh and 300,000 therms.

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The Bullying Prevention Program  

2018 Overview, Pennsylvania USA

The Bullying Prevention Program (BPP) reduced bullying problems in Norwegian schools by up to 50 percent. Actively involving students, school staff, and parents in restructuring their school environment created a safe and learning one, and lessened the number of opportunities and rewards for bullying. BPP has been replicated in American, Canadian, and European schools with positive, although less dramatic results.

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RE100  

 

RE100 is a global, collaborative initiative that is accelerating a shift in corporate energy purchasing to reduce global carbon emissions and buy energy from renewable sources. Members commit to public disclosure of progress, with third-party verification providing social proof and accountability. Participation also involves inter-company comparisons and norming to a common goal of 100% renewable electricity. High-profile external public relations events enhance value for membership and sustain pressure for member companies to keep commitments, thereby ensuring persistence of campaign impacts. Designated a Landmark Case Study in 2019.

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Europe’s Energy Neighborhoods  

Europe’s Energy Neighbourhoods program engaged neighbourhoods to ‘bet’ with their municipalities that they could reduce energy use by at least 9% over a four-month time period, with no investments in technology allowed. Each neighbourhood was supported by an “Energy Master”, an enthusiastic individual who acted as coordinator for the group and who received specific training to help their group make its energy savings. Those groups that made savings of 9% or more were rewarded with certificates and prizes, and received local media attention for their efforts. Designated a Landmark Case Study in 2019.

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Stay on the Ground  

The most effective approach to-date at shifting air travel to train travel, and also at promoting the sale of carbon offsets for airplane travel, this approach could also work well for other behaviors that are perceived by the audience as clearly important to do, yet are not being adopted by many people.

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Bologna’s Bella Mossa  

Bologna’s Bella Mossa program awarded participants points for walking, cycling or using public transport. Points could be redeemed for discounts or payment towards merchandise and services from 85 retailers, including supermarkets, sports retailers, bike stores, opticians, bookshops, cinemas, restaurants and bars. In 2018, 10,000 people reported taking 995,000 trips by alternative transportation methods, totalling 3.7 million kilometres and saving 711 tonnes of CO2. The program won CIVITAS’s “Bold Measure" award in 2017 and was designated a Landmark case study in 2019.

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Energy Connect  

Energy Connect shows that energy savings and occupant comfort can be achieved quickly and persistently in large, complex facilities when building operators and mechanics are empowered to solve building performance issues. Five interventions were tested across six diverse healthcare facilities at the second largest health network in North America. Verified first year results show annual energy savings at three facilities from 3% to 12.5% attributable to Energy Connect, and all pilot facilities saved energy. Designated a Landmark Case Study in 2018.

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Fort Collins Efficiency Works (Neighborhoods).  

In a pilot from the fall of 2015 to the fall of 2016, Fort Collins Utilities doubled enrollment rates, converted 44% of energy efficiency assessments to comprehensive upgrades, and doubled average project energy savings. In 2017, this pilot received both Landmark designation and the American Public Power Association Energy Innovator award. The pilot offered a streamlined, turn-key service for homeowners that overcame key barriers to participation such as lack of time to select and meet with contractors, too many complex technical scope of work decisions, homeowner distrust of contractor proposals, and concerns about paying for improvements. The campaign also used a propensity model to target the neighborhoods with the highest potential for saving, and then direct mail marketing to neighborhoods with the highest propensity to participate. This case study was designated Landmark in 2017. 

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Capitol Hill In Motion  

Capitol Hill In Motion is a recent evolution of the individualized marketing approach used by King County, Washington State, USA. It illustrates how to further engage communities where most trips are already not drive-alone. With remarkably high signup rates, this campaign also delivered a solid 16% average reduction in drive-alone trips (surpassing the campaign goal and King County’s overall goal of a 10% reduction).  Designated in 2017. 

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Chicago’s Go Program  

Chicago’s Go Program is an Individualized Marketing program that helps residents walk, bike, ride transit, and use bike share more frequently, while driving alone less often. Compared with past Individualized Marketing efforts in other cities, the Go Programs have pushed the envelope of inclusive, accessible programming that serves a very broad range of Chicago neighborhoods - and the very high participation rates and positive post-program stakeholder input show that this effort paid off. Because of these successes, the Go Program can serve as a model for other communities looking to integrate equity and diversity in Transportation Demand Management programs. On average, 65% of post-program survey respondents report increased walking, biking, or transit usage because of the program. The program’s behavior-changing results led the City of Chicago to designate funding for additional neighborhoods in the future. Designated in 2017. 

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Clean Air at Home  

"Clean Air at Home: Small Steps Make a Big Difference" is a targeted, community-based social marketing campaign that reduces young families’ exposures to environmental contaminants at home such as mould, dust, fumes from toxic cleaners and tobacco smoke. Almost three in four participants changed some of their behaviors and almost one half reported performing all five of the behaviors being promoted.

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Brisbane's Active Schools Travel Program  

By the end of 2017, Brisbane’s Active Schools Travel Program had engaged over 157 primary schools to reduce single car trips by up to 35% and increase walking trips correspondingly. Half of the students at participating schools travel to school by active means, twice the state average. This program illustrates good use of safety instruction and practice, stamped student passports, norm appeals, competitions, and three levels of recognition and incentives. Designated a Landmark Case Study in 2018. 

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ClimateSmart Home Service, Queensland, Australia  

Once a resident signs up for Queensland’s ClimateSmart Home Service, a licensed electrician visits the home, installs a variety of energy-efficiency products, conducts an energy audit, provides recommendations, and leaves behind materials and prompts. The information collected is then used to create a customized plan that is sent to the homeowner approximately six weeks after the visit, with different audience segments receiving different messaging. A voluntary household energy challenge, wireless power monitors and an on-line portal help motivate and empower participants. ClimateSmart was designated a Landmark case study in 2011.

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Opower’s Home Energy Report, Minnesota  

This program is a great example of the use of ongoing individualized feedback and prompts, coupled with norm appeals. Opower helps individual utility companies to send customized home energy use feedback reports to their residential utility customers. The full-colour reports include a comparison with other similar households, offer tips and strategies to reduce energy use, and provide seasonal energy consumption information. A web portal offers personalized insights and tips, and tools for choosing an optimal energy rate plan. In addition, Opower offers utilities the opportunity to send text messages directly to customers to alert them when their energy consumption is high and offer ways to reduce it. Updated as of October, 2014.

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Burlington’s Ice Rink Energy Competition  

The City of Burlington's Ice Rink Energy Competition employs a low cost, easily replicable approach to significantly reduce energy consumption, associated greenhouse gases (GHG) and energy costs. A friendly competition to reduce energy at eight of the city's ice rinks helps change behaviours among staff and users, improves facility performance, and extends equipment life without sacrificing facility service levels or user satisfaction. Designated a Landmark case study in 2013.

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Class 5 Energy  

This comprehensive, long-term approach combines education, training, behavior change and goal setting with progress tracking, recognition and continuous improvement to reduce energy use in schools, hospitals and other institutional settings.

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Bicycle Friendly Communities Program  

The Bicycle Friendly Communities (BFC) program provides municipalities with advice and feedback, goal setting assistance, training programs and recognition awards to create more bike-friendly communities. It is a results-oriented program designed to encourage municipal decision makers to consider how their existing cycling programs complement one another and how they can be improved. Detailed feedback from transportation professionals and community stakeholders gives communities an accurate measure of where they are and a detailed roadmap to the future.

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Barrie Water Conservation Program  

The City of Barrie, Ontario has deferred millions of dollars in waste water and water supply capital expenditures with its retrofit water conservation program. The City supplied subsidized ultra low flow toilets, showerheads and aerators to Barrie residents over a two-year period.

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Commuter Challenge: Environment Canada's Participation  

This case study illustrates the successful engagement of a large organization (Environment Canada) in a broad-scale staff participation program. That program, the Commuter Challenge, is a Canada-wide NGO-led event that challenges commuters to reduce the use of single-occupant vehicles during a specific time frame. It is used as an awareness raising initiative and to promote trial of an activity, not as a scientific auditing or survey tool.

