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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEnv - 2012-10-18 - CEIG My Sustainable Canada ApplicationName; of Program / Project: Enabling Kitchener Residents to Make Informed Choices on the Purchase and Use of ENERGY STAR qualified Appliances through a Mobile Application Total Program t Project costs: $119,617.00 Total Requested from CEIG: $3,000:00 Name of Groi Organization: Group/Organ Mailing Addra Telephone N Fax Number Email Addre Website: Group / Or a APPLICANT INFORMATION i.org Please provide a brief overview of your mission and mandate: My Sustainable Canada (MSC) exists to drive positive social and environmental change. MSC's mandate to align citizens' and organizations' consumption with a sustainable future. We do this through research,;tl design and delivery of programs, and through partnership building that introduces an environmental paradigm to the act:of purchasing.. ' Through our projects and partnerships we develop tools, bridge gaps i knowledge, and establish collaborations to provide a national vision on sustainable consumption in which' informed consumers and organizations can make purchasing decisions according to their environmental, social and economic values. MSC's mission is to empower people to make mindful shifts in purchasing decisions for a more sustainable world..MSC is on the forefront of sustainable consumption research, piloi and projects in Canada, and its headquarters is in Kitchener, Ontario. Group ! Organizational History and Successes Please describe when you were formed, any you have and major accomplishments to date: MSC is a national not -for -profit organization. Founded in 2007, MSC is comprised of five employees, is guided by an independent board of directors, and has over 250 members across Canada, including community and industry level sustainability practitioners, academics and engaged citizens. MSC is funded through government; grants and fee - for - service activities, and guided by an advisory council that provides input into the planning and development of future programs and services that meet the needs of MSC members. Since 2000, MSC has had a close strategic collaboration with the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. Among our behaviour- change successes in the environmental field, we have been distinguished as "Local Food Champions" (2012) by the Broader Public Sector Investment Fund; and we received the Sustainable Tourism Award (2011) for our work in designing and implementing an engine idling reduction program that has been replicated across the country. -' 2011 -2012 Accomplishments include: - Created a Household Consumption Inventory and Sustainability Index - Piloted a Green Mystery Shopper Retail Assessment Tool - ldent, ying Gaps in Consumer Protection in the Second Hand Market - Establishing'; a National Green Health Care Program with the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care - Conducted Food Origin Audits for Public Institutions - Helping a Group Purchasing.Organization Incorporate Local Foods into Ontario "s Healthcare System - Designing the national ENERGY STAR Health Care Outreach Program - Engaging a National Farm to Cafeteria initiative - Sponsoring and Facilitating.a Panel Session on Building the Business Case for Regional Food Systems at,the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Sustainable Communities Conference - Presenter at the 2012 TEDx Bled (Slovenia) on Local Food and Health Care Care of ilth Error! Unknown switch argument. Project or Program Summary Please describe briefly (200 word maximum) the program or project, what is the rationale for the project or program, when will it start and finish: Water and energy use continue to rise, despite efforts to curb household consumption. While consumer demand for pro- environmental product features is high, consumers need product information on energy efficiency to be easily accessible. Access to -such data positively affects decisions to buy the 'right' products. A recent study by MSC also revealed gaps 'in sales associate knowledge and poor communication of the energy efficiency to consumers. These issues are slowing the uptake of energy efficient appliances: MSC has secured funding to create prototype mobile application that allows consumers to compare appliances when shopping in retail stores based on energy consumption and carbon emissions. It will easily communicate how buying a single energy efficient appliance can save up to $600 in lower energy/water bills, and hundreds of kilos of GHGs. MSC would like to expand upon this existing project by collecting ; information from consumers in the Kitchener area on what they would like to see in a mobile application that would help them make informed choices on the purchase and use of ENERGY STAR qualified appliances. MSC also wants to use this opportunity to build awareness among Kitchener residents of local energy conservation programs. This work would take place between January and June 2013.` Importance of the Program or Project Please explain briefly (200 word maximum) the benefits and /or importance to the community of the program or project: Forty decades of consumer research reveals sales of efficient appliances has been slowed by low consumer awareness. This is unfortunate considering consumers say they would buy efficient products if they had easy access to energy consumption information. The impact of such information would be profound. In the US,.increased adoption of efficient appliances would save 8;billion kWh, 280 million therms of natural gas, and 175 billion L of water every year. MSC is developing <a prototype mobile app to help bring cost/energy savings to consumers. Communitech will develop the app, along with students and academics from the University of Waterloo. It will be piloted in Kitchener in partnership with Best Buy and Future Shop. MSC has funding to develop the app but needs support to understand how Kitchener residents would use it. MSC also wants Kitchener residents to be excited about energy savings! CEIG funds will be used to: promote local energy conservation initiatives; collect baseline information on what