Ureika - Engaging for Change

“That promised “culture of conservation” is on holiday. We have the Peaksaver program, but Ontario is one of the most electricy-wasteful jurisdictions in the world (consumption per person is more than 50 per cent greater than in New York State). For every dollar spent on pumping conseration, $119 is spent on finding new supplies. Instead of cutting back our power use, we´re investing precious cash in old tech.”
Enzo Di Matteo, Going with the Flow, Now Toronto

Will it work? Can you measure it? These are the questions we hear more than any others.

Immediate results are within reach

300GWh LDCs can achieve highly measurable results achievable within months of implementing a targeted social engagement approach. In 2010 alone, 300GWh of energy was saved by LDCs using social engagement methods in the US, more than one-third of the entire generating capacity of the current solar-power industry, and this is just the beginning...

Long-term goals can be achieved via social engagement

Canadian governments and environmental agencies all state that "a culture of conservation" is the key to long-term success. Until now, no such initiative has been developed to create this connection between LDCs and consumers.

“..we must continue to develop cleaner forms of electricity and foster a conservation-oriented culture.”
Ontario Energy Long Term Blueprint – Page #3

chart LDCs are working hard on various approaches and incentive programs that talk about ways to reduce energy consumption. Although the incentive programs are be a powerful tool, the current delivery platforms do not provide a way to address the core issue of long-term behavioral change — continuous engagement.
Engagement must comes first , followed by relevant, actionable information, leading to conservation and ultimately behavioural change towards energy consumption.

chart LDCs need to create a meaningful dialog between themselves and their customers, dialog that engage in personal and meaningful ways. It is one thing to receive a direct mailer about an incentive program such as "Refrigerator Roundup", it is another thing entirely to engage one on one with a consumer , letting them know exactly how much an incentive will affect them based on their unique situation. Giving them information on how many other individuals in their neighbourhood are participating in the same program, and ultimately giving them a larger forum that drives participation and an understanding of how their changes are making an impact.

Targeted engagement not only achieves participation rates as high as 80-90%, but recent research also shows that this participation is an ongoing process that builds short-term conservation and changes behavioural attitudes towards energy consumption as a whole, driving long term, positive change.

“Working together to reduce electricity use at peak times makes sound economic and environmental sense. Providing consumers with the benefit of up-to-date and accurate electricity consumption readings is also critical to the creation of a culture of ”
Ontario Energy Long Term Blueprint – Page #38