A PURPOSEFUL PROJECT a case study, a how to guide - Based on the evolution of Plastic Bag Free Raglan Pēke Kirihou Kore Whāingaroa - Whaingaroa ...
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a case study, a how to guide A PURPOSEFUL PROJECT Based on the evolution of Plastic Bag Free Raglan Pēke Kirihou Kore Whāingaroa
a case study, a how to guide
A PURPOSEFUL PROJECT
Based on the evolution of
Plastic Bag Free Raglan
Pēke Kirihou Kore Whāingaroa
This guide has been funded by: This guide is based on the
work and accomplishments
of Plastic Bag Free Raglan,
Pēke Kirihou Kore Whāingaroa,
a project ignited by the
Whāingaroa Environment
Centre based in Raglan,
Aotearoa New Zealand.
CONTENTS
A PURPOSEFUL PROJECT
PREFACE ................................................................................................................... 2
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 4
RAGLAN BY THE SEA ............................................................................................. 6
SET-UP ...................................................................................................................... 7
INSIGHT: PARTNERSHIP .................................................................................... 16
INSIGHT: IMPORTANCE OF TEAMWORK .................................................... 17
GETTING STARTED.............................................................................................. 18
INSIGHT: GRASSROOTS COMMUNITY INITIATIVES ............................. 23
INSIGHT: COMMUNICATIONS .................................................................... 24
KEEP MOVING..................................................................................................... 25
INSIGHT: THE POWER OF GIVING ................................................................. 34
INSIGHT: CREATE A REASON TO CHANGE ................................................ 32
INSIGHT: TIPPING POINTS .............................................................................. 41
INSIGHT: LEVERAGING SUCCESS .............................................................. 42
CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS ..................................................................... 43
FINAL COMMENT ............................................................................................... 48
RESOURCES ........................................................................................................ 49
APPENDIX ............................................................................................................. 51
WRITTEN BY DESIGNED BY PROJECT CONTRIBUTOR
JUNE PENN KARAMEA P PURIRI LISA SCHILL
VALERIE BIANCHI
1 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECT
PREFACE
A PURPOSEFUL PROJECT
PL ASTIC BAG FREE RAG L AN
PĒKE KIRIHOU KORE WHĀINGAROA
In October 2018, Whāingaroa Raglan won the Keep New Zealand Beautiful
‘Community Environmental Initiative Award’.
The kōrero behind this Award is really a story of what happened when a whole
community worked together to engage in significant behaviour change around one
troublesome item of waste - single-use plastic carry bags.
Working to protect the environment in a capitalist economy is inherently tricky. When
working in a whole and diverse community to reduce waste, we are unavoidably
working within this economic system, so it is highly likely that the tension between
the need to protect money and the need to protect environment will arise during a
change project.
One purpose of this project was about finding ways to navigate environmental and
economic tensions in a way that would enable the whole community to engage in
practical, meaningful ways towards a clear goal.
The lessons learned in achieving this change and the methodologies employed
provided us with a useful blueprint for a proven way to address other waste reduction
initiatives in Aotearoa communities.
2 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECT
KNOW THE COMMUNITY YOU SEEK TO ENGAGE
BE PART OF THAT COMMUNITY, NOT SEPARATE FROM IT
3 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECT
INTRODUCTION
I N T R O D U C T I O N
PL ASTIC BAG FREE RAG L AN
PĒKE KIRIHOU KORE WHĀINGAROA
The issue of waste in Aotearoa, and indeed around the globe, is huge and growing.
This can feel overwhelming as all communities produce waste. Part of the solution
is unleashing the power and the passion within community groups to enable direct,
tangible action toward zero waste.
What happened in Whāingaroa Raglan is a real life example of collaborative community
power in action. The purpose of this guide is to share the insights which empowered
change from the perspective of a successful local community waste project.
It is important to recognise that every community is unique, with its own subcultures,
strengths and issues. These will need to be considered when planning for a waste
minimisation project.
Our first insight into successfully delivering an ambitious waste reduction project is this:
Know the community you seek to engage. Be part of that community, not separate
from it. By doing this you will be able to leverage the power of your community.
There is no “cookie-cutter” or “one size fits all” solution to community projects.
However, through the experience of Plastic Bag Free Raglan we can offer the insights
we have gained and methodology we have developed, in this successful project.
This guide is organised into two columns:
The left-hand column shares the methodology (presented in linear steps for ease;
reality is more chaotic than that) and the lessons we learned which we believe may
apply generally to community waste reduction initiatives.
The right-hand column will illustrate key points using the case study project known as
‘Plastic Bag Free Raglan– Pēke Kirihou Kore Whāingaroa’.
4 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECT
5 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECT
RAGLAN BY THE SEA
RAGLAN BY THE SEA
PL ASTIC BAG FREE RAG L AN
PĒKE KIRIHOU KORE WHĀINGAROA
Whāingaroa Raglan is a picturesque small town on the West Coast of North Island
Aotearoa–renowned for its surf breaks, enchanting harbour, inspiring arts, good coffee,
stunning scenery, beautiful beaches and laid back lifestyle.
Whāingaroa has a history of inspiring tangata whenua kaitiaki, such as Ngāti Mahanga
Chief Te Awaitaia, and Māori land campaigner Tuaiwa (Eva) Rickard. The community
vibe of Whāingaroa is caring, creative and not afraid to voice and debate concerns.
Economically, much of the business community’s income comes from holiday makers,
with tourism growing every year. New developments are set to increase the local resident
population. Current locals debate the wisdom of the blooming visitor numbers and the
impact of more people on the town’s infrastructure and natural environment.
There are several active community groups in Whāingaroa. The ones who engaged in
this project and formed the collaborative partnership include:
• Whāingaroa Environment Centre–Focused on community environmental initiatives
• Para Kore Inc–Providing solutions for zero waste in Māori organisations
• Raglan Business Chamber–Advocating for sustainable local business
• Raglan Community Board–local arm of Waikato District Council
• Xtreme Zero Waste–Social enterprise providing local waste solutions
As well as the partner groups, environmental stewardship has been well demonstrated
in this community by groups such as Whāingaroa Harbour Care, Karioi Maunga ki te
Moana, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and Tusk & Horn Wildlife Trust. Critically, the local
Lions group and many businesses are very supportive of keeping the natural environment
free from pollution.