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Setback Thermostats: Research and Resource Alert  

This alert reviews research and resources relevant to turning down the heat (turning up the air conditioning temperature) - either by hand or using a setback thermostat - based on a report from Toronto Public Health.

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AT&T Employee Telework Initiative  

The AT&T Employee Telework Initiative provides information and support to all staff and management, corporate-wide, who would like to telework either part-time or full-time. Since 1992, AT&T has succeeded in developing not only a formal policy and telework program for its employees, but also a telework internet portal that acts as a model and guide for other companies interested in telework. AT&T believes that its telework initiative can be replicated by practically any company.

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Århus Bike Bus'ters  

Over a one-year period more than 150 people in the City of Århus, Denmark were actively encouraged to use bicycles or public transit for their daily commute. One of the goals of Bike Busters was to assess the extent to which motorists would switch to sustainable means of transportation.

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Compact Fluorescent Lamp Vendor Program  

Southern California Edison, an American electric utility, reduced the price barrier that discouraged its residential and commercial customers from utilizing compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) rather than the less energy-efficient incandescent bulbs. Unlike traditional rebate programs that offer discounts directly to the consumer, the utility offered rebates of $5 per lamp to manufacturers of CFLs. The discount was amplified through the retail mark-up process, becoming even greater by the time it reached the consumer. This model was subsequently adopted by other utilities across the country.

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Auto$mart Program for Canada's Novice Drivers  

The Auto$mart Student Driver Education Program provides driving educators across Canada with a classroom kit that helps them teach student drivers how to drive more safely while saving money and protecting the environment. The kit includes a video, an interactive CD-ROM and driver instructor materials. The course materials explain how informed decisions regarding car purchases (e.g., what type and model), operating habits (e.g., following posted speed limits), and maintenance (e.g., regular tune-ups) can improve fuel economy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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England’s Sustainable Travel Towns  

This project demonstrates how a sustained transportation demand management program can have greater impact when coupled with infrastructure improvements. By investing £10M over a five-year period, three towns in England have decreased car use and increased sustainable modes of travel. This program was designated a Landmark case study in 2010.

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Action By Canadians / Count Me In  

The Action By Canadians (ABC) and Count Me In! programs were designed to communicate the issue of climate change to the Canadian public through workshops delivered to individuals at their place of work. The climate change workshop focused on action by providing participants, at the end of the workshop, an opportunity to make a commitment to reduce greenhouse gases by adopting specific measures in their personal lives. By October 2000, over 3,500 Canadians had participated in these workshops. The Ontario Society of Training and Development awarded the ABC program with the Best External Training Program Award.

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Bob and Martin Quit Smoking  

This effective smoking cessation campaign used eight television ads based on Prochaska's theory of behavioural change, to move smokers along from the pre-contemplation to the maintenance stage of smoking cessation. The ads featured an average male smoker moving through the stages of smoking cessation.

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Bear Creek Safe Routes to School Program  

Here's a good illustration of how much and how quickly transportation habits can change through elementary school programs. Bear Creek is the recipient of the James L. Oberstar Safe Routes to School Award for 2008 awarded by the (U.S.) National Centre for Safe Routes to School, and was designated a Landmark case study by Tools of Change in 2009.

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GCC Active and Safe Routes to School (2008 on)  

This case study picks up from our previous one on the early years of Green Communities Canada's national Active and Safe Routes to School Program. It covers the launch of the "school travel planning" approach. Viewpoints are provided from the national, provincial, municipal and school levels. Designated a Landmark case study by a Tools of Change Peer Selection Panel in 2009. Updated in 2012.

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Casual Carpooling in DC  

It has been said that one of the greatest untapped transportation resources is the empty seats in private automobiles. This case study illustrates how a unique casual carpooling program in Washington, D.C. fills those empty seats while meeting the needs of busy commuters and reducing road congestion. Slugging in D.C. was designated a Landmark case study by Tools of Change in 2009.

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Cape Light Compact Smart Home Energy Monitoring Pilot  

This well designed and executed pilot project, which  achieved unusually high energy use reductions among 100 volunteer participants, illustrates the power of real-time feedback, friendly competition, and timely, personalized, credible, empowering communications. Using wireless in-home energy monitors connected to the internet, participating homes received detailed information on how much energy was being used in the home, when it was being used, how much it cost, and actions that could reduce energy consumption and promote savings. In addition, a web-enabled communications network enabled the sharing of energy savings experiences and helped achieve individual and collective energy savings goals. Designated Landmark in 2010.

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Calgary’s Workshift  

WORKshift is Calgary regional initiative to promote, educate and accelerate the adoption of telecommuting. WORKshift works with businesses to implement telework programs for their employees.

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BIXI Bicycle Sharing  

BIXI Montreal is a great example of how to make  urban cycling a more practical and attractive transportation option. BIXI makes it convenient for commuters to cycle rather than drive, especially for frequent, short trips. The system was specifically developed to augment Montreal’s existing transit system and between 2009 and 2013 Montrealers made more than 13 million trips with BIXI. It is a turn-key service that is inexpensive and replicable across many countries and cultures. In addition, by making cycling more chic and attractive, BIXI has had a major impact on cycling in North America. Revised in September 2015.

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Bonneville Power Administration Energy Smart Industrial Energy Efficiency Program  

The Bonneville Power Administration’s Energy Smart Industrial (ESI) energy management program has changed how large industrial facilities prioritize and manage energy. Through participation in ESI’s High Performance Energy Management (HPEM—now called Strategic Energy Management) program component, corporate leaders are encouraged to establish and communicate energy policies and goals, conduct regular reviews of energy performance metrics, and actively support energy efficiency improvement efforts. At the shop-floor level, HPEM/SEM impacts a broad range of behaviors and practices. Common improvements include the shutdown of idling equipment during non-production hours, implementing more energy efficient set points, and adopting enhanced preventative maintenance practices. Designated a Landmark case study in 2016.

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LEED  

2019 Youtube Program Update Video from USGBC

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a tremendously successful program that engages builders and owners in designing, building, selling / buying and operating more energy-efficient buildings. It awards points for meeting targets and doing targeted behaviors like benchmarking and tracking energy and water consumption, using specific types of materials, and recycling waste materials. It has become the most used green building rating system out there, adopted in more than 150 countries and territories worldwide. The program received Landmark designation in 2015.

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NYSERDA Window Air Conditioning Pilot  

This easily replicable pilot demonstrated how to use normative feedback and conservation tips to reduce window air-conditioning use among low- to moderate-income tenants of large multi-family buildings who do not pay their own utilities. Both the normative feedback and normative feedback combined with intrinsic priming resulted in significantly reduced electricity consumption compared to a control condition, with monthly electricity savings from 3% to 5%. There was a statistically significant persistence savings for 10 months post treatment for the normative feedback condition.

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Taking Off? Turn Us Off” Office Computer Pilot  

This pilot program used personal communication, norms, commitments, and prompts to engage government employees to turn off both their computers and monitors at the end of the workday. A control group was included in the evaluation design. The results revealed significant increases in computer shutdown rates in two out of the three participating agencies (the third agency had a baseline shutdown rate of nearly 90%). The most impressive findings were for computer monitor shutdown rates which nearly doubled in all three agencies.

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Columbus Ohio’s C-Pass Transit Pilot  

The C-pass pilot program aimeds to alleviate the growing demand for parking in the downtown area by providing unlimited use of transit to employees working within downtown at no cost to themselves. The pilot provided transit passes to employees of five downtown employers during 2015-2016. The data from this pilot program was then analyzed and stakeholders within the SID decided to fund full scale implementation of this program to all 45,000 eligible workers working in the downtown area. This full scale implementation was branded Downtown C-pass, began operating on June 1st, 2018, and will stay in place until December 31st, 2020. At that point the program will be analyzed again and further funding decisions will be made.

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Cure Violence  

Cure Violence shows it can be effective to treat violence using a health approach – i.e. to treat it as a contagion rather than as a problem of bad people. The intervention relies heavily on peer influencers and norm appeals. It has had multiple independent evaluations – all showing large statistically significant reductions in violence.

