ENERGY STAR CHANGE THE WORLD, 1 START WITH ENERGY STAR* All tools mentioned in this document are accessible from the Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR website at www.eneravstar.gov/Dledaedhvers. Explore the "Getting Started"and "Event Toolkit"pages. How Your Organization Can Get Involved in the ENERGY STAR Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR® Campaign There are many ways for you to leverage your campaign participation. We've included a few ideas below, but feel free to contact us at changetheworld@energvstar.gov if you would like help in developing your customized campaign or have an idea to share. To help you maximize your participation, we suggest taking a two-pronged approach: collecting pledges and testimonials, and publicizing your success. Collect Pledges and Testimonials. Now that you are a pledge driver, we would like to help you collect as many pledges as you can. Start by promoting the pledge on your website. Place our Web Buttons and Web Banners in prominent places on your site and other sites with which you are affiliated. Include your organization's unique pledge driver linking URL on your website and in newsletters and e-mail signatures to provide people with easy access to take the pledge. In addition to driving pledges, you can collect stories, either through text or video, about how pledgers are saving energy. Visit energystar.gov/changetheworld to submit your energy-savings stories. The best entries are featured on our site. This year, EPA is also challenging people across the country to share their stories in the Be an ENERGY STAR Video Challenge. We're encouraging Americans to pick up their home video camera and record a video showcasing their energy efficiency efforts at home, school, work, and in their communities. EPA is accepting videos from Earth Day 2011 through September 16, 2011 and is showcasing them on energystar.gov and the ENERGY STAR Facebook and YouTube pages. Starting in September 17, 2011, Americans will get a chance to pick their favorite videos to be included in a "Best Of" video initiative as part of October's Energy Awareness Month. Below are some tactics for driving both pledges and testimonials: Send an e-mail blast. Sending a message to your employees, sales associates, members, customers, students, etc. is an easy and popular way to get the word out. Your audiences will appreciate your commitment to the environment and, because our message is inspiring, EPA- driven, and simple to do, it will not be misconstrued as spam. You can also time your mass e-mail with relevant energy-saving seasons (Earth Day in the spring, summer cooling, fall preparation for winter heating, etc.), as well as focus your content on the products of most interest to customers during that season (lighting or home sealing products in the fall, or electronics in the winter around gift-giving time, etc.). Our campaign offers Sample E-mail and Web text to make sending a message easy. ENERGY STAR®, a program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, helps us all save money ' . and protect the climate through energy-efficient products and practices. Learn more. Visit www.energystar.gov ENERGY STAR ------- Draft an article for one of your company's publications. An article in your company's publication can help promote your participation in the campaign and the pledge. The nice thing about leveraging an article is that you can tuck the pledge message into an existing broader article about saving energy and helping protect environment. Whether it is an employee newsletter or a customer magazine, the pledge is an easy, positive element to promote. It has the extra advantage of driving visits to your website, as well. Use our Sample Newsletter to help craft your campaign article. Host a Pledge Contest. Including an incentive for taking the pledge is a great way to encourage your audiences to participate. You can organize a contest based on actions taken and pollution prevented, or, if you want to encourage others to gather pledges, you can have a contest based on the total number of pledges collected. Whether it is among employees, teachers, or customers, a contest is a fun way to get participants involved. And, the prizes could be anything from company- wide recognition, a mention in a publication, or something bigger, like taking home an ENERGY STAR qualified product. In addition to a pledge contest, you can also host a video testimonial contest. The prize could be to feature the best stories in a high-profile medium, like a magazine or in-store TV broadcast. You could even create a video compilation and use it at various events, such as on Earth Day (April 22), or create an environmental advertisement from it. Submit the testimonials to the Be an ENERGY STAR Video Challenge before September 16, 2011 for a chance to be entered into a "Best Of" video compilation on YouTube. Visit enerqvstar.gov/chanqetheworld for submission details. Hold an Event. Holding events, especially if you are part of a local organization, is a great way to spread the word and personally engage with your audiences to demonstrate your environmental leadership. You can hold your own event or run a table or booth at an existing event. Consider targeting your internal audience to educate your employees, your external audience to engage customers, members, etc., or both. Make sure others know about your efforts by participating in the ENERGY STARs across America (ESAA) initiative and becoming a star on our map. ESAA is a grassroots effort taking place between Earth Day 2011 and the end of Energy Awareness Month in October 2011. It is designed to facilitate your organization's outreach and energy efficiency-related events by providing you with a featured spot on the ESAA map. Please visit enerqvstar.gov/chanqetheworld to view the map and see what events are happening near you. To help support your ESAA event, EPA is very excited to be able to provide your organization with giveaways. Depending on the event size and subject to availability, participating organizations may receive 250 tote bags, 500 bracelets, and 2,500 temporary tattoos—all of which are ENERGY STAR branded. Please note EPA reserves the right to amend the number of provided items, based on the size and number of event(s). The giveaways are meant to serve as an incentive for people at your event to participate in the Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR campaign. You can also use the resources available in the Event Toolkit, including the ENERGY STAR Event Booth. The booth is a free solution for holding an educational event on energy efficiency. Check out the Key Event Booth Information for additional information about shipping, staffing recommendations, etc. To request the event booth, simply download the order form, fill it out and Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Updated March 2012 2 ------- email it to changetheworldbooth@sbd.com. Please submit your request as far in advance as possible, as the booth is available on a first-come, first-served basis. We have Paper Pledge Forms available if you want to promote the pledge but are not able to have Internet access at your event. E-mail chanqetheworld@enerqvstar.gov for more information about paper pledges. Advertising. Feel free to use our Web Banners and Campaign Graphics to promote EPA's pledge on your website or in advertising—yet another easy way to get the word out and associate your organization with this growing environmental movement. Publicize Your Participation. Reach out to the media, either in conjunction with an event or promotion developed around the pledge or simply to tout the number of pledges you have gathered and the collective impact in terms of energy and the environment. EPA has a Sample Press Release to help you craft your story. We also have a Key Messages document with helpful campaign messaging, as well as a Facts and Assumptions document, to provide you with everything you need to educate your audiences about the pledge and your accomplishments. These are just a few of the many ways to get involved with EPA's Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR campaign. Feel free to contact us at changetheworld@energvstar.gov if you would like additional help in developing your customized campaign. Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Updated March 2012 3 ------- |