6 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECT
SET-UP. 7 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECT
SET-UP
1. Identify the Issue Conversations around town
The first step in organising a community project is to Conversations about reducing Raglan’s plastic pollution
identify the issue you want to resolve. This may be had started around town. The Whāingaroa Environment
worded quite broadly such as, “we want to get rid Center (WEC) Chairperson shopped at The Herbal
of plastic pollution.” A wide scope helps capture the Dispensary, the owner of which sat on the Raglan
intention and allows for conversations to commence. Business Chamber. They regularly ruminated about the
plethora of plastic which is a part of every shopping trip.
It is important to start with conversations around this issue
in the community. At the grassroots level, conversations Xtreme Zero Waste was keen to raise awareness about
evolve in the coffee shops, on the street corners, over what plastic can and can’t be put in the recycle bins.
the counter in the shops, in parks, or over dinner. The Project Manager at Xtreme Zero Waste (XZW) also
Some conversations start more formally between ran Para Kore and was a passionate instigator for zero
established groups or come from local meetings. People waste. One community member sat on both the Raglan
at meetings may agree that something is an issue, Business Chamber Board and the Raglan Community
that something should be done about it, and may set Board and was keen to do something about the waste
a general intention to address it. These chats lay the escaping into the natural environment.
early groundwork for a project because engaging with
community members and groups helps refine the issue WEC had been running Plastic Free July for a few years
and gain support. and the Coordinators were wondering what they could
do to better engage a wider section of the community in
General intentions are gold, in that they provide the this initiative. The WEC Coordinators, who worked across
inspiration to want to make a change. However, if a the road from the busiest supermarket in town, had
project is directed at a very big issue there is a danger an idea: “let’s concentrate on just one plastic product -
of goals not being met. single-use plastic carry bags! Imagine if we could get rid
of those!” They talked to the other groups - and everyone
Identifying the issue you would like to tackle really liked the idea of zeroing in on plastic bags.
includes moving from a broad intention to a specific
issue that is within a community’s power to solve. WEC posted on Facebook, asking the community,
“should we get rid of the plastic carry bags?” Within the
It will be easier to engage a community if the identified first 24 hours, more than 1200 people, an overwhelming
issue is defined in simple words that will enable people response from this small town of 3000, said YES–just
to get excited about engaging in the mission. get rid of them!
These questions will help refine the issue: Outside the local hairdresser, a WEC Coordinator chatted
• Who is concerned about a waste issue? What with a busy working mum who was very concerned
specifically are they concerned about? about the plethora of plastic and already sewing
• What community groups are already working on a reusable produce bags for free.
waste issue?
• What has happened previously? What was learnt? Would she be interested in helping to get rid of plastic
• What is national and local government doing / not
carry bags? “Yes, plastic has got to go… let’s get rid of
doing about it?
those single-use carry bags! We could start sewing
• What could be done locally?
cloth bags instead!”
Once conversations have started and you have begun Anecdotally, the feeling on the street was: there is energy
to answer some of these questions, you can then clarify to do something in this space.
the wording around the issue. The issue should not be so
big that you would need to change the behaviour of a WEC scheduled a meeting inviting representatives from
population outside of the reach of your own community. local groups that might care. ◆
For example, developing on from, “we want to get rid
of plastic pollution,” a more actionable issue is, “we will
reduce the number of takeaway coffee cups consumed
and increase reusable options in our town.”
8 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECTSET-UP
2. Facilitate a Working Group Whāingaroa Plastic Bag Free:
Initiating Hui
Move from conversations around the issue to a hui.
This meeting needs to be more than just a discussion.
The first hui was attended by people who were excited
It needs to have an agenda, with desired outcomes,
to see our town reduce plastic usage. These were busy
thought prompters, examples, and process.
people whose schedules only aligned on a Saturday,
and who were willing to give up their Saturday for this
Get ‘working’ as soon as you can by gathering people
hui!
from the groups that care about this waste issue.
These important people are the passionate initiators
Our first meeting included members from:
who will help move the issue from idea to action.
• The Raglan Business Chamber: 3 Board members
and Coordinator
Identify who in your group can facilitate the session or
• Raglan Community Board member
find an experienced facilitator who will help out for koha.
• Xtreme Zero Waste and Para Kore
This is important to keep the discussion on track and to
• Whāingaroa Environment Centre - facilitating
stick to the agenda parameters.
questions from the prepared agenda
Prepare the agenda - what outcomes do you want from
To make the most of everyone’s time, a prepared agenda
the session? For example, by the end of the hui you
and facilitated meeting kept us on track.
should identify:
• Vision - what do we want to see?
We asked:
• Goals & objectives. Be specific, set SMART targets
• In the context of our town, and all that is happening
(Specific, Measurable, Achievable/Agreed, Realistic,
here, what do we want to achieve?
Time-bound), ensure there are realistic boundaries
• What is possible?
on the issue to address.
• How will we know when we get there?
• KPI (Key Performance Indicators) Measures: How will
• How long will it take?
you know if you are achieving your goal? What data
• What resources do we need?
can you realistically obtain?
• Where will the money come from?
• Target groups - who must we engage?
• What are the key messages?
The robust and positive discussion by those involved
• What resources might we need?
helped to determine the vision, goals and measures that
• Who else do we need to talk with?
anchored the project. Care was taken to be specific, as
• Who will write this up?
the initiators knew that passion directed at too broad
• What are our next steps?
a target dissipates over time.
Be prepared as the initiator of the session to ‘own’ the
Our vision was:
job of writing up the session agreements and following
up the next steps.