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France’s Feebate for Fuel Efficient Vehicles  

The “Bonus/Malus écologique,” or Feebate program, is a nation-wide initiative of the French government. It is intended to shift the car market by encouraging consumers and manufacturers to purchase and make vehicles that are more energy efficient. Bonuses, or rebates, are awarded for purchases of low-emission vehicles, and fees are charged for purchases of high-emission vehicles.

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Ohm Connect’s #OhmHour Peak Time Energy Conservation Program  

OhmConnect pays participants to save energy when it’s most beneficial to the grid and their wallets. On average, participants save 50-100 kWh at peak times per year per household. This case study highlights three innovative elements of the program: a focus on reducing peak demand with remarkable frequency, flexibility and precision; rich gamification features that encourage user participation; and an option to automate energy savings that was not available until the recent installation of smart meters and widespread availability of smart devices. Designated in 2017.

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Macon Connects  

A temporary network of cycling lanes convinced the community of Macon GA to create permanent protected lanes. One-block sections of street that had previously been made more bike-friendly had not been used much and there was concern that not enough people would actually cycle. The pilot created the largest pop-up bike lane network in the world and tested five alternative kinds of bike infrastructure, from sharrows (painted stripes) to more buffered lanes and protected cycle racks with bollards.

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Shower Feedback in Switzerland  

The Shower Feedback program provides households with real-time feedback on one specific, energy-intensive behaviour: showering. Participants receive smart shower meters that display feedback on the individual’s energy and water consumption in the shower in real time. On average, participants cut their shower time by an average of roughly 20%, which reduced related water and energy consumption by about the same amount. This program was designated a Tools of Change Landmark case study in 2016. 

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Playa Vista Ability2Change  

Playa Vista's Ability2Change program is a great example of a targeted, strategic approach to transport behavior change. It features careful market segmentation and barrier removal, with different initiatives for different people. In just seven months it yielded a 4.9% decrease in peak time drive alone mode share across the entire community (a decrease of 3.5 percentage points from 71.4% to 67.9%), with corresponding increases in carpool, cycling and transit trips. 

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TransLink’s Smart Card  

British Columbia’s TransLink introduced Compass, a travel pass payment system that replaced 150 different tickets and passes. To ensure positive adoption, TransLink brought customers through a series of messaging that generated awareness, created broad comprehension around Compass benefits and features, and educated customers on proper card use behaviour. It achieved a 95% adoption rate within months of closing the gates, and transit ridership increased 4-6% per year following introduction

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Denver’s Schoolpool  

Schoolpool is a dynamic program that gets students to and from school in a safer, more social and environmentally sustainable fashion,using carpools, transit and finding buddies for walking and cycling. Parents and guardians can locate nearby families or search for them along their child’s route to school. The program serves 150 campuses in the Denver region, and more than 19,000 families. 

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Energy+Illawarra  

Energy+Illawarra is a community oriented strategic social marketing program with the aim of supporting home energy efficiency, comfort and wellbeing among 830 older, low-income people in the Illawarra, NSW, Australia.

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Duke Energy's Smart Energy in Offices Program  

Duke Energy's Smart Energy in Offices program (SEiO) is one of the few behavioral programs targeting energy savings opportunities in large commercial office buildings. It encourages energy savings from improved energy efficient building operations and maintenance practices, and also from improved tenant and employee energy management and conservation practices.

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Energy Star  

ENERGY STAR is one of the most effective public sector voluntary behavior change programs in U.S. history. The program was designed with the goal of decreasing greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the energy efficiency of products. ENERGY STAR sets national specifications for energy efficient products that are in the top 20% of efficiency for the product category. As efficiency in each product category improves, the specification moves up, encouraging continual improvement. Manufacturers that meet the specifications can use the ENERGY STAR label on products and in their marketing. Utilities can set rebate dollars based on a nationally accepted specification which makes it easy for manufacturers and retailers to participate in their rebate programs. Ultimately, consumers can easily identify products that are energy efficient when shopping. This case study was designated in 2017. We did not receive permission to publish the full case study.

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Familles à énergie positive  

France's multi-year "Familles à énergie positive" program uses peer support groups (eco-teams) to reduce residential energy and water consumption. During the 2014/2015 period, participants reported an average 12% reduction in energy consumption, saving 8,500,000 kWh overall. Between 2008 and 2016 it engaged 90,000 individuals in 36,908 participating households.

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Bikeability Safety Training in the UK  

This large scale bicycle safety training program from the UK has been particularly well evaluated and shows impressive results, adding to the evidence of the value of such trainings. Designated a Landmark case study in 2016.

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Alameda County’s Community Commutes Day  

Community Commutes Day used game-based competition, community based social marketing techniques, crowd-sourced graphic design to save costs, and peer-to-peer information sharing via trained “Clean Commute Champions” to get employees to adopt cleaner commute options.

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Girl Scouts GLEE Program  

The Girls Learning Energy and Environment Program (GLEE) was designed to reduce home energy consumption as well as energy use related to food and transportation, among targeted Junior Girls Scouts (ages 9-10) and their families. It was developed and rigorously evaluated over six years with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy ARPA-e program.

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Alameda’s Green Purchasing Program  

This innovative green purchasing program engaged hundreds of event planners and over 18,000 event participants to build a new county culture of sustainable and healthy gatherings in Alameda County, California. In only six weeks, its promotion competition enrolled 192 events and meetings, reaching over 9,200 attendees with model green & healthy practices.

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Get Energized, Iowa!  

Get Energized, Iowa! is a highly replicable community-based program that encouraged rural Iowa communities to compete against one another to achieve high gas and electricity savings, based on actual usage.  Designated in 2017. 

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Smart Commute - GTA  

Smart Commute is a multi-pronged commuter options program in the Greater Toronto, Oshawa and Hamilton Area (GTHA). Two levels of government (municipal and provincial) fund local delivery agents (Boards of Trade, Chambers of Commerce and NGOs).

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King County In Motion  

In Motion participants pledge to shift two drive-alone trips per week to transit, ridesharing, biking or walking. The program uses motivational interviewing, commitments, rewards, engaging materials and norm appeals tailored to each target community. It has been called into action during or in anticipation of major construction, transit restructures or new transit service such as light rail or bus rapid transit. Since creating In Motion in 2004, King County Metro Transit has applied a growing toolkit of community-based social marketing techniques to persuade about 23,000 Seattle-area travelers to drive less. Designated a Landmark case study in 2015. Access the 4.5 minute You Tube video summary using the link near the bottom of the left hand taupe-colored column.

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Growing Healthy Kids  

This well-documented obesity prevention program pilot for low-income families in Carrboro NC (USA) featured three main components. Weekly work sessions in a community garden provided gardening instruction and practice opportunities and a familiarity with the vegetables. A seven-week workshop series covered cooking and nutrition. Social activities and events built and maintained interest in the garden and fostered interaction between garden members. By the end of their participation in the program, 17% (n=6, p<0.004) of obese or overweight children had improved their BMI classification and 100% of the children with a BMI classification of normal had maintained that BMI classification.

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SCIP Improves Contraceptive Uptake in Mozambique  

From 2009 to 2015, Pathfinder International and its partners implemented the USAID-funded Strengthening Communities through Integrated Programming (SCIP) project in Nampula province, Mozambique. As part of SCIP’s overarching mandate to improve quality of life at the household and community levels, the project worked to increase access to contraceptive services by strengthening and better integrating health and community systems. There was a 400% increase in couple years of protection that occurred across all contraceptive methods included in the Mozambican method mix, suggesting improved method choice and minimized health provider bias.

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Cool California City Challenge  

The Cool California Challenge is a state-wide competition between California cities engaging their residents in climate action. Participants earn points for tracking and reducing their electricity, natural gas and motor vehicle emissions and for simple one-time actions, like uploading photos and stories, inviting friends or taking a survey. Results from a quasi-experimental design suggest a 14% reduction in electricity use among program participants.

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Citi Bike - NYC Bikeshare  

New York City’s Citi Bike is the largest bike share program in North America, and a key element in the city’s transportation network, providing a last mile solution. A similar approach is replicable in the downtown cores of other major cities where taxies, buses and individual cars all intertwine together.

