Energising South African Cities & Towns - City Energy Support Unit

S t e p 1 0PUBLICISINGTHE BENEFITS& ENERGISINGTHE CITY’S PEOPLEWHY DO you need to tell everyoneabout your project? To build supportfor your sustainable energy goalsand to change people’s behaviour.Your city can save money andensure the availability of resourcesfor years to come. By you taking theinitiative, your city can benefit fromforward thinking. Build pride, enthusiasmand a feeling of empowermentwhile building a more sustainablefuture, and telling as many people aspossible that you are doing it!That’s why education and publicityshould be on your mind all thetime – don’t hold back!Using projectsAt every point a project can be usedto build public understanding andsupport: use every chance and buildon people’s natural curiosity and ontheir need to save money.Take a waste-to-energy methaneextraction project, for example: it canbe a means to building city staff andcouncillors’ understanding about energyefficiency and best mix as wellas waste management.An energy audit and retrofit oncouncil offices can educate staff aboutenergy efficiency – information theywill take home to their families, andchildren can take it to their schools.Using the mediaYou have a vast array of communicationmethods at your disposal,and they don’t all cost huge amountsA public education strategy is a vital componentof any energy programme and activity:international and local experience shows thatenergy effi ciency gains are derived 80% fromeducation of users and only 20% from technologychange.of money. Piggy-back on other mediainitiatives wherever you can. Usejournalists’ need for stories, apply forawards, make presentations to councilportfolio committees, get onto theradio, distribute information withthe council’s monthly accounts.Critical to maintaining and buildingfurther support is the fostering of aclear appreciation of the policy’s benefits.This entails presentations, workshops,marketing, public relations andmedia events, which all add up tobuild trust and credibility, too.Let people know that you’ve providedmore service for fewer rands, and dopractical demonstrations to show themhow much money they can save. Set uppilot projects to show local authorityfinance departments how much canbe saved.ENERGISING SOUTH AFRICAN CITIES & TOWNS21