ANSWER is all about promoting responsible, energy-efficient behaviour within our communities. The focus of our work is on delivering tangible benefits that will help tackle obstacles to energy reduction. However, we are also trying hard to ensure that we live up to these standards ourselves.
Walking the Talk
One of the main benefits of ANSWER is how it brings together expertise from across Europe. However, we try to minimise the travel involved by using technology - regular update meetings are held as web-enabled teleconferences. Where travel is unavoidable, we look for ways to minimise the climate impact, choosing trains and ferries over planes and cars.
Over the 3 years of ANSWER we will be evaluating how it is possible to run a genuinely low-carbon European project, without impeding the project’s success. We hope to demonstrate that being sustainable can also be beneficial (e.g. train travel takes longer but is far more amenable to working than flying).
We will then look to engage other European projects to influence their practices for transnational communication and project delivery to ensure that as many projects as possible can demonstrate and quantify their low carbon impact
Spreading the Message
We also want to engage effectively with our target audiences. Clear and persuasive communication is an essential part of the ANSWER project, as it enables us to highlight the obstacles to behavioural change and how they can be overcome. Telling the message honestly and clearly is the most effective means of overcoming doubt or inertia.
This work package is led by Suffolk County Council.
Contact the lead partner for further information on this work package.
ned.harrison@suffolk.gov.uk