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CommuteSM  

CommuteSM is Santa Monica’s Transportation Management Association, formed pro bono in 2012 by RideAmigos. In collaboration with the City of Santa Monica, CommuteSM launched Santa Monica’s first-ever Commuter Challenge in 2015 (April 1 to September 1). This challenge encouraged residents and employees in Santa Monica to bike, carpool/vanpool, ride transit, or walk to work, instead of driving alone.

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GCC's Home Energy Retrofit Incentive and Home Visit Program  

Making the housing stock more energy-efficient provides persistent and ongoing returns. However efforts to do so often run into obstacles that diminish program impacts. This program illustrates how to overcome many of these barriers, and how ongoing monitoring and evaluation can lead to program improvements over time. It’s also a great illustration of combining home visits with incentives for doing desired behaviours. Revised in September 2015 and June 2023.

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Love to Ride  

Love to Ride provides tailored resources and support for increasing commuter cycling, staff fitness, and reducing traffic congestion at work. It uses 'stage of change' to segment participants and cost-effectively tailor communications to them, helping them move along a personal journey of change. A web-based platform and GPS app reach people through their computers, cell phones and tablets, with tailored and timely information. Originally developed in New Zealand, Love to Ride has now been replicated in continental Europe, the UK, US and Australia. It was designated a Landmark case study in 2014.

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Recycle Right  

Bankstown, Australia tested a range of options for reducing waste contamination. 

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Way to Save Burlington!  

The Way to Save, Burlington! pilot program was a community-based approach to marketing energy efficiency. Unlike many other community-based energy efficiency programs, no new measures were offered and existing rebate levels were not enhanced. The pilot increased active participation in existing conservation programs among all customer segments: residential, commercial, and industrial.

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UBC Energy Reduction Challenge  

This is a great model for generating enthusiasm among students for energy efficiency. To engage more students in energy conservation, UBC adapted a Facebook application called My Every Day Earth to create a point structure for participation that was in addition to the typical kWh meter readings. Users were able to gain points through activities such as: performing 11 actions they pledged to perform each day; creating short films to get their co-residents engaged and thinking about energy conservation; meeting with other students to discuss energy efficiency; and contacting their local politicians about energy efficiency.

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Boston’s Challenge for Sustainability  

A Better City’s Challenge for Sustainability has engaged over 100 participating businesses and properties to develop and meet sustainability standards and practices, and to drive local innovation in energy efficiency. The program uses a combination of monthly information and networking meetings, Challenge Coordinators who provide technical and educational guidance one-on-one with participants, benchmarking, utility tracking, and goal setting.

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Rossland Energy Diet  

This is a great example of a home energy efficiency retrofit incentive campaign for smalller communities. It achieved 257 energy efficiency assessments, or 22% of the single-family homes in Rossland. Of those households, 95%+  made some energy efficiency improvements and substantial reductions in energy consumption were achieved . One year later, the program was then extensively replicated within the FortisBC Electrical area and also BC Hydro Electrical areas. 

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Cage-Free Campus  

In 2005, The Humane Society of the United States (the HSUS) hatched a plan to replace conventionally produced eggs served on college campuses with cage-free alternatives, by appealing to students’ interest in social issues and addressing administrators’ practical concerns. Now led by The Humane League (THL) in the United States and by other organizations internationally, the campaign has resulted in millions of eggs now sourced from cage-free rather than “factory farming” facilities. A step-by-step playbook showing how to achieve campus-wide support and engage dining service managers guides student leaders implementing the campaign at their schools.

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Drama Downunder  

The light-hearted Drama Downunder campaign increased access to diagnosis, treatment and care of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), improved HIV/STI awareness and knowledge, and minimized the transmission and morbidity of STIs in gay and other homosexually active men.

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HoMBReS  

HoMBRes—Hombres Manteniendo Bienestar y Relaciones Saludables (Men Maintaining Wellness and Healthy Relationships)—is a sexual risk reduction intervention designed to reduce HIV and STD infection among recently arrived, non-English speaking Latino men in rural central North Carolina. Developed using community–based participatory research (CBPR), HoMBReS includes the systematic selection, training, and ongoing support of Latino men to serve as lay health advisers.

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The Healthy Penis Campaign  

The Healthy Penis was a humor-based campaign that increased syphilis testing and awareness among gay and bisexual men in San Francisco.

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Malawi’s BRIDGE Project  

BRIDGE was a 6-year behavior change HIV prevention project implemented in Malawi from 2003 to 2009 by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs (CCP), in partnership with a number of Malawi-based organizations, and with funding from USAID.

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Chlamydia Outreach Advice Screening and Treatment (COAST)  

COAST’s “upstream” changes made Chlamydia testing, notification and treatment more attractive, thereby increasing testing rates remarkably over the long term.

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Stockholm Congestion Pricing  

The Stockholm congestion charge is a tax levied on vehicles entering and exiting the inner city. After a seven-month trial, followed by a referendum, the charges were made permanent and the traffic reductions of 20% have held constant ever since. This case study features strong, ongoing impact data. It is a rare example of introducing then removing and then reintroducing an intervention. It speaks to the importance of timing referendums after rather than before trials or pilots, and to the dynamics of shifting public opinion. It also shows that congestion pricing can be popular, work well, and generate significant additional funds for municipalities. Designated a Landmark case study in 2013.

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Cool Choices  

Since 2010, Cool Choices has inspired employees to embrace sustainability through an innovative game model. Organizations in sectors as diverse as commercial construction, health care, manufacturing, U.S. primary and secondary schools, and law have had game participants save hundreds of thousands of dollars and avoid tons of pollution annually because of sustainable choices made in Cool Choices games. Post-game independent evaluations have found statistically significant savings in energy (median electrical household savings of 6%) as well as savings in water usage - with the vast majority of sustainable practices continuing a year later.

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HSBC Clean Air Achievers  

CAC's HSBC Clean Air Achievers programs provides youth with a chance to meet high profile athletes and be inspired by personal messages to adopt healthier, more active and sustainable lifestyles. The program has dual goals of reducing air pollution and increasing physical activity levels via active transportation. Designated a Landmark case study in 2013. 

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Rare's Loreto Bay Campaign for Sustainable Fisheries Management  

This two-year campaign by Rare empowered local fishers in Mexico to practice sustainable fishing practices and inspired their communities to support conservation as a way of life.

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BEST's Bicycle Valet  

Want to encourage more people to cycle to special events instead of taking their cars? Here's a great way to make it easier for them to do so. BEST's Bicycle Valet, operating in Metro Vancouver, provides free and safe special-event parking for bicycles and other modes of active transportation, allows event patrons to leave their  helmets, panniers and other cycling apparel, and offers cycling route maps, transit maps and other information about active transportation. The service is paid for by the event organizers and sponsored by Travelsmart.

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Recycle-Bowl: Competition Fosters School Recycling  

Keep America Beautiful created a competition called Recycle-Bowl that uses the Tools of Change to encourage recycling behavior in K-12 schools. The program has been successful at invigorating school development of and participation in recycling programs.

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Compost Coaching: House-Calls Help Reduce Waste  

This case study is a great model for increasing composting rates, reducing waste generation and reducing tonnages placed curbside for collection through coaching. It also reports on a study of diversion rates from backyard composting that showed that diversion from backyard composting is usually under-estimated.

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Boosting Recycling at U. of A.  

A great model of applying CBSM to increase participation in campus in campus recyling programs. The University of Alberta's program increased diversion 8-24% and reduced plastic contamination of organics by 16%.

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UGA Recycling Bin Feedback  

The University of Georgia, funded by the Environmental Research and Education Foundation, designed and tested a recycling bin that lit up and displayed a count with the number of items that had been placed into the bin. The bins with feedback increased recycling rates significantly.

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Portland's Smart Trips Welcome Program  

With an average of 15% of the U.S. population moving each year, new residents represent a significant portion of urban dwellers. In response, Portland has refocused its Individualized Marketing efforts and incorporated an innovative and targeted communication strategy to help new residents develop environmentally-friendly and active transportation habits. As a result, the city’s new residents took 10% fewer drive-alone trips and the proportion of their trips taken by green and active methods increased by 14%. This comprehensive approach includes a strong evaluation design and targeted social marketing strategies. SmartTrips Welcome was designated a Landmark (best practice) case study in 2012.

