Sustainable travelling made positive and modern

The Örebro Energy Agency, through its project Fossilfritt 2030 – Rena resan (Fossil free 2030 – a clean journey), has implemented activities to spur behavioural change and raise awareness about sustainable traveling.

Thanks to the project, participants were able to experience sustainable travel alternatives – cargo bikes or electric bikes – for specific periods of time. Exposing people to new modes of travel that they for various reasons would not have tried otherwise increases greatly the potential for permanent behavioural changes.

Participating municipalities, leveraged project activities to implement and test novel travel solutions in their daily work. One example is the substitution of cars with cargo bikes in the delivery of laundry to users. This action was a success and has become a permanent part of work and travel policies in Karlskoga municipality in Örebro county.

“The cargo bike is now integrated into the municipality’s carpool. The involvement of employees who underwent the trial, from planning to testing and evaluation, played a crucial role in the success and subsequent implementation of the cargo bike,” states the project manager.

In addition to trial periods, the project has also developed an active marketing plan. Campaigns used throughout the project were grounded in factual information, but also strategically presented to appeal to emotions. An illustrative example was the cargo bike campaign. Recognising that individuals are more susceptible to change at different life stages, such as moving to a new location or becoming parents, the campaign chose to address specifically new parents. To appeal to their emotions, the campaign focused on highlighting the benefits this mode of travel had for the children, presented from the children’s point of view.

This multifaceted approach not only showcases the project’s accomplishments but also underscores the importance of combining experiential activities, effective marketing, and strategic planning to drive sustainable travel initiatives.

This best practice is extracted from our publication ‘Sustainable Regions in Action‘. Discover more best practices here!