To be recognised as an NZ leader in environmental
action, evidenced by:
This group of passionate initiators is likely to form a
• Having no single-use plastic shopping/carry
lasting partnership. Encourage it.
bags provided in Whāingaroa Raglan.
• Leadership in moving from ‘single-use’ to
‘reusable’ use of resources.
The group from the hui became the collaborative
leaders, forming a Steering Committee with WEC taking
the project lead. ◆
9 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECTSET-UP
3. Write the Plan Plastic Bag Free Raglan - Project Plan
Writing up a clear project plan is a critical task in a In July 2015 the WEC coordinator and the Raglan Business
community project. Chamber Coordinator met the week after the first hui to
write the project plan, work plan and budget. As funding
It may be that there are people interested in a common had not been obtained yet, this was done after hours.
goal, with lots of good will, passion, a sense of shared
mission, and a desire to collaborate. However, without Writing a thorough budget was a critical and enlightening
a plan, this energy might not have the direction needed task as it revealed the magnitude of work that had
to see a project come together. to be done. A conservative estimate of hours and
material expenses to complete the project showed that
Find capable people to write up the plan, capturing $60k - $70k would be needed, even with hundreds of
the wording and intention from a prior working group volunteer hours. The number of estimated funds required
session/s. was a bit of a surprise.
This plan needs to be specific and can include: The project plan set out the following objectives:
• Vision and objectives • 80% of Whāingaroa Raglan businesses do not supply
• Current situation and potential solutions to the plastic shopping/carry bags by July 2017
defined issue • 100% of Whāingaroa Raglan businesses do not supply
• Project description plastic shopping carry bags by July 2019
• Work plan to set project tasks • Strengthen Raglan’s reputation in the New Zealand
• Key messages market as an environmentally conscious town to live
• What the budget for activities is likely to be in and visit via building a ‘Plastic Shopping Bag Free’
• Anticipated timing brand
• How objectives will be measured • Increasing % of shoppers who remember to take their
reusable bags of shopping
See Appendix A for a draft project plan. • Behaviour change from ‘single-use’ to ‘reuse’ ◆
Once the plan is written up, circulate it to hui participants
for any amendments. Then the project is ready to be
articulated to other stakeholders, such as boards of
participating community groups. The project plan can
also be used in funding and sponsorship applications
Bear in mind at this initial stage prior to securing financial
assistance, work will likely be from volunteer hours.
The project plan does not have to be a static document.
In fact, as your project evolves, you may need to revise
the project plan to reflect new information or situations.
10 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECT11 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECT
SET-UP
4. Resource the Plan Plastic Bag Free Raglan:
Resource Structure
Resources include people, finances and things. Delivering
a community project requires significant resources.
We identified what our vision and objectives were at our
While many people may want to help, the stark reality
initial hui. Once we had a clear idea of what we wanted
is that in most cases it takes funds to deliver a change
to do, we were able to write a project plan. The project
that is sustainable. Volunteers can be inconsistent as
plan revealed some of what we would need in terms of
other demands can understandably be prioritised over
resources to get plastic bags off Raglan’s streets.
unpaid work. The administration required to deliver a
project is significant. Finding the means to pay the
People
workers, buy the materials, and engage volunteers at
The people involved in PBFR were essential to the success
the appropriate point is crucial.
of the project.
Move a written plan into action by identifying the
The PBFR steering committee consisted of the partners
resources you have, the resources you need, and how
from the initiating hui. This group made collective
you will gather these necessary resources.
decisions at critical points and guided the project
ensuring integrity to vision & values.
To help resource a plan, ask the following questions:
WEC took the operational project lead, which meant
People
they were responsible for enacting the project plan. This
• Who will steer or oversee the plan? All groups invested
included being accountable for resourcing, finances,
in the plan need to be represented at this guidance
communications, problem-solving, and engagement. In
level.
2016, WEC appointed a Project Manager and Marketing
• Who will take accountability for keeping the working
Manager with broad accountability on very part-time
plan on track, for finances, for relationships, for
hours. Reporting directly to and supported by the WEC
solving problems?
Chair, both of these roles were critical to and consistent
• What other specialist people are likely to be needed
in leading the project from inception to culmination.
to deliver the plan?
Later, an Educator came on in the rollout to interface
• How many people will we need to deliver the actions
with schools.
on time? What kind of skills will they need?
• Is someone needed to manage, encourage, and
As the project evolved, different people stepped in and
retain volunteers?
out to contribute their skill sets and energy.
Finances
For example, at this early stage, there was an exceptional
• Where will funds come from?
volunteer agitating to do something about the plastic
• Which funders are likely to support this kind of waste
carry bags she couldn’t believe were spewing out from
initiative?
the supermarket. Being from Germany, this seemed
• What are the criteria for applications?
backwards in ‘clean green NZ’. This young lady proved
• What other organisations might want to sponsor?
passionate, tenacious and highly competent. After she
What is in it for them?
contributed months of volunteer hours, funding allowed
• Note: to qualify for most of the relevant funders,
her to take on the Sustainability Coordinator role.
community groups need to be registered charities.
A fluid group of 15-20 wonderful volunteers from WEC’s
See “Resources” section for funders of PBFR. Each
existing relationships jumped on board every time there
project will need to seek specific funders, depending
was an opportunity. >>
on location, sponsors & who is applying for funding.
Things
• Where will the central office/working space be?
• What materials are needed?
• Where could the materials come from for koha?
• What else is needed to start?
12 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECTSET-UP
Finances
Governance:
Funding was applied for the PBFR project under WEC,
which is a registered charity. Based on the project Whaingaroa Environment Centre
plan, funding was requested from the Environmental Xtreme Zero Waste, Para Kore
Raglan Business Chamber
Initiatives Fund - administered by the Waikato Regional
Raglan Community Board
Council. In December of 2015, we were advised that
they really liked the project and wanted to support,
but that they couldn’t fund the full amount requested. Project Lead:
Partial funding was awarded.
Whaingaroa
Environment Centre
This was not enough money for the project, but it at
least enabled us to start!