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Haliburton Communities in Action  

This is a rare, well-documented model for promoting walking and cycling in a small or rural community.

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Stepping It Up  

Stepping It Up, led by the regional transportation authority Metrolinx, illustrates a coordinated, highly replicable, and institutionalized approach for reducing car traffic and increase walking and cycling to school. The program worked with 30 elementary schools in the City of Hamilton and Region of Peel, Ontario. Stepping It Up was designated a Landmark (best practice) case study in 2012.

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Cool Biz, Japan  

In the context of Japan's urgent need for energy conservation, Cool Biz and Super Cool Biz have used strong norm appeals to bring about marked reduction in energy use. These programs were designated a Landmark case study in 2012.

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Edmonton’s LocalMotion Program  

Edmonton’s LocalMotion project encouraged residents to drive less and consider other modes of transportation. LocalMotion used a combination of special community events, a challenge, and opportunities for hands-on experience of alternate modes of transportation. It promoted both flexible working hours and alternative modes of transportation such as walking, cycling, public transit, and carpooling. To further boost word-of-mouth communication and norm appeal, early adopters of ecoMobile practices were recruited to participate in program planning and promote it to their neighbors and to local policy makers. Designated a Landmark case study in 2011.

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GCC EcoDriver Program  

Green Communities Canada’s EcoDriver program promotes fuel-saving behaviours in three core areas: fuel-efficient driving, purchase of fuel-efficient vehicles, and driving less. Participants attend driver-to-driver-format workshops, indicate the specific changes in driving habits they will make and the number of people they will tell about what they learned, and attend special events such as tire clinics where they are given free pressure gauges and can learn to test their tire pressure.  This program was designated a Tools of Change Landmark case study in 2011. A webinar on the program will be held in February 2011. About half a year later, this case study will be updated and the webinar recording, transcript and handouts will be posted. 

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Energy Smackdown Uses Game Play to Involve Community Members  

The Energy Smackdown uses engaging game playing to involve community members in energy conservation, and television and webcasts to make visible the energy-saving efforts of teams of households. The Smackdown is organized into two broad challenges. In the household challenge, participants are evaluated based on their percent reduction in per person CO2 emissions as well as per person carbon footprint. For the team challenge, members of a community or organization work together to expand their impact and organize special challenge events that highlight key issues and raise awareness in the community. This program was designated as a Landmark (best practice) case study by a Tools of Change selection panel in 2010.

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Rewire Behaviour Change Program at U of T Residences  

This case study is a great model for reducing energy consumption through behaviour changes in student residences. Toolkits provide student organizers with detailed discussions of the environmental impact of specific behaviours, implementation strategies for energy conservation, and an assortment of 'action tools'. These organizers use the materials conservation-themed events to set a positive social norm for environmentally conscious activities. This program was designated a Landmark case study in 2010.

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Power Smart Residential Behavioural Program  

This program is a great example of applying a “loyalty group” approach to progressively engage participants in changing behaviours. Because electricity and electricity conservation tend to be a low priority for many British Columbians, BC Hydro has connected energy conservation to the things that people care about through an opt-in loyalty model and a focus on story-telling, co-creation, challenges and individualized feedback. Regular communications repeatedly drive participants back to their Members’ Tool Box, which serves as a ‘hub’. Ultimately, the product mix is designed to increase participant engagement levels on three dimensions: affiliation, (“this is who I am”), resonance (“this is right for me”) and enjoyment (“I like this”). Multi-year impact data.  Designated a Landmark case study in 2011.

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Southwest Florida Management District's "Skip a Week" Yard Watering Campaign  

This "Skip a Week" yard watering campaign used a combination of mass media and norm appeals  to overcome misconceptions about the amount of water required for healthy yard plants and to reduce yard water use. It resulted in an estimated 1.2 billion gallons of water saved during the four month campaign, at a cost of $0.60 per thousand gallons.

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Smarter Travel in Outer London: Integrated Marketing in the UK  

This case study involves two boroughs in London England, and illustrates the use of integrated marketing. For each target audience, this approach integrates common messaging and synergistic interventions across multiple communication channels, including partners such as physicians, police, NGOs, and chambers of commerce, as well as home visits that provide personalized travel planning. The initiative also includes cycle training, car sharing clubs, workplace and school programs. This case study illustrates the application of traditional social marketing methods, including formative research, setting measurable objectives, audience segmentation and piloting (including a control community.)

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SMUD’S Home Electricity Report Program  

This well-evaluated program uses feedback, reminders, normative messaging, loss-aversion, goal setting and commitments to improve energy conservation and overcome the “rebound effect.” Sacramento county residents get Home Electricity Reports comparing monthly and annual electricity usage to 100 comparable homes and 20 comparable, highly efficient homes nearby; low-use households get happy faces on their reports. The customized reports also recommend specific energy-saving opportunities and show potential savings from reducing to the level of the 20 most efficient comparison households. Designated as a Landmark (best practice) case study in 2010.

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Maryland & Virginia Telework  

How can municipal and regional governments best promote telework? This case study highlights the telework program that originated in the Washington DC area in 1996, and the state-wide program that was subsequently established in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The later offers cost reimbursement (up to $35,000 per business), free personal assistance, and promotional “Telework Days.” Both programs help overcome key policy and adoption barriers, and both have impressive impact data.

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Fondaction and Carrefour Earn Points for Sustainable Transportation  

Many prizes have been won by employees at Fondaction and the other institutions at Carrefour financier solidaire, for adopting sustainable transportation habits. Carrefour, based in Montreal, has approximately 130 employees. Carbopoint is one of the hallmarks of its sustainable transportation plan, launched in October 2007. Employees who use alternatives to driving alone when commuting accumulate points. These points, based on greenhouse gas reductions, are redeemed each year for gift certificates for outdoor gear, fair trade products or charitable donations. To make it easier to make these choices, employees are also offered a 50% discount on public transit passes, reserved garage parking for carpoolers and free bike tune-ups. This is a great model for businesses of all sizes.

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Workplace Cycle Challenge Program  

The ‘Workplace Cycle Challenge’ is a three-week long intervention to encourage people to take up and continue cycling; encourage people who are already cycling to cycle more often; and encourage people to cycle to work.

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TransLink's TravelSmart Program  

TransLink’s TravelSmart program helps businesses and residents of Metro Vancouver make smart travel choices and reduce the number of trips made by driving alone. It includes an Employer Pass Program, ridesharing, car share (including corporate car share), active transportation, parking management, guaranteed ride home, and telework, all supported by strong promotion. This case study also reports on TransLink’s individualized marketing pilot, which was designated Landmark status in 2008.

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Ten-Day Challenge  

The Ten-Day Challenge is an innovative approach that helps parents and teachers work closely and cooperatively together to reduce violence among children and teens. Since 2003, it has been implemented in over 60 schools across Ontario and Quebec, Canada. Evaluations by parents, students and teachers have shown significant impacts on the everyday life of participants: more time reading and doing physical activity, more harmonious relationships, better attention in class, more respectful language and behaviour at home and school, and less physical and verbal violence.

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Reward and Reminder Reduces Illegal Cigarette Sales  

Reward and Reminder, within months, dramatically reduced the illegal sales of cigarettes to minors in a number of American states, and is easily replicable. This case study is an excellent illustration of the use of multiple baseline design instead of control groups.

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FLEX YOUR POWER  

Flex Your Power, which was a central part of California's response to the energy crisis of 2001/02, was the largest electricity conservation campaign ever conducted in any state in the USA. It helped convince Californians to reduce peak energy use sufficiently to avoid power outages. The campaign became an ongoing program and in 2007 incorporated messaging focused on global warming.

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Vancouver's Employee Trip Reduction Program  

The Greater Vancouver Regional District's (GVRD's) Employee Trip Reduction Program took an integrated, multi-modal approach. By supporting the use of all modes of alternative transportation, a higher rate of employee buy-in could be obtained. This case study also shows how a municipality first developed a program for its own employees and then used it as a model for other employers. Even though GVRD has more resources to draw on than many other municipalities, the program's elements can be replicated by any community. This case study documents a program that took place between 1996 and 2002. A separate case study covers more current details on the public program that resulted.

