It is widely known that a great deal of energy can be saved by changing the behaviour patterns of consumers. However, we see that efforts to change the habits and purchasing decisions of consumers have not been particularly successful. Often, much less energy is saved than was anticipated. In order to make campaigns and projects aimed at changing behaviour patterns more successful, the MECHanisms Toolkit (Make Energy Change Happen) was developed. This toolkit helps campaigners to avoid the most common pitfalls and make their projects more effective.

There have been many campaigns and projects to encourage people to take shorter showers, turn off the lights and do their washing at 30 °C. Governments, social organizations and consultants also try to stimulate households to choose energy-saving products through, for example, subsidies on insulation and double glazing, energy labels for domestic appliances and contributions to home-specific energy counselling. The fact that the results of these efforts were often disappointing was the reason why the European research project Changing Behaviour was initiated. For two years, ECN and 12 European partners investigated which campaigns and projects had led to energy savings and which had not. Over the twelve months, the insights gained from this research have been combined with previous research and translated into a tool for managers of projects aimed at encouraging consumers to save energy and change their behaviour. This tool, known as MECHanisms Toolkit (Make Energy Change Happen Toolkit) is now available through the website. In addition to a step-by-step plan for setting up, executing and evaluating projects, the toolkit also offers practical checklists, illustrative examples and a wealth of background information regarding various target groups (homeowners, tenants, offices, schools, etcetera), dos and don'ts for project managers and the experiences of previous projects that used the toolkit.

Contact
Ynke Feenstra
ECN Policy Studies / Energy Innovation and Society
Tel.: +31 (0)22 456 82 62
E-mail: Changing Behaviour
Take a look at the MECHanisms Toolkit 

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