Core Team:
Things - Project Manager
WEC has an office in the main street of Raglan. This - Marketing Manager
is a modest shared space at the front of the town - Sustainability Coordinator
hall. This was PBFR’s central office, to begin with. All - Educator
other materials were sourced at the right time for
each project step and activity, dependant on budget
availability.
Volunteers
Other things we needed included: fliers and posters;
articles for the paper; printed educational materials;
prizes for competitions; movie and event hiring;
sewing machines and associated materials; stickers;
alternative non-plastic bags; and website costs. The
project team was very conscious of finding goods at
the very best available price and from a source in
keeping with our partner’s values. ◆
13 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECTSET-UP
5. Allocate Resources Adapting & Prioritising
When the amount of funding available to employ Initially, Waikato Regional Council funding was sufficient
workers and purchase materials becomes clear, you to contract part-time Project Manager and Marketing
can allocate this resource. By this point, you have Manager for a limited period.
likely drafted a Work Plan (possibly as a part of your
Project Plan) that outlines the tasks that need to be These two key roles reviewed and updated the first
accomplished to meet your goals. Once you know the steps of the work plan, deciding what was essential to
amount of funding awarded to your project, you can get the project off the ground. Although the vision to
review your Work Plan to refine what needs to be done eliminate plastic bags from our town made it difficult
and how much funding you can put toward tasks. to trim parts of the project, we had to be realistic in
allocating resources and materials. At this early stage,
Often a funder will grant only partial funding for a we were aware that as the project unfolded there might
project. Where the funding available is not sufficient to be unseen factors which would demand our attention,
resource everything on the initial work plan: and thus resources.
• Prioritise the activities on the plan
• Look for where volunteers may be able to help with Put on the backburner at this stage were: many of
some tasks the printed materials; signs; the large sum needed for
• Allocate funds to the priority steps required to make alternative shopping bags; a volunteer recruitment and
a start management plan; digital communications; business
• Employ or contract key workers pledge plan; design of a business accreditation program;
• Allocate responsibility for obtaining more funds to info packs to all stakeholders; group presentations;
one of the key workers launch roadshow; and celebratory events.
• Drop some non-essential steps and ‘nice to have’
materials from the work plan. The revised action plan prioritised the important first
steps needed to get the project moving. This agreed
Update the reviewed plan and deliverables accordingly. plan specified exactly who would do what, with what
budget, by when and concentrated on the activities
required for ‘Launch’.◆
14 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECTINSIGHT: PARTNERSHIP IMPORTANCE OF TEAMWORK 15 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECT
INSIGHT
PARTNERSHIP PBFR Steering Committee
Bringing a community together to pursue a shared The groups that quickly formed into the Steering
mission can be both an energising and challenging Committee for Plastic Bag Free Raglan became the
endeavour. A collaborative partnership model can supportive rock and guiding force for significant project
provide strength to a project, especially during the more decisions.
difficult periods. For example, when the project hits a
speed-bump, partners can step up to take action to In Raglan, the groups that formed this critical partnership
get back on track or facilitate a breakthrough. Or, when were:
one partner or team member is overloaded, they may
not be able to engage in the project at a particular • Waste gurus from Xtreme Zero Waste and Para Kore
point. Others in the group can adapt to fill the gap. The • Business leaders from the Raglan Business Chamber
flexibility that this model offers allows a project to survive • Project experienced team members with community
during peaks and troughs as a common goal binds the networks and administrative capability, from the
partners together. Whāingaroa Environment Centre
• People holding accountability for community good
Partnership in this context is a cooperative arrangement, from the Raglan Community Board
not bound by rules or legalities of any kind. This is
a voluntary collaboration where different group’s This wonderful group of experienced people were the
representatives agree to work constructively together rock, sounding board and behind the scenes enablers
towards a shared aim. Community partners are most of creating a plastic bag free Raglan.
likely participating without pay, and the nature of this
engagement demands a high level of mutual respect It was this Steering Committee which:
and goodwill to thrive. Ideally, this benevolence flavours • Broke down barriers the project faced when
the very nature of the partnership as positive, supportive resources became thin, going back to their own
and warm, enabling true collaboration. When differing organisations to find resources and/or support
opinions abound, the mutual care and respect ensures • Made the key decisions that ensured the project
all parties are heard and opinions reflected in the final was adhering to our vision. For example, when we
solution. planned to offer plastic bag alternatives the Steering
Committee set the requirement that the bags were:
Look for opportunities to build formal partnerships 100% plastic free (with no plastic lining) and no
across groups as they provide a solid foundation and toxic ink, made of sustainably grown raw material,
resilience when the going gets tough. and made by a socially responsible organisation.
As difficult as this was to adhere to, this was an
Formalising partnerships internally and externally helps important credibility factor when these bags were
to solidify commitment. For example, when a partnership introduced into the community. They also kept the
decision involves community or business groups, the view to the bigger picture that reusable products are
decision most likely needs to be discussed, minuted the best option and everything else is an interim step.
and signed off. Having this “signature” is broader than • Provided ongoing wisdom, advice and genuine
one individual, and can survive over time. encouragement when milestones were reached
and when milestones were missed / achievements
As well as enabling the project to keep momentum, paid delayed. ◆
workers can report achievements and bring chunky
issues to the partner group for discussion. Scheduling
meetings with this group of partners at critical points
in a project rollout will ensure the work being done is
on track with project vision and culturally in line with
the shared values of the groups represented. Critically,
sharing information and plans in this forum will enable
new ideas, capturing of collective wisdom, and ongoing
commitment to project deliverables.
