Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing

A healthy sustainable community is, in large part, the result of community members taking an active role in the community. When members of a community adopt healthy habits - by getting more exercise, for example - the community becomes a healthier one. When the members use resources wisely - by recycling, for example –the community moves towards sustainability. When community members pollute less, the community becomes both healthier and more sustainable. To promote a healthier, more sustainable future, it is essential to know how to encourage individuals to adopt corresponding lifestyles. Increasingly, those who develop and deliver programs to promote health and sustainability are turning to community-based social marketing for assistance.

Community-based social marketing emphasizes direct contact with community members and the removal of structural barriers, since research suggests that such approaches are often most likely to bring about behavior change. Community-based social marketing also uses a set of “tools” which have been identified as being particularly effective in fostering such change. While each of these tools on its own is capable of promoting healthy and/or sustainable behavior under the right conditions, the tools are most effective when used together.

Community-based social marketing is practical. It involves:

• identifying the barriers to a behavior
• developing and piloting a program to overcome these barriers
• implementing the program across a community
• evaluating the effectiveness of the program

To promote healthy, sustainable lifestyles effectively, the barriers to healthy, sustainable activities must first be identified. Community-based social marketers begin by conducting the research that will help them identify these barriers. It is not unusual for this research to uncover multiple barriers quite specific to the activity being promoted.

Once the barriers have been identified, community-based social marketers develop a program that addresses each of them. Personal contact, the removal of structural barriers, and the use of proven tools of change are emphasized in the program. To ensure that the program will be successful, it is piloted in a small segment of the community. This means that the program is tested in a small portion of the community and modified until you are getting your desired results. The program is then implemented throughout the community and procedures are put in place to monitor its effectiveness on an ongoing basis.

The steps comprising community-based social marketing are simple and effective.
When barriers are identified and appropriate programs are designed to address these barriers and encourage the desired behavior, the frequent result is that individuals adopt healthier and/or more sustainable lifestyles. These are the corner stone of healthier, more sustainable communities.

Doug McKenzie-Mohr, St. Thomas University

Student Handout #1
The Truth About Vehicle Exhaust

Idling your car, truck or snowmobile does a lot more harm than good. Could it even be dangerous? You decide…

Did you know that vehicle exhaust has been proven to inflame lung diseases such as lung cancer and childhood asthma? …Or that children breathe faster and inhale more air per pound of body weight and are therefore at a greater risk of developing lung problems from exposure to these fumes? Children are more prone to a variety of lung diseases because their lungs aren’t fully developed.

A short list of the common pollutants in vehicle exhaust that are known to cause diseases:

Carbon monoxide Nitrogen dioxide Nitrogen monoxide Sulphur dioxide Benzene** Formaldehyde Polycyclic hydrocarbons

**Scientists have discovered that there is no safe exposure level to Benzene.

What about safety? Have you ever considered that cold weather idling in busy areas like school drop off zones might be a danger to the safety of the children? As we all know it gets really cold during winter in the arctic and when the temperature dips below minus 20, as it often does, vehicle exhaust poses a new threat to people. This is the temperature when water vapours from the vehicle exhaust freeze after leaving the tail pipe. This is what produces that opaque cloud of fumes that hangs behind the vehicle when it isn’t moving. When a number of vehicles are all idling in the same area, such as a student drop off zone, this can cause a real hazard. The clouds of exhaust make it hard to see who is running in front of or behind vehicles. This situation is an accident waiting to happen. Turn vehicles off when waiting in areas like student drop off zones to make these busy areas much safer for everyone.

By making the choice not to idle, you also help to fight climate change, the gradual warming of the Earth caused by the release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Every litre of gasoline produces 2.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide as it burns. If every person in Canada idled their vehicle for five minutes less a day than they do now, together we would cut our production of carbon dioxide by 1.6 million tonnes.

By reducing the amount of time we take to warm up our vehicles and turning them off when we go into the bank or grocery store, all of us can have a positive impact on the health and environment of our communities.

Idle Arguments

Many of the reasons you have for idling your car may be based on misconceptions. Lets clear a couple of those up shall we… ?

Idling is the only way to clear frost from the inside of your windshield.

Frost on the inside of windows and windshields is caused by excess moisture inside your vehicle that sticks to those surfaces when the air inside cools. To help prevent this from happening, leave one or both of your rear windows down just a little bit. These cracks will allow the moisture to escape outside your car.

If you experience this problem a lot, have your car’s ventilation system checked by a mechanic. If this is only an occasional problem for your vehicle, keep a small ice scraper in your car.

I’m just going in for a minute!

If you are just going in for a minute, your car won’t cool off that quickly. And, if you are going to be in the bank or store for longer than a minute your car should be turned off so that you’re not polluting the air everyone breathes or wasting expensive gasoline.

My car needs time to warm up.

While it is true that no car should be started and immediately driven away in -25°C weather, modern vehicles don’t require more than a few minutes of run time before they can be driven. The amount of heat generated by an idling engine will barely affect the temperature of your interior. However, driving forces all of the vehicle’s moving parts to warm up together and this will generate more heat sooner.

There is no optimal warm up time for every car. It is a matter of common sense; on an ordinary winter day a driver may only need to warm up their vehicle for as long as it takes to brush the snow or ice off the outside of the car. However extreme cold is another story. On these days we understand that vehicles need more time to warm up before driving. We are just asking that people use their vehicles responsibly.

Lots of times it’s the driver – not the car – that can’t tolerate the cold. Just because you’re driving doesn’t mean you shouldn’t dress for the weather. Even just putting on a hat will make the first few minutes of your drive more comfortable.

Frequently turning your vehicle on and off in cold weather harms the engine.

This used to be true, but developments in technology have corrected this problem. Fuel-injected cars don’t need to be left on when parked. Ford Motor Company of Canada has even stated that unnecessary idling wastes fuel and harms your engine.

Student Handout#2
Letter from Ford Motor Company

		Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited Ford du Canada Limitées Cold weather idling is largely a waste of fuel. It is also a source of unwanted pollution. Except in the most extreme conditions, once an engine has been started and the warning lights or indicator gauges show “normal”, a vehicle can be driven away – gently. There are other considerations besides engine function in extreme cold weather – axle, transmission, steering and brake fluids are also very viscous. Extended idling is of very little benefit. Modern engines do not produce significant heat at idle and do not need significant internal heat to operate properly. Diesel engines in particular are prone to cooling off to the point where the injectors no longer contain the fuel properly and “slobbering” takes place. This puts excessive amounts of raw fuel in the combustion chamber and can lead to damage. We urge people to use thermostatically controlled block heaters overnight or when a vehicle is parked for lengthy periods. Timed block heaters are also an option. Remote or automatic starting is not a route we recommend. Many people are concerned about starter wear. Tests have shown that this is not an issue. Starter life will not be seriously jeopardized by the few extra turns needed or the small increase in the number of times it will be put to use. Tests done by a European automaker (albeit at room temperature) showed that an automobile could be turned off and restarted 30 times per minute and still return better fuel economy than when left idling for the whole minute. Technically speaking, extended idling is not necessary. Interior comfort is another issue, (as) “relative warmth” is certainly a consideration for the passengers. Sincerely, Wayne Pattee, Mgr. Vehicle Emissions and Fuels Reprinted with the permission of Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited