Power to Change Campaign
In 2006, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin identified environmental sustainability as a critical factor in making Atlanta a “best in class” city. In early 2007, she charged her administration to create and foster a community dedicated to sustainability through best in class leadership and to implement solutions and practices as they are identified. The city’s effort aims at making Atlanta more sustainable by improving our “green” programs and policies such as water and energy conservation, reducing our solid waste, reducing carbon emissions, and improving the rates of recycling.
In the fall of 2008, the City of Atlanta launched an employee awareness and engagement campaign dubbed, “Power to Change.” While improving the sustainability of Atlanta city government is a long-term objective, employees can reduce energy and water use today – in the near-term. The purpose of the campaign is to emphasize the impact of personal action among its employees. Expected to bring an additional five to ten percent savings in City operations, the campaign is targeted to remind employees:
- Turn lights off in unoccupied spaces
- Unplug appliances
- Set computers to switch to sleep mode after five minutes
- Turn thermostats down when leaving for the day
- Dress for energy-efficient temperatures
- Take stairs instead of elevators
- Walk, bike, or use public transit
About this guide
The City of Atlanta has found that many organizations, large and small, are working on their own sustainability initiatives. These groups realize how critical it is to engage their employees, members, and stakeholders. Many groups have asked us about our campaign and expressed interest in learning about what we have done.
In an effort to share resources, we have put together this toolkit for organizations undertaking an employee engagement and awareness campaign. This resource is meant to be a starting place. It is not meant to be an exhaustive, turnkey solution.
We encourage you to have fun, be open to new, creative ideas, and to engage a cross section of your stakeholders.
Power to Change Toolkit
pdf
Power to Change Logos
pdf, eps
Power to Change Light Switch Cover
pdf
Power to Change Lapel Pin
pdf, eps