16 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECTINSIGHT
TEAMWORK PLASTIC BAG FREE RAGLAN TEAM
The importance of teamwork is well understood, well The PBFR core team met at least fortnightly, reviewing
documented and the target of many training budgets work in progress, coming up with new ideas, recognising
within business and government organisations. This is a each other’s work, taking actions and making plans.
well-justified focus as everyone knows that good teams
ace results, while dysfunctional teams can sink ships. All core workers had other responsibilities outside
the project. As these were people passionate about
A high functioning, capable and empowered working eliminating plastic bags, but who also had other jobs,
team is instrumental to success. understanding for each other was important. When one
team member was overloaded, another was always
Often in a community initiative context the people who offering to take on additional tasks. Output was of high
will comprise the working team fall into these roles by quality, and everyone appreciated the work the others
virtue of other responsibilities in the community or were delivering.
partner group. It is important to ensure as a team there
is: The Project Manager reported directly to the Chairperson of
• Complementary skills the Whāingaroa Environment Centre, a very experienced
• Common passion community leader who also co-founded Xtreme Zero
• Mutual respect Waste. This Chairperson demonstrated confidence in
• An organiser (or 3!) the Project Manager, delivering wisdom from experience
• Flexibility at critical junctures. She was understanding, supportive
• Accountability and a wise owl overseeing proceedings.
What is also critical is how the working team operates, During the stresses and high points of the project, this
and who takes care of (manages) the team. team developed strong working relationships. The
caring and professional way this team operated was an
Set the team up with: important factor in the success of the project. Although
• sufficient resources (money, time, materials) we didn’t plan specifically for this, the trust developed
• good support (who to go to with questions / problems) within the working and steering teams enabled the
• clear reporting structure (who the lead worker reports project to flourish. ◆
to - one person not a whole committee)
• room to move and authority to make decisions
17 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECTGETTING STARTED. 18 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECT
GETTING STARTED
1. Survey - Current Situation Community and Business Surveys
When embarking on a waste reduction project, it is PBFR had two main target groups: Community (all
important to get information about the current situation residents) and Business (all local businesses). We
before diving in to make a change in a community. Take thought they were likely to have different views on
the opportunity to validate or negate your assumptions the issue of plastic bags. We wanted to capture any
about an issue. For example, find out how much waste differences of opinions, so two surveys were designed:
is being generated and why the community generates one Community Survey and one Business Survey.
this waste.
Surveys were sent out online and available at community
Collecting baseline data provides a vital benchmark events (like local markets). Although much effort was
for the project for later comparison. put into the collection of this data, the initial response
rate for the community was approximately 10%. The
The kinds of things you might need to know are: response rate from the businesses was 18%.
• How much of this waste is being used, by whom?
• Where is the waste being supplied into the community? Given we had anecdotal data from the community but
• How attached are people to the products they are no data from businesses, we set a target - to get a 65%
using that generate this waste? response rate from businesses. In order to reach this
• What are the barriers to change? response rate we had to walk into most of the businesses
• How much support is there to reduce this waste? in town with the survey form in hand, ask and record the
• Who is supportive and who is not? Why? answers to the questions. While this was time consuming,
it was worth the effort. We not only got responses, but
Design easy to complete surveys directed at your main this also acted as an initial engagement with businesses
target groups. Take care with your questions: and the PBFR project. ◆
• Use rating scales instead of yes/no forced choice
• When asking for the quantity of an item, use a blank
space so people can enter their numbers according
to how they collect their data (eg: forcing people to
determine how much xx they use per month might be
hard, but maybe they can answer per week or year)
• Ask some closed questions where you want to test a
hypothesis (eg: if you had access to a reusable coffee
cup, would you use that instead of disposable?)
• Use tick boxes when asking for barriers; this makes
the analysis and communication of results so much
easier and more accurate
• Let people enter free hand at the bottom of most
forced choice questions; this will give you heaps of
extra valuable information
• Remember to ask for support from the group you
are surveying; ie: a rating scale for a question such
as “do you support xx?”
• Limit your open questions to where you genuinely
want input - they will take time to analyse
Aim for a reasonable minimum healthy response rate.
The data is more accurate and valuable with the more
responses you have, which will increase your credibility
if you make change statements. If you don’t get a
healthy response rate - get more responses, in person
if necessary.
19 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECTGETTING STARTED
A comprehensive project launch will have several
2. Launch
well-planned components, for example:
• Unleashing your brand
The launch phase of a community project is the point at
• Informative newspaper articles
which the project is introduced to the general community
• Website launch
or ‘public’. It is something akin to an unveiling. You want
• Social media launch
it to ‘lift-off’ with as much project exposure, positivity
• Public event
and awareness of the issue as possible.
• Competition
• Opportunity for people to get involved
This is the formal start of engaging a community in the
• Link to a broader initiative
issue, so the messaging must be on target. The launch
• Hand-outs / Giveaways
activities you choose and the “what” and “why” wording
• A request / question for general community members,
of the project introduction must be consistent with the
something that people will comment on / engage
culture of the community you are working within. This
with (for example, “Would you still shop at x store if
ensures that the community will recognise the project
they stopped supplying plastic bags?”)
is legitimate and something they want to see happen.
• Information: regarding the problem; feedback from
surveys
In the launch of a waste reduction initiative, it is critical
• Signs, posters, fliers
that people do not feel ‘blamed’. Instead, the messaging
• Education sessions
needs to be worded positively. For example: “Litter kills
the dolphins” could be reworded to - “Keeping litter out
Note: It is not essential to initiate change messaging via
of the ocean helps save the dolphins”.
a campaign launch. It may be more appropriate to have
a soft launch where some solution initiatives are already
Communicate positively with your audience to make
in play. Or it may be that no defining launch point makes
them aware of an issue and what they can do about it.
sense for a variety of reasons. In these circumstances, it
is still important to ensure that consistent and positive
People want to do the right thing, to demonstrate an
messaging, with supportive demonstrable actions are
easy way to do this tell stories or show people images
of what the right thing looks like.
communicated. ◆
Please Remember
Your Reusable Bag
*If you don’t have one
ask for a compostable bag!
