The Blue Angel is the oldest environmental label in Germany. The project sought to develop new communication strategies to popularize the label among children and adolescents and promote their sustainable consumption.
Team Members: Daniel Fischer (lead), Hanna Selm.
According to a study by the Institute for Socio-Ecological Research (ISOE), the “Blue Angel”, the oldest eco-label in Germany, is hardly known among under 35 year olds. In light of this, the German Environment Agency has launched the project “Environmental Communication in the Generation Conflict”.
Objectives
The project aims to develop measures that motivate young people to choose more sustainable consumption behaviors and thus increase the effectiveness of “The Blue Angel” label among children and adolescents. A number of project partners are involved in the project coordinated by the ISOE. SuCo2 is involved in a work package in which students develop campaign ideas as part of a creative competition.
Methods
In the summer term of 2017, the traditional campaign planning assignment within the “Sustainability Communication” module of the interdisciplinary undergraduate study course “Environmental Sciences” was focused entirely in the Blue Angel. Students were assigned the task to develop campaign ideas in working groups. They could draw on lectures and were offered space and guidance in seminars to develop ideas, ground them in theories and empirical evidence presented in the lectures, and merge these into a campaign concept. In the lecture, different scientific perspectives (e.g. approaches to behavior change), tools for their campaigns (e.g. teaching materials) as well as practical experience (e.g. talks by external experienced campaigners) were addressed.
Publication
Fischer, D., Grunenberg, H., & Ruckelshauß, T. (2017). Was wollen Kinder und Jugendliche in Bezug auf Nachhaltigkeit und Konsum wissen, wie kommunizieren sie und wie informieren sie sich? Eine Literaturanalyse [What do children and adolescents want to know about sustainability and consumption, how do they communicate, and how do they obtain information? A literature analysis]. Lüneburg.
suco2.com 