appliances Kitchener residents are using and when they might be in the market for purchasing replacements; and, measure and promote citizen awareness of energy, efficient' product options and local energy conservation programs; The project will build awareness of energy conservation, and will help ensure that new tools are developed to help them take advantage energy savings. Error! Unknown switch argument. Goals,/ Objectives: of the Program or Project Please list the short and long-term goals, the environmental benefits, and how the program or project addresses environmental issues and /or problems in Kitchener: The CEIG funds would, be used to develop a better understanding of what consumers in the Kitchener area want in an environmental mobile application, and to promote the uptake of efficient appliances and energy conservation behaviours. Specifically this supplemental research project will: 1. Collect baseline information on the current appliances/TVs that City of Kitchener residents are using and when they might be in the market for purchasing ;replacements. 2. Determine if Kitchener residents would find the mobile application interesting and useful 3. Measure the current state of awareness that Kitchener residents have regarding existing energy reduction initiatives. b) Promote local energy conservation initiatives, such as: -Tier 1 and 2 Energy Conservation Programs being run Kitchener Utility companies -The availability and range of Energy Star qualified products -The Sustainable Waterloo Region Carbon Initiative - Other programs identified: during the project 4. Build formulas for different usage scenarios to improve the environmental value of the mobile app. (ie: create formulas to calculate additional energy savings that can be achieved by using cold water instead of hot water to run a washing machine) The short -term goals are to develop a prototype mobile application to help consumers compare appliances based on life -time energy use and CO2 emissions. The funds tieing requested from the CEIG will be used to support baseline data collection and better inform the development of environmental features of the application: The long term goal for this project is to create an environmental enterprise around the mobile application so that the service can become financially stable. The intention is to scale the application up after the prototyping phase to include new features and product categories. The baseline data collection would support the long term planning for the application, and will help ensure the application meets the needs of Kitchener residents; This will help ensure high uptake of the application, which will hopefully lead to increased uptake of energy efficient appliances and reduced CO2 emissions and energy /water demand'. This project addresses several environmental priorities identified in the City of Kitchener's Strategic Plan for the Environment. Several of the environmental areas of focus in the City of Kitchener's Strategic Plan include priorities to educate the public and build their` awareness. This project will address priorities for Water (priority #5);` Energy (priority #1), and Environmental Education (priority #3). Public awareness on the benefits of purchasing efficient appliances will be measured through consumer surveys, where consumers will intercepted > when shopping at Best Buy and Future Shop stores in Kitchener. Their feedback will be solicited on the prototype mobile application and specifically on what environmental data would be Error! Unknown switch argument. most valuable to them when they make, their next appliance purchase(s). Survey participants will also be asked on their awareness of local energy conservation initiatives, like Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro's free appliance pick-up and disposal service (which is geared towards reducing the burden that old and in-efficient appliances'pla,ce on the grid). The project will also help reduce the energy that Kitchener residents use to run their appliances. This supports the third and fourth Energy Priorities from the Kitchener Strategic Plan. This impact will be realized in the long term, after the mobile application is released for use by the public and local retailers as it will allow Kitchener area consumers to make a more informed, choice when looking to buy an efficient appliance. In the shorter term, four retailers in the Kitchener area will pilot the application in the sales process. This means that sates people in four stores will be using the app to help consumers decide which appliance to buy. With extra information on the environmental benefits of efficient appliances, the sales of such products should increase. This will reduce the amount of energy Kitchener area residents consume. Budget Please provide a budget showing anticipated costs; what is, the total budget, how mulch is requested from the City, what are the other contributions (shared funding, volunteer labor, donated materials, fundraising): Requested funding from CEIG: $3,000 — based on 3 core deliverables as outlined in workpian • Collection. of Baseline Information (i.e. development of survey tool, train students, data entry and analysis, report writing): $2,000 • Promotion of Energy Conservation Programs (i.e. coordinate and disseminate promotional materials during consumer surveys): $500 • Environmental.Res.earch (i.e. research and build energy,usage formulas that will generate useful energy conservation information that is relevant to Kitchener residents on how to operate and choose energy efficient appliances): $500 Other funding: $116,617 (summarized below) Cash Contributions: • Ontario Centres of Excellence (Social Innovation Fund): $50,000 • Communitech: $16,667 In-Kind Contributions • University of Waterloo: $5,000 • Communitech: $10,000 • Natural Resources Canada: $10,000 • Personnel Time from Various Project Partners (including Best Buy and Future Shop): $17,400 • Equipment and Marketing from Project Partners: $7,550 Error! Unknown switch argument. Work Schedule Please provide the timeline, tasks or steps involved in planning and implementing the program and /or project: January - March, 2013 1) Collection of Baseline Information:. • Develop consumer survey tool. • Train student field researchers to intercept and surrey consumers at Best Buy and Future Shop stores in Kitchener. • Enter data into surrey monkey and SPSS • SPSS analysis of results. • Summary report of the findings. 