*Found at Manu Bay
Oct 2016
Website: http://plasticbagfreeraglan.nz
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/plasticbagfree.raglan | Instagram: @plasticbagfreeraglan.nz
20 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECTGETTING STARTED Plastic Bag Free Raglan - Launch Brand Unleashed Local Paper Article Public Event • Logos & infographics delivered Plastic Bag Free Raglan full page: ”Bag It” Movie Screening with • PBFR Website set up What is it? The Facts. Your Voice. Get refreshments • Facebook pages (Plastic Bag Involved. Movie night advert. Thank Free Raglan & Bag It Raglan) you to partners & supporters set up Kids Competition Get Involved Link to Broader Initiative Word Hunt challenge, a quiz for Community volunteers commence Direct link to “Plastic Free July” kids (see pg. 20). Sea critters fortnightly sewing group “Bag It - project was introduced as placed around the town shops, Raglan” - sew cloth bags for free to celebrating plastic free July each one had a word that was community members written down and use to fill out the form. Prizes sourced & awarded. Giveaways Question for Community Information Bag It Raglan cloth bags Set up Stand outside SuperValue Feedback highlight result of Prizes for kids, donated from Raglan asking if shoppers would the community survey “93% of local businesses. Four Square still shop at this supermarket if they community members said they supermarket reusable bag had to pay a small amount for an would support a Plastic Bag Free giveaway during July (in return alternative bag - sign if yes! Community” for interview published). Stickers of PBFR logo’s given away at supermarket and Environment Centre, to put on car windows. Signage Signs for business checkouts/point of sale “Do you Need a Plastic Bag Today?” with quick facts, business message of support, & logos. Education Sessions Modules designed ready to go into local schools See examples of PBFR Launch assets on page 20, and further in Appendix B. 21 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECT
INSIGHT: GRASSROOTS COMMUNITY INITIATIVES COMMUNICATIONS 22 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECT
INSIGHT: SELF-GENERATING GRASSROOTS INITIATIVES
Self-Generating Grassroots Community Bag It Raglan - Community Sewing group
Initiatives
An unplanned grassroots community initiative sprouted
Following a launch, awareness is high. Community from the PBFR teams work, via local networks and
members may independently come up with ways to contacts. Two awesome women led a local sewing
make a change to solve a waste process or problem. group making reusable cloth bags to take shopping. The
Conversations outside of the project may be occurring. lead initiators were skilled sewers, well connected in the
Intrinsically motivated ideas that spring from the roots community, extremely generous and very resourceful
of the community - from everyday ‘ordinary’ citizens - with finding materials and encouraging participation.
are extremely important. If these ideas are valued and
enabled they are likely to become popular initiatives. PBFR project management negotiated free sewing
space as well as some koha materials and purchased
Supporting community initiatives alongside your low-cost sewing machines serviced for free for the life
project can result in more public goodwill, leveraging of the machine from a local repairman.
of shared resources such as networks, resulting in better
engagement and waste reduction. This volunteer group unselfishly donated their time to
assist the community transition to reusable bags. This
It is very important to recognise and support viable was the basis for a big-hearted feeling that resulted
grassroots initiatives when they arise. To identify how the in some community members and even visiting
initiative could fit in with a formal project ask yourself: backpackers joining the group to sew bags at regular
fortnightly or monthly sessions.
• Where does this initiative fit within the overall strategy?
What could it contribute? Over the course of 18 months Bag It Raglan made and
• How committed is the initiator? gave away over 1500 unique reusable cloth shopping
• What skills are present within the community group bags. These bags were given out to community residents
that may help a project? at no cost. (++ a short doco about Bag It Raglan won a
• What does the initiator need to bring the idea to movie award in South America!) ◆
reality? How much of this need can be met within
current project resources?
• Where else might resources come from to bring this
idea to fruition?
• Who will lead this initiative?
Provide as much assistance as possible to get a valid
initiative off the ground. Just as important, hang in there
with them, supporting the ups and downs, making sure
they succeed.
23 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECTINSIGHT: COMMUNICATIONS
Communications PBFR Marketing & Comms
Like any community-driven project, communication is When Plastic Bag Free Raglan set out to engage with the
key. And when it comes to shifting the mindset and the community, we remembered that the behaviour/habit
behaviours of an entire community, what you say and we were trying to change (the endless use of single-use
how you say it can make or break your project. plastic bags), was something that many of our audience
had been doing since they were kids.
Before setting out to share your project and the journey
with the world, determine who your target audience is And what better way to inspire change than to target,
and how you plan to actually communicate with them. kids! We realised that kids have a wonderful way of
nagging their parents to do things. So if we could teach
Will you use Social Media? Printed newsletters? Newspaper the kids to ‘remember their reusable bag’... the kids might
articles? A website? Face to face communication? help their parents to do the same.
Keep in mind that most environmental initiatives are As part of the launch of Plastic Bag Free Raglan, and to
asking people to change a behaviour that has been get the kids involved, we organised a community word
instilled in them since childhood. It is important to hunt during the school holidays. Families picked up their
establish a Marketing and Communications Plan that forms from the Whaingaroa Environment Centre and
will inspire and empower your target audience, not had to venture around the local shops looking for silly
shame them. sea creatures, and write down the word on the back
of each one. All completed forms were entered into a
Creating personal connections and sharing stories will draw and at the end of the school holidays we picked
give your project a life and a personality of its own. out three lucky winners who won prize packs full of local
Overwhelming the general public with elaborate data goods. This specific ‘marketing tool’ brought together
and detailed pie charts may cause confusion and local families and the business community, and the
frustration, and you may risk losing out on those vital message of Plastic Bag Free Raglan was out.
connections that can help to solidify your project.
The wording we used and the messages we shared
Make your project personal. Remember that your throughout the evolution of Plastic Bag Free Raglan were
audience is full of real people, with real emotions. Tap clear and simple, so that all ages, children included,
into those emotions with personal, positive stories, could readily understand:
experiences and information.
• Do you need a plastic bag today?
• Remember your reusable bag!