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Seattle Neighborhoods In Motion  

Seattle’s In Motion program uses tantalizing neighborhood prompts followed by direct outreach to engage residents in learning about and trying travel options. King County Metro (KCM) has completed demonstrations in three neighborhoods, and additional demonstrations are now being conducted by several partner cities. It was designed for easy replication, and a program how-to guide is currently being prepared to facilitate implementation by others.

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Water - Use It Wisely  

Water Use It Wisely has become one of North America's most widely implemented, branded water conservation programs, with over 350 private and public partners, including corporate sponsors such as Lowes and The Home Depot. It illustrates a wide range of promotional tactics and strong partnership development, and is available for use throughout North America.

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Save The Crabs - Then Eat 'Em  

To reduce nutrient pollution flowing into the Chesapeake Bay, this media-based campaign convinced area residents to fertilize their lawns in the fall rather than spring. For those hiring lawn services, it promoted partner lawn services that were Bay-friendly. The 2004 campaign was framed not as an environmental appeal, but as a way to ensure the continued availability of Chesapeake Bay seafood. It was followed in May 2011 with legislation that limits both the content and the application of fertilizer for urban and suburban lawns.

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Marketing Social Marketing Within NC Public Health  

North Carolina’s Division of Public Health took a social marketing approach to building, marketing and institutionalizing the use of social marketing within the state’s public health department. This case study illustrates how both enlightened leadership and "grass roots" efforts at the program staff level can combine to successfully disseminate an organizational innovation of this sort.

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Everyday Kyoto  

Everyday Kyoto is a program for educating Bell Canada employees on climate change and inviting them to reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses released at work and at home.

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Fork It Over!  

Fork it Over! is a peer-to-peer initiative that helps food businesses in Portland Oregon to donate surplus prepared, perishable foods that have not been served, by showing that it is safe, simple and the right thing to do. It recruits food businesses to make written, public commitments to donate food regularly, reinforces and publicizes those commitments, and prompts action at the moment when donations are available. It also leverages partnership support from key industry leaders and associations to reinforce the social and cultural value of food donation, and provides regular reinforcement for participating through free advertising.

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GCC Active and Safe Routes to School (1996 to 2005)  

The Green Communities Active and Safe Routes to School program encourages families to reduce automobile use and increase physical activity for children as they travel to and from school. This case study covers pilot implementation by Greenest City, and expansion to other schools across the Greater Toronto Area and then throughout Ontario. Green Communities Canada now supports delivery of Active and Safe Routes to School programs nationwide. Updated in 2005. More recent information is contained in a new case study.

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Road Crew Reduces Drunk Driving  

Road Crew helps Wisconsin communities provide alternative rides for people who have had too much to drink and then drive home. In the formative research, bar patrons indicated that they wouldn't take a ride home if their cars were at the bar, but would ride home if the program also picked them up at home so their cars wouldn't be available. Road Crew is positioned to allow people to not worry about driving home, and therefore be able to enjoy the evening more fully. The program has given over 85,000 rides and is self-sustaining without using any government revenues in 6 counties of Wisconsin. Road Crew is well suited for replication in small towns and exceptionally well researched and documented. It provides a free on-line toolkit and for-fee consultation to support those following its approach.

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20/20 The Way to Clean Air  

20/20 The Way to Clean Air involved individuals in the Greater Toronto Area in reducing home energy use and vehicle use by 20%. It asked participants to make a small commitment (some easy-to-do activities done for a period of two weeks), leading to a larger commitment (longer-term, greater cost savings actions), and connected them with programs and services that helped them succeed.

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AutoShare  

AutoShare, a car sharing company in Toronto, provides individuals with the freedom of driving without the hassles and high costs associated with owning a car. The company began in October of 1998, with 16 members sharing the use of 3 cars, and had grown to over 500 members and 28 cars by July 2001.

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Be Water Wise. It Makes Cents  

To promote water efficiency and reduce water consumption, residents were offered home visits conducted by trained volunteers and the opportunity to obtain discounts on home water-saving devices.

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Bike Smarts  

The Bike Smarts program was introduced in Lochside Elementary School to educate students about bicycle safety and to encourage them to travel by bicycle. As part of the program, parents of the students became involved in cycling to school with their children and participated in a cycling field trip.

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Claremont  

To find effective ways to increase public participation in recycling, two studies were undertaken in the City of Claremont, California. In each case, trained volunteers went door-to-door contacting members of non-recycling households. Two approaches were tried -one using Boy Scouts, and the other using neighbours as volunteers.

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The Great Strathcona Exchange  

Strathcona County organizes an annual one-day waste exchange. Staffed largely by volunteers, this free event enables people to return serviceable appliances, furniture, or other large household items to useful service by making them available for others to reuse.

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Jasper Energy Efficiency Project (JEEP)  

To promote energy conservation, Jasper residents received a one-hour home visit in which conservation strategies and a retrofit incentive program were explained. They were also offered energy efficient products, installation included. The JEEP program won five awards, including two from the International Association of Business Communicators.

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Norway Public School Litterless Lunch  

Students eating lunch at Norway Public School were exposed to an ongoing Litterless Lunch program - one that involved the participation of parents and made use of student monitors. In addition, there was an emphasis on recycling and composting throughout the school.

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Quinte Waste Solutions and History of the Blue Box in Canada  

To encourage people to reduce the amount of curbside waste going to land fills, a range of waste diversion programs were introduced in the Centre and South Hastings Region of Ontario and Prince Edward County, including backyard composting, expanded Blue Box recycling, reducing and properly disposing of household hazardous waste, and a user-pay system. The notes section tells the history of the Blue Box in Canada.

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WaterSmart  

To reduce peak period water consumption and increase awareness of the need to conserve water, a program involving watering restrictions, bicycle patrols and student exercises was implemented in Kamloops, British Columbia.

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Zehr's  

A campaign at a Zehr's store in Kitchener, Ontario, reminded customers to buy products which used less packaging, were more concentrated and safer for the environment. Some customers were asked to make a commitment to purchase "green" alternatives and to watch an in-store information video showing other people making their decision to buy "green."

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Ozone Action Program  

In Southeast Michigan, the Clean Air Coalition runs a program to help reduce the formation of ground level ozone, which is a threat to environmental and human health and is one of the primary contributors to smog. The Ozone Action Program educates households and businesses, and encourages participation in voluntary ozone reduction activities. A key component of the program involves Ozone Action alerts which are issued when ozone levels are expected to exceed federal standards the following day.

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Spare the Air  

When air pollution concentrations approach unhealthy levels, people living and working within the San Francisco Bay Area are notified, and encouraged to avoid activities that pollute the air. Partnerships with local businesses and public agencies allow the program to target commuters at work, and offer information, incentives and services to help them choose less polluting alternatives.

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Ottawa's Commuter Challenge  

Ottawa's Commuter Challenge is a week long event that encourages people of legal driving age (16+) to reduce air pollution by using active or sustainable transportation to get to and from work or school. People are asked to walk, cycle, take the bus, telework, carpool, or a combination of those, instead of driving alone.

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TV Program Teaches Energy Conservation  

A 20 minute television program that suggested simple, no-cost strategies for reducing household energy consumption in summer was delivered over cable television in Roanoke, Virginia, in 1982. Residents who viewed the program once, adopted some of the modeled strategies. Although overall electricity savings were close to 10%, the participants did not feel that their level of comfort was compromised. Though this program focused on energy conservation, the approach can be applied to any area where behaviour modification is desired.

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Oregon's Air Quality Public Education and Incentive Program  

This ongoing program educates the public and provides incentives to improve air quality in Portland. It uses non-regulatory approaches that target vehicles, lawnmowers, paints and certain consumer products - to reduce emissions from Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

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User Pay for Residential Waste Pickup in Ontario (Research Alert)  

This research alert, reprinted from an article in Solid Waste and Recycling Magazine, provides an overview of the growth of user-pay for residential waste pickup in Ontario, including pricing. It was written by Maria Kelleher and John Dixie Enviros-RIS, based on surveys they conducted.