2) Promotion of energy conservation programs: • Review local energy initiatives and request materials to be used in promotional "activities. o Kitchener Utilities have already been contacted and expressed interest in the project. This project will allow us to promote their tier 1 and 2 energy conservation; programs. • Coordinate the dissemination of promotional materials during consumer surveys. March-June, 2013 3) Environmental Research: • Determine what usage scenarios and environmental indicators are most important to Kitchener area residents (ie: hot water vs cold water); • Research how different usage scenarios can impact selected environmental indicators. • Begin building formulas based on usage scenarios to enable the mobile app to communicate how consumers can save even more energy;by using their appliances'more efficiently. Partnerships /Collaboration Please provide a list of committee partners or collaborations, anticipated public involvement and if applicable letters ofi ermission from landowners or regulatory permits: Partner Organizations Communitech Apps Factory: Will oversee the building of the mobile application that will be piloted in this project by salespeople. The app development team will consist of a full -time senior developer, co-op students in the Systems Design Engineering Program from the University of Waterloo, commercialization and marketing experts and technology advisors. The Apps Factory will connect the project team with appropriate industry professionals and companies to help strengthen the innovation and business development opportunities for the application. , Key contact at Communitech: Rob Drimmie University of Waterloo: Students will be engaged through the ENBUS 402 program, a' Fourth Year Environmental Business class that focuses on having students seek to solve real world environmental problems. Students will be Error!' Unknown switch argument. engaged to help conduct literature reviews, conduct consumer surveys and help create a business plan for the mobile application. Key Contact: Goretty Dias Dr. Lynes is also a,partneriin the project. She will provide her academic expertise to the development of the project measurement and evaluation tools, i.e. surveying consumers using retail intercepts, interviews, feedback session with salespeople. Dr Jennifer Lynes is the Director of the Environment and Business program at the University of Waterloo's School of Environment; Enterprise and Development. Dr. Lynes' research interests are in the fields of green marketing and community -based social marketing and include how retailers communicate the sustainability of their products and services at the point of purchase. Natural Resources Canada: Dianna Miller will participate on the Advisory Committee and advise or appoint the appropriate NRCan staff to advise on all components of the project. She will provide access to the database of ENERGY STAR qualified; products: Natural Resources Canada collects energy consumption data on products that are subject to energy efficiency regulations. This data is required from any manufacturer that imparts these products into Canada. The energy consumption information is connected to make /model numbers. Best Buy and Future Shop: will provide up to 4 stores for the piloting of this project in Waterloo Region. Both Cheryl and Erin (see below) will be the motile app ,pilot project liaison on behalf of Best Buy and Future Shop. This role will involve: participating on the project advisory, panel,,: securing up to 4 stores to participate in the pilot, and overseeing the creation of branded in- store promotional materials for the pilot project. Up to 4 store managers and 20 salespeople will be engaged in this project. The store managers will be involved in scheduling and providing space for the salesperson training as well as the follow -up feedback session. Key Contacts: Cheryl Reardon, Best Buy Canada { Erin Isberg, Future Shop Public Involvement • The public will be involved through participation in the consumer intercepts, where field researchers will ask Kitchener consumers about their appliance buying and usage habits. • University of Waterloo students will also be engaged through' the EMBUS 402 program described above. DECLARATION In making this application,,1/we, the undersigned, declare to the best of our knowledge that the information contained in this application is accurate and complete. Further, that should our proposal be accepted in part or Error! Unknown switch argument. in whole, the funds granted would be used for the stated purposes and that I /we would comply with all terms and conditions as outlined in Council Policy 1-590 (Grant Program— Community Environmental Improvement). The applicantlproject:coordinator and if applicable a senior member of the organization (e.g. executive director, president, owner or school principal) must complete the following: Name (please print ) ' Tania Del matto Signature IL PositionlTitle Executive Director, My�`Sustainable Canada Date September 21 2012 Name (please print) Signature Position/Title Date (If submitting via email, please certify in the email body that you have the authority to make application on behalf of your organization to the Community Environmental Improvement Grant '(CEIG)`'of the City of Kitchener.) Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act Personal information provided by the applicant on the application form, or as support material with the application is being collected in order to process grand applications and to administer the program, and as such may be made available to City staff and members of the environmental committee. Application forms,, supporting documentation and evaluation terms will be retained in accordance with the City's Records Retention Schedule. The names of all applicants may be made public. Personal information collected on this form or as support material may become part of a public document: