Mapping the Big Green Challenge - The Skills & Learning ...

Mapping the Big Green Challenge 151than the inclusion of ‘difficult’ areas such as air travel) this proposal might engage more people,although with less impact on carbon reduction goals.Some proposals did try to build the idea of intentional, commitment-based groups onto someexisting arena in which people already interacted as a way of enrolling more initially uncommittedpeople. An example of this is the proposal by Transition Town Totnes (235) to work with groups ofpeople who already had some social connection (e.g. neighbours, friends, work colleagues) tosupport their understanding of climate change issues and encourage them to reach their owndecision about what issues they wanted to commit to and in what ways they wanted to pursuethem. Both CRAGs and the Transition Town movement achieve an important balance between localdetermination and some wider network for peer learning.A different approach to extending membership based on an individual sharing their commitmentwith members of their (possibly uncommitted) personal network can be seen in the proposal CarbonPledges (268). This involved individuals obtaining ‘sponsorship’ to reach a commitment to reducetheir carbon footprint. Although this mirrors a traditional fundraising strategy this aspect was notcentral here. The emphasis was more on providing a reason to engage friends and family in one’spersonal commitment and its achievement and providing a reason for discussing it with them.An approach to creating commitment within an existing network was suggested in the Big MotherProgramme (733) which was aiming to work with students in rented accommodation (a recogniseddifficult area within which to achieve low carbon action). Education about low carbon living wasprovided as were various ‘aids’ (e.g. smart meters and other equipment, local vegetable boxes). Butto build a sense of a group committed to low carbon goals they proposed a social networking sitewhich would reinforce the desirability of being a housemate in a Big Mother household and allowsuch households to compete against each other.This element of fun and positive ‘rewards’ for achieving the goals to which the group is committedcan be seen more widely in the proposals. Often the rewards were primarily symbolic rather thanmaterially significant. In the example above, the application did suggest seeking donations fromlocal businesses so that prizes could be awarded but it was the competitive element rather than anysuch prizes that seemed to be central. A similar emphasis on public commitments and achievementsrather than substantive rewards can be seen in the proposal New Caledonian Woodlands PlanetPledge Project (187) where involvement in environmental conservation projects was linked togetting people to make a pledge to reduce their personal carbon emissions. Conservationvolunteers were encouraged to join a ‘planet pledge club’ which provided them with support tomonitor and reduce their emissions. If they met their target their reward was that a native speciestree would be planted in one of the Challenger’s new woodlands on their behalf. Occasional eventscan also be a way of maintaining commitment (and contrariwise of introducing some on-goingelement into the ‘events’ approach). These ideas could just be seen as recognition that wider publicpolicy mechanisms such as tax breaks and fines are not options generally available to communitygroups. However they could, alternatively, be seen as more imaginative ways to reinforce positivenorms and behaviour. The general absence of negative sanctions in proposals can also be seen as anassessment that positive approaches are more effective ways of maintaining voluntary commitment.Appleby Ltd July 2009