[greenon-l] Doors Closed -- An A/C campaign!

[Conservation Council of Ontario]

Green On.
The Online Newsletter of the Conservation Council of Ontario
see www.greenontario.org for the online version and to subscribe or unsubscribe

Editor:  Chris Winter, Executive Director

Note:  The Green On. listserve is currently being used to promote our We 
Conserve Initiative
Please see www.weconserve.ca for details.


[]




Doors Closed
Please help us reach out to every store and restaurant in Ontario!

<http://www.weconserve.ca/august2005.html>www.weconserve.ca/august2005.html

Time for a little action.

Our first two entries on this blog focused on the broader questions of 
where the movement is going – history, trends and the scope of the 
conservation movement.

This week, we’re launching a quick start campaign to ask stores and 
restaurants to close their doors and windows when the air conditioning is 
on.  Our question for you is:  How can you help?  Can your organization 
promote the campaign and help find volunteers?  Can you become a community 
distribution centre for posters?



“Cool the Store – and nothing more”
For the week of August 8 to 14, culminating with the second anniversary of 
the 2003 blackout, the CCO will be orchestrating a campaign to ask stores 
and restaurants across Ontario to close the doors when using air 
conditioning.  To counter the concern that a closed door means less 
business we are distributing a poster that says "Our door is closed, but we 
are open" and we will conduct a media blitz asking the public to support 
stores and restaurants displaying the sign.

In our media work over the past couple of weeks related to the heat wave, 
one of the big complaints we heard was from people who are doing their best 
to conserve but see stores and restaurants with the front door wide open 
and cold air spilling out into the street.

My suggestion was that store owners should close the door and put up a sign 
saying “our door is closed, but we are open”.  Later I thought, “why not do 
the sign for them”?  And this is the genesis of our first “quick start 
campaign” for We Conserve.

Our goal is to create a positive change in attitudes towards electricity 
conservation by both store and restaurant managers and consumers.

We are asking local groups to be a community distribution centre for 
posters, to handle local media, and to provide volunteer training in 
positive outreach techniques.  We are also looking for provincial partners 
who can help spread the word through their communications (membership and 
public outreach) and via outreach programs.

Already, we have some great partners.  Cool Shops will distribute 1,000 
posters in Toronto, Ottawa, London, Peterborough and Markham.  The Beer 
Store is developing their own We Conserve poster and material for their 436 
stores.  The Ontario Chamber of Commerce has sent a notice to all its members.

For campaign details, see 
<http://www.weconserve.ca/august2005.html>www.weconserve.ca/august2005.html




The Bigger Picture
At the July 5th launch for We Conserve, I mentioned that we were looking at 
doing a quick start campaign to demonstrate the potential for a united 
conservation movement.  We may not be able to cover the entire province and 
all cultures and communities just yet, but we need to show early results, 
and we need to test the ability of Ontario’s organizations to mobilize in 
support of a common campaign.

The Doors Closed campaign is not just a cool idea; it’s a way for us to 
test just what can be achieved through a common campaign.



Procott Now!
Doors Closed is an example of a new approach to social change – 
procotting!  It’s very much a central approach to our conservation movement 
and creating a sustainable conserver economy.

Procotting is actually an offshoot of the Seattle anti-globalization 
protests.  A group from Fort Wayne, Indiana, returned from the protest 
committed to making change in their area.  They founded the Procott 
movement as a means of organizing people to make a positive difference 
through their buying practices.   See 
<http://www.web.net/%7Eprocott/origins.html>http://www.web.net/~procott/origins.html 


There’s one difference in our approach.  The Indiana procott movement 
suggests organizing small groups of seven to ten people.  We Conserve 
proposes to mobilize conservers across
Ontario

The Doors Closed campaign is an example of procotting.  It asks people to 
support stores that display the We Conserve sign.  The effect is the same 
as a boycott, but the approach is positive.


Please Help
Provincial and National Groups:  Can you promote the campaign to your 
members?  Can you provide a link on your website to the campaign?  Can you 
distribute posters?

Community groups: Can you be a distribution centre for your community? Can 
you engage local media? Can you ask for volunteers to distribute the poster 
to stores and restaurants in your community?

Individuals:  Can you distribute posters to the stores and restaurants in 
your area? Can you print copies of the poster on your own computer?

Allegra Newman, our outreach coordinator, will be handling offers of 
support.  She can be reached at research at greenontario.org, 416-533-1635 ext 
3.  Please note that for groups that can distribute 500 or more (or for PDF 
versions), we are offering to put your logo on the poster.

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