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Green$aver  

Green$aver provides home energy efficiency assessments and retrofit services in metropolitan Toronto. These assessments are conducted using Canada's EnerGuide for Houses system, which rates the overall energy efficiency of houses, identifies priority areas for improvement, and measures post-retrofit energy savings. Green$aver charges its customers a fee for its services, and it is trying to become a self-sustaining business. Work-based marketing approaches are being piloted, to promote Green$avers services to employees of local partner organizations.

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Reducing Residential Pesticide Use: A Best Practice Review (Research Alert)  

This best practices review studied nine communities in Canada, the United States and Europe that were leaders in reducing their pesticide use. Only those communities that passed a by-law and supported it with education or made a community agreement were successful in reducing the use of pesticides by a high degree (51-90%). Education and outreach programs alone were less effective. The report, published April 2004, highlights the most promising approaches used by the nine communities.

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U-PASS: University of Washington's Transportation Management Program  

U-PASS is a comprehensive, flexible program designed to encourage University of Washington students, staff and faculty to use alternative modes of transportation and thereby reduce the volume of traffic in Seattle's University District. The program provides many inexpensive commuting options and incentives to program participants, including: increased and subsidized transit service, shuttle service, carpools, vanpools, ridematch services, bicycle incentives, reimbursed rides home, daily flex permits, and merchant discounts. U-Pass was designated a Landmark case study in 2009.

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British Columbia's Way to Go! Program  

A tiny pilot project in the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) that got families out of their cars and onto the street has grown into a burgeoning, province-wide, active transportation program. Between December, 1998, and spring, 2001, 350 schools in British Columbia embraced the Way To Go! school trip reduction project.

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Turn it Off  

Turn it Off is a community-based initiative to encourage individuals to avoid idling their vehicles while waiting at such places as school pick-up areas and transit Kiss and Ride parking lots. Replicability: high.

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Multi-University Rideshare Project  

The University Rideshare Project provides universities and colleges across Canada with the information, training, tools and encouragement needed to easily set up their own car pooling programs, free of charge.

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Promoting Sustainable Agriculture in Panama  

This case study describes the experiences of a Canadian woman working as a project leader promoting sustainable agriculture in a rural village in Panama. It provides some tips on improving the success of programs aimed at promoting sustainable agriculture, with a focus on building partnerships and achieving buy-in.

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Walking the Talk?  

In the City of Ottawa, EnviroCentre developed and implemented community-based social marketing (CBSM) techniques designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through transportation demand management (TDM) initiatives linked to Green Home Visits (GHVs). By combining social marketing with community-based credibility and capacity, and by building partnerships with other stakeholders in the community, EnviroCentre demonstrated how cost-effective techniques can help people overcome barriers to changing their transportation habits.

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Water-Efficient Durham  

The Regional Municipality of Durham targeted neighbourhoods with high summer peak water use, and convinced most residents to sign a written pledge to water their lawns in accordance with municipal guidelines. The program has consistently reduced peak water use in targeted neighborhoods by 30% at first, then leveling off at around 17% after a year. It cost $19 per household in 2004 and is considered to be 1/5 the cost of the alternative - which is to expand the water supply infrastructure.

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Back to Sleep - Health Canada SIDS Social Marketing Campaign  

Using carefully targeted mass media messaging strategies, Back to Sleep taught parents and other primary infant caregivers across Canada how to avoid the risk factors associated with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

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Bert the Salmon: Promoting Natural Lawn Care in the Seattle Area  

An extremely successful, media-based public relations campaign has convinced hundreds of thousands of Seattle-area homeowners to turn their backs on many environmentally harmful lawn care practices and embrace elements of natural lawn care. The campaign also uses a habit change kit that includes a lawn sign.

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Reducing Pesticide Use in Hudson, St. Lazare, and Notre Dame de l'Île Perrot  

A combination of by-laws with escalating fines and home visits enabled a number of small towns in Quebec, Canada to reduce the cosmetic use of pesticides on residential properties by 80 to 90%. They were some of the first communities in North America to do so.

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Quebec's Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides  

The Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (CAP) brought about a quick change in thinking regarding pesticides, and engaged citizens and other organizations to organize their own pesticide reduction efforts, with their Pesticide Free Naturally campaign in the province of Quebec, Canada. Their program used action kits with lawn signs, community workshops and events, low-cost memberships and mass media. A survey included with the action kits (self reported) indicated changes in pesticide use as well. This campaign built on the one originally developed by the Green Communities Association.

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Switch Out Mercury Recovery Program  

The Switch Out program draws on the voluntary assistance of Canadian automotive recyclers to remove light switches containing mercury from end-of-life vehicles. Initiated by the Clean Air Foundation (CAF) in June 2001, Switch Out has significantly reduced the impact of mercury disposal into the environment.

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Lions-Quest –Skills for Adolescence and Working Towards Peace, Detroit  

The Detroit Public School system significantly reduced violent acts and classroom misconduct in fourteen middle schools. They were part of a two-year research project to evaluate the effectiveness of two Lions-Quest programs, Skills for Adolescence, a life skills program for middle school, and Working Toward Peace, an anger management and conflict resolution program for middle school. Lions-Quest fit easily in the school curriculum and involved the community. Program design made it easy to replicate in other cultures.

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Halifax Regional Municipality Pesticide By-law  

In 2000, Halifax introduced a by-law reducing the use of pesticides on municipal and residential properties, to protect human health and the environment. The municipality used internal resources and external partners to phase in the by-law over several years while educating residents on sustainable turf maintenance and alternatives to synthetic pesticides.

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Stop It Now! Vermont  

The purpose of this project was to introduce a public health approach to child sexual abuse prevention. Previous prevention programs focused on children and how to prevent their victimization, or how to report the abuse after the abuse occurred. This program introduced a new approach that focused on adults and how to prevent the perpetration of child sexual abuse.

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HEADSTART  

Hampshire County's Transport Awareness Initiative (HEADSTART) encourages more sensible use of cars in order to reduce road traffic and environmental pollution, protect human health and minimize future infrastructure cost. Based on the notion of public participation and community mobilization, the program developed and implemented a discussion workshop to help explore various transport issues, directly involve the community in the policy-making process, and engage the citizens in supporting the resulting policies. Volunteers were trained to lead the workshop, supported by a CD-ROM technology and a how-to manual that is available for use by other interested groups or organizations.

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Sustainable Okotoks  

Unprecedented steps were taken by the Town of Okotoks, Alberta to ensure its long-term sustainability. The community devised a sustainable development plan that rests on four guiding principles: environmental stewardship, economic opportunity, social conscience and fiscal responsibility.

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Waterloo's Plant Health Care Program  

The City of Waterloo has dramatically decreased its use of pesticides on municipally owned land through practices that promote healthy, vigorous turf and soil. The city's Plant Health Care Program (PHCP) has over time become Waterloo's preferred method of turf care. 

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Manitoba Heavy Construction Association's Safety, Health and Environment Program  

Manitoba heavy construction companies are more eager than ever to learn safety, health and environment skills since the industry's trade association launched a revamped, user-friendly new support program. Organizers of the Manitoba Heavy Construction Associations Safety, Health Environment Program (SHEP) hope this interest will lead to fewer worker injuries and environmental accidents. Write-up funding provided by Environment Canada's National Office of Pollution Prevention.

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Travel Blending  

Travel Blending(R) is a bottom up Travel Demand Management tool developed by Steer Davies Gleave, an international transport management consultancy group. It enables individuals and households to record then consciously change their current travel behaviour. For a one-week period participants track their travel habits in specially prepared diaries. These are then analysed and a personalised assessment with recommendations is provided. After a month, participants complete another series of diaries and then receive more personalized feedback.

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Do Your Share for Cleaner Air  

The region of Greater Cincinnati implemented an episode day program to deal with the problem of smog and air quality. When smog levels were particularly high, citizens were notified and encouraged to change their behaviours to less polluting ones. The focus was primarily on commuting, but includef other polluting activities as well. The campaign was known as "Do Your Share for Cleaner air".