• Keep our sea plastic free!
a q uiz f or kids
(a nd their p a rents! ) To highlight the severity of the problem, we used real
P las t i c B a g F re e Ra gla n h a s h idden 15 little s ea critters Pl ast i c B ag images
Fre e R ag l an hof as plastic
h i dden 1 5 l i tbags t l e sea cthat ri t t ers had been found around our
a ffe cte d b y t h e u se o f pla s tic ba gs a ro und Ra gla n’s CBD. af f e c t e d b y tcommunity.
h e u se o f p l ast i c b agAnd
s aro u nwe d R agkept l an ’ s C B our
D. lines of communication
Ke ep an e y e o u t fo r th em in lo ca l s h o ps a nd s nea ky Ke ep an e y e o u t f o r t h em i n l o c al sh o p s an d sn eak y
sp o t s . Ea ch one h a s 1-3 w o rds o r a num ber w ritten on sp o t s. Eac h open,on e h as 1 responding
- 3 w o rds o r a n u mb toe rcomments
w ri t t e n on on Facebook, interacting
i t . F i nd th em a ll , w rite do w n th e w o rds / num ber in th e i t . Fi n d t h emwith al l , wthe
ri t e docommunity
w n t h e w o rds/ n u mb face e r i n t h eto face at local events and
r i g h t sp o t on th e quiz fo rm a nd yo u w ill be in th e ri g h t sp o t on t h e q u i z f o rm an d y o u w i l l b e i n t h e
providing consistent updates via the Plastic Bag Free
◆
r u nni ng fo r a s w eet prize! Go o dluck! ru n n i n g f o r a sw ee t p ri z e ! G o o dl u c k !
**forms can be picked up from Whaingaroa Environment Centre, the Library,
website, social media and the local newspaper.
* * fo rm s can b e pick e d u p fro m Whain garo a En v iron m e n t C e n t re, t he Lib rary,
Raglan Chronicle or downloaded online from http://plasticbagfreeraglan.nz. R aglan C hron icle o r d o wn lo ad ed on lin e fro m ht t p: //plas t icb agfreeraglan . n z .
Completed forms must be turned in by Tuesday 26 July to WEC by 4pm. C o m ple t ed fo rm s m u s t b e t u rn ed in b y T u es d ay 2 6 J u ly t o WEC b y 4pm .
Plastic Bag Free Raglan–Peke Kirihou Kore Whaingaroa is a community driven project with a Plastic Bag Free Raglan–Peke Kirihou Kore Whaingaroa is a community driven project with a
goal of creating a plastic shopping bag free Whaingaroa-Raglan by July 2017. goal of creating a plastic shopping bag free Whaingaroa-Raglan by July 2017.
Find out more at http://plasticbagfreeraglan.nz Find out more at http://plasticbagfreeraglan.nz
Facebook Instagram Facebook Instagram
/plasticbagfree.raglan @plasticbagfreeraglan /plasticbagfree.raglan @plasticbagfreeraglan
24 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECTKEEP MOVING. 25 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECT
KEEP MOVING
1. Keep Momentum Up Strategic Focus: Engage the Community:
Flood the Town with Bags
After a “launch”, the messaging and awareness has
only just started. Your project must keep moving to
enable change. People who have engaged in the The PBFR team learned some valuable things from the
project so far will be looking for next steps and further launch, including insights that challenged assumptions.
ways to get involved. All of this momentum needs to Lesson learned included:
draw in energy and move forward. You’ll need to keep
up communication, activities, positive demonstration, • People were having trouble getting their head around
supporting processes and administration. what they could use instead of plastic carry bags.
Convenience and habit were strong drivers of the
Pause before you jump into the next phase following the status quo for shoppers.
rush of activity in a launch. Take a breath. Review how • Bag It Raglan - the community sewing group led
well the launch messages and activities were received. Y by a couple of wonderful local volunteers - was a
really popular initiative. Volunteers were showing up
You might ask: to cut and sew, and the free cloth bags were walking
out the door.
• What did/did not go to plan? Why? • Kids intuitively ‘got it’ - but the schools need months
• What was particularly well received? advance notice to fit in an educator into their
• What was not so well received/attended? crammed curriculum
• What did we learn? • The vast majority of shoppers were not put off by a
• How do these learnings impact on what we have small charge for an alternative bag
planned next? • The plan to flood the town with reusable bags was
much more problematic than initially thought. We
At this point, barriers you may not have anticipated planned on providing an alternative non-plastic bag
could become clear. Focus, energy and maybe some for shoppers to make the change easy. However, our
creativity will be needed to overcome these. strict environmental criteria for a reusable option
meant we had to go overseas for a suitable supplier.
After your projects initial effort, it may start to get hard There was going to be a long delay and it was going
to keep momentum up. This is where the tenacity of to require much more funding than we had available.
the team and the support of the partners come into We had to get more funds.
play. Concentrate on implementing your strategy. • Many of the businesses who were providing plastic
bags were highly resistant to change - more so than
Having a predetermined plan in place can also help we had anticipated at the project commencement.
in times when energy dips and barriers get in the way. This firm resistance was mostly based on the cost
Refer to the plan! of alternatives, and fear of customer complaints/
loss of customer to a competitor if they ceased to
• What are the key strategies for change? provide ‘free’ plastic carry bags. If it was going to
• What strategy are you implementing next? cost the business money or customers, they were
• What do you need to move forward? How are the not interested.
resources? Budget? If more funds and other resources • We needed to do something extraordinary to move
are needed, go and get them. the businesses away from single-use. >>
• Where are the most important issues we need to
address right now?
• What can be done to really engage people?
• Is there an opportunity to make people feel good
about demonstrating the new behaviours? If yes,
take it.
26 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECTKEEP MOVING
The next phase of our plan was to engage the
community via several tactics commenced in the
launch, including flooding the town with reusable bags.
We saw this as an opportunity to engage the community
by gifting a unique, sought after durable shopping bag,
which was clearly an alternative to using plastic bags.