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Improving Employee Transportation: The Cambie Corridor Consortium  

The Cambie Corridor Consortium (CCC) was the first transportation management association (TMA) established in Canada. A TMA is an alliance of business, government, and other groups that aims to reduce traffic in a particular area by pooling resources and expertise. Cambie's aim is to reduce the number of single occupancy vehicles commuting to the Cambie/Broadway area of Vancouver and improve air quality by providing alternative transportation solutions and information. Approximately 25,000 employees are represented through CCC's 21 members.

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Resource Conservation in Ashland, Oregon  

The City of Ashland runs a range of conservation incentive programs aimed primarily at promoting energy efficiency but also encompassing water conservation, regional air quality, recycling and composting, and land-use planning. The programs are designed to increase citizens' awareness of and access to conservation measures for new construction and retrofit, including residential weatherization, replacement of toilets and showerheads, composting, incentives for builders, and land-use ordinances.

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off ramp  

Off ramp was an out-of-class initiative that encouraged secondary school students to walk, cycle or take transit to school more often, thereby reducing car use. It increased awareness of transportation and climate change issues, provided incentives, and reduced barriers to transportation alternatives. In short, it improved the availability and popularity of sustainable transportation within the schools and their communities.

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Halifax Waste Resource Management Strategy  

The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), along with public and private partners, has implemented an innovative strategy for the on-site separation of wet, dry and recyclable waste at both residential and business sources. Operational since January 1999, the Halifax approach demonstrates an environmentally sound alternative to incineration or raw waste land-filling and continues to generate national and international interest.

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Nortel Networks' GreenCommute  

In 1998, Nortel Networks initiated GreenCommute, a Transportation Demand Management (TDM) program for its campus expansion in Ottawa, Ontario, that has grown into one of the most comprehensive TDM programs in Canada. Nortel Networks has since expanded the program to other sites in Canada and United States. This case study shows how key partnerships, pedestrian-oriented site design, and a strong commitment to green commuting can successfully engage employee participation. Replicability: high

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Le Club Millezinc  

Student volunteers are enlisted and trained to present information to younger students regarding environment-friendly lifestyle changes, and the relationship between environmental protection and human health. The volunteers create videos and written material and travel to local schools to deliver the presentations.

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The Roach Coach Project  

This pilot program demonstrated how a brief, on-site, educational intervention coupled with resource materials can influence tenants to adopt less hazardous pest control methods. Materials were developed for use by others.

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Calgary Commuter Challenge  

The Calgary Commuter Challenge is an annual, weeklong event designed to encourage commuters to use cleaner and healthier forms of transportation. Participating organizations compete with each other for the highest rates of employee participation. The city of Calgary also competes against other Canadian cities in the nation-wide Commuter Challenge.

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Marley Station Mall  

This pilot used simple signs to promote health and weight control by encouraging the use of stairs instead of escalators.

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Montreal Dietary Dispensary  

This award-winning program was established to help disadvantaged women give birth to babies of healthy weight, by providing nutritional counselling and support to expectant mothers at risk.

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Better Buildings Partnership  

Toronto's Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) involves comprehensive energy efficiency retrofits and building renewal initiatives for buildings in the public, non-profit and private sectors. Innovative financing strategies are implemented and energy and water technologies are bundled together with other building renewal measures to allow for project flexibility.

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AIDS Peer Education Program  

The goal of this peer education program was to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and AIDS among teenagers, by the postponement of sexual involvement or by condom use. A group of trained students (ages 15-16) created skits, videos, games and posters, then made presentations for their younger peers (ages 12-15).

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Earth-Works  

The Earth-Works program was created to reduce the amount of organic waste going to landfill in Port Colborne. An intensive promotion program, featuring home visits and the distribution of free composters, encouraged residents to compost organic waste in their own backyards.

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The Clean Air Commute  

Pollution Probe hosts an annual, month-long Clean Air Campaign to raise awareness about smog, vehicle emissions and related respiratory problems. The main event of this campaign is The Clean Air Commute, a one-day event in which employees pledge to carry out cleaner commuting practices. In 1996 a pilot was conducted to build on the one-day event and measure the resulting changes over a period of three months.

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The Environment Network  

This comprehensive program utilized several strategies including home visits, incentives and starter kits to induce households to reduce energy, water consumption, waste to landfill and pollution.

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Get in the Loop -- Buy Recycled  

To encourage people to buy more recycled-content products, an annual, month-long Get in the Loop campaign reminds shoppers in rural and urban areas of western Washington State to buy recycled through in-store promotional materials, and identifies specific recycled-product choices right on the store shelf. This is supported by a print and radio advertising campaign conducted cooperatively with product manufacturers and local retailers.

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Global Action Plan for the Earth (GAP)  

As of 1996, over 8,000 households in 15 countries had participated in GAP's EcoTeam program which revolves around an easy-to-use workbook and peer support groups. The program focuses on waste reduction, water and energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, and other sustainable consumer habits.

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Go Boulder  

To promote a shift from single-occupant vehicle use to more sustainable modes of transportation, the City of Boulder uses several synergistic approaches. It offers transit passes to entire workplaces, schools and neighbourhoods, with guaranteed rides home for workplace pass holders needing to stay late at work or in case of an emergency. The city has continually improved its physical system to be more supportive of alternative transportation methods, with high-profile monthly reminders and opportunities to try these alternative methods.

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Guelph 2000  

Started in 1993 under Ontario's Green Communities Initiative, Guelph 2000 provided a home visit service that encouraged City of Guelph residents to undertake a wide variety of conservation related actions in their homes, including sustainable landscaping practices.

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In Concert with the Environment  

In Concert With The Environment ( In Concert) is a customizable educational program developed by EcoGroup. It is sold to electric, natural gas, and water utilities in the U.S. who provide the program to local schools free of charge. In Concert teaches about careful use of resources, particularly energy and water use, providing a hands-on, real-life learning experience for students in grades 6-12, and their families.

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Iowa City  

To influence households to reduce natural gas and electricity use, 20-minute home visits were conducted in which conservation strategies were explained, people were asked to participate, and a commitment to participate was requested.

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Pacific Gas and Electric  

Pacific Gas and Electric was using home audits to encourage residents to improve the energy efficiency of their customers' homes. In order to improve the effectiveness of home visits, the utility trained some of its auditors to obtain commitment from the resident, to frame recommendations in terms of "loss" rather than "gain" and to convey recommendations in a personalized, vivid manner.

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Peterborough Green-Up  

Peterborough Green-Up is a non-profit community environmental organization that helps people become more resource efficient through a home visit service. A demonstration Ecology Park is also run, in conjunction with related workshops and clinics.

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The Residential Conservation Assistance Program (ReCAP)  

The Residential Conservation Assistance Program ( ReCAP) provided a free home visit service to the residents of Oshawa, Ontario, aimed at helping householders reduce their use of energy and water and improve their 3Rs practices. Trained home advisors provided householders with one-on-one assistance to identify and undertake conservation and cost-saving opportunities. As of 1996 the program had been renamed Green CAP and householders were required to pay a fee for the home visits.

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Sheffield Mills Community Association  

The organizing efforts of Sheffield Mills Community Association show what a small community can do to help its residents reduce waste. A collection depot, home visits and coaching helped people to start recycling and composting.

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The Toxic Challenge  

To encourage people to reduce their use of toxic-containing consumer products, a door-to-door campaign was organized in two neighbourhoods of Metropolitan Toronto. Summer students staffed the campaign in which residents were asked to try non-toxic or less toxic alternatives.

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We're Toxic Free  

The City of Peterborough conducted a door-to-door pilot campaign to influence residents' behaviours related to the purchasing and disposal of toxic household chemicals. Summer students staffed the campaign in which residents were asked to try non-toxic or less toxic alternatives.

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Whitney Public School  

Students at Whitney Public School were given a homework assignment to take responsibility for their home's Blue Box recycling for one week. The assignment was to be carried out by the students with parent participation. Information was provided to each home on new materials that were being accepted in the Blue Box.

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BC21 PowerSmart  

BC21 PowerSmart is a province wide project to conserve resources and create jobs. Residential energy efficiency audits are conducted, and incentives are offered to encourage residents to take steps to improve energy and water efficiency.

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