We knew that providing such a gift to everybody in the
community, as challenging as that task was proving,
was the right action because it would:
• Make people feel good about doing the right thing
(shopping with a reusable bag)
• Make it easier for people to say no to plastic bags
at the counter
• Go some way to removing the barriers of ‘what am
I going to use instead’ and ‘I can’t afford to buy a
reusable bag’
• Demonstrate to businesses that the community
wants to be rid of plastic bags, and put some
pressure on the businesses to look more seriously
at changing.
Based on the plan and the learnings from the launch,
the decisions taken to keep momentum up were:
• Focus on delivering one alternative koha bag to all
community residences (2500 bags)
• Recruit an experienced local educator, with existing
networks, to work with us to engage the schools
(Matua X-man)
• Support Bag It sewing group in every way that we
could; with sewing resources, space, marketing,
branding.
• Investigate the single-use non-plastic compostable
bags newly available on the market. Are they 100%
compostable? What are they made of? How long
to break down? How much do they cost?
• Continue the messaging and branding - online
and in the local newspaper
• Design a programme targeted at engaging the
businesses, the immediate source of the supply
of the plastic bags into town, concentrating on the
WIIFM “what’s in it for me” to change. ◆
27 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECTKEEP MOVING
2. Address the Hard Stuff Strategic Focus: Engage the Businesses
There will likely be ‘hard stuff’ to resolve in any initiative The PBFR team knew from the start that they would need
that requires an element of behaviour change. The a dual strategic engagement process that included
current economic system and processes, modern community members generally and the business
lifestyles, people’s habits and innate wiring compound community specifically.
to entrench behaviours and status quo. Dive into these
barriers to change. What specifically is making this Once the community support became noticeable (eg:
waste issue so robust and hard to change? What is an increase in people taking reusable bags shopping;
the economic reason? Who benefits financially? What some people asking why shops were still providing
systems are supporting the status quo? What are the plastic bags), engaging the hard to change businesses
mindset and behavioural barriers to change? became paramount.
To deal with the “hard stuff”: Look at the data, consider Several environmentally conscious businesses were
the learnings to date, isolate the sectors within the already providing alternatives to plastic bags, such as
broader community who are resisting change and boxes or paper bags. PBFR team members talked to the
define the key reasons for that resistance. Focus your businesses still providing plastic bags. They found that
strategic actions on addressing these reasons and the two key reasons for the resistance were:
barriers to change.
• Cost and supply of alternatives
The reasons for resistance to change could be vigorous. • Fear of losing customers if they didn’t provide
In every instance, it will serve you well to: a ‘free’ bag
• Be brave. Respectful, but brave. There was also a small group to whom the above
• Enlist the creative thinkers. There is a way around reasons did not readily apply, but who harboured other
these barriers, you just haven’t found it yet. unspoken reasons for resisting. They remained the very
• Employ tenacity. Go the extra mile, do what it takes last to go plastic bag free.
to address the resistance.
• Be flexible. What was assumed might not be the To address the key reasons that most businesses did not
case. Unanticipated actions may need to be taken. want to go plastic bag free, the PBFR team employed
• Keep all the partners and team members informed. the following tactics:
Move together into the difficult space.
• Give resistors good reason to change. Provide an • Design and implementation of the Business
appealing WIFM “what’s in it for me”. Make the status Accreditation Program (see pg. 34), which turned
quo uncomfortable. the ’fear of losing customers due to not providing
a plastic bag’ into ‘pressure to keep customers by
providing a non-plastic alternative carry solution’
• Set up the supply of 100% compostable bags for
retailers who really needed them; negotiating the
best available price for volume; providing easy
delivery service.
• Accommodation campaign to educate tourists &
visitors to Raglan. In a seasonal tourist town, the
businesses rely heavily on income from tourists
to survive. Educating the visitors was important to
community members and an added reason for
businesses to change. ◆
28 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECTKEEP MOVING
Be Brave & Show Respect Creative Thinking
Finding the business owner was part of the trick The team brainstormed to create an incentive
as staff members were on-site daily, but are for the hard to change businesses. If this target
not the decision makers. Picking up the phone group cared about customer opinion and
or making appointments was required. Fronting retention, publicising why people should shop
up to busy owners for whom plastic waste is a there was a key lever to utilise. The Business
small issue and who did not really want to talk Accreditation Program rewarded businesses
to us required courage and confidence. Showing who changed with good publicity and cool
respect in the face of reactions that were not accreditation stickers and certificates.
initially welcoming was important. Business
owners/managers are bosses of their own
worlds and typically hard workers. Understand
and respect their world and what drives them.
Tenacity - Do what it takes Flexibility
The team walked the streets of Raglan, leaving The project aim was that people would
information, discovering when decision makers remember to take reusable shopping bags
would be present or how else we could talk with with them. To transition from the convenience
them. Some businesses were visited many times. of the status quo to the project aim, both
Where requests for info or new obstacles were businesses and customers needed an in-store
presented, the team went back with the answers. alternative, for when people ‘forgot’ their bags
and purchased goods that could not be carried
One key solution - alternative compostable bags in their arms.
- was necessary as an interim step to removing
single-use bags altogether. This supply chain The Steering Committee agreed to an interim
was in its infancy, and businesses did not want step to support the behaviour change: provide
to set up a new supplier for a single product. (single-use) plant-based compostable bags.
These bags were carefully sourced, all met
WEC was set up as a central point for International Compostable Standards, and were
compostable bag provision to local businesses tested locally to ensure they really did break
- a move that was above and beyond normal down.
services, yet necessary to enable the change.
It was important that we could deal with the ‘end
The assumption that once a business changed of life’ of these products properly. The solution
to alternative bags, that they would be able to was offered by Xtreme Zero Waste (XZW) to put
take care of this supply without running out, was excess bags in the hot compost unit at the XZW
unfounded. HQ. The behavioural ‘forgetting’ reality required
the team to be flexible to deliver the end result.
Between Xmas & New Year’s, the PBFR Project
Manager found herself sourcing compostable
bags for delivery paid for on a personal credit
card – “Whatever it takes to keep the plastic
bags out of the store - do it”.
29 A PURPOSEFUL PROJECTYou can also read
