The Challenge

Influence consumer behavior in relation to buying more sustainable products and using products in a more sustainable manner.

Consumers can have a huge impact on sustainable development through their influence as purchasers. But they need help to make choices. Carbon labels are catching on in the UK. With companies including Coca-Cola, Cadbury Schweppes, Scottish & Newcastle and Aggregate Industries agreeing to measure the carbon content of a vast range of products. But is putting a label on a product the best way to tackle the issue? Research has shown that there is a very low engagement with food labels for habitual purchases. A recent survey by Boots found that just 28% of shoppers knew that a carbon label related to climate change. Almost half confused the label with fair trade. However, most thought it was important to show the amount of carbon emitted during the item's production. It is not surprising that most of us do not understand the labels. The meaning of a label with a footprint and a figure of "75g" is not immediately obvious. If shoppers do recognise the figure as a measurement of the total CO2 emitted in the production and processing of a product they still have to work out whether this figure is high or low. Communicating numerical values on there own may not be the best approach because most consumers find it difficult to make sense of grams of carbon relative to their lifestyle emissions.

The Solution

Sustainable development cannot be imposed on people. The key is to help people understand what sustainable development means, why it is a necessary, and how they can help to achieve it. Rewarding consumers with a stimulating, engaging experience is one of the most successful ways to interact and educate. Using new and exciting technology to do this, adds another layer of interest. My solution uses a combination of mobile application, augmented reality, social media and advertising to help educate consumers shopping habits.

Introduction

Tesco is the grocery market leader in the UK. Since their launch in April 2008, Tesco have added carbon footprint labels on 114 of it own brand products. with a plan to increase this number to 70,000. For the purpose of this project I chosen to use Tesco as an example. However, I feel confident this concept could be applied to a variety of retailers.

My concept is Eco-Scan. This initiative could be funded by the Government and supported by the Carbon Trust, an independent company set up by the government in response to the threat of climate change.

ECSCAN

Concept

My concept would involve adding QR code onto the carbon label of products. These codes can be read with the cameras on smart phones and can hold a huge about of information about a product. Using a QR code provides the opportunity to give the consumer more information by taking up less space . There small size means they are relatively unobtrusive mark on the packaging.

QR Label

Tesco fresh orange juice 1LTRCARBON FOOTPRINT - 360g

Food miles covered 127,

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Tesco fresh orange juice 1LTRCARBON FOOTPRINT - 360g

See thisproductsjourney

What is a carbon

footprint?

Compare carbon

footprints

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What would you like to see?

Hold your hand over one of the red cirlces until it flashes to make a selection.

The best place to influence a consumer is at the point of sale. The concept would use in-store terminals that are able to scan the QR codes on the products packaging. Once the code has been scanned the user would be able to interact with the terminal. This would offer an engaging way to educate the consumer about the products they are buying. The incentive of trying out this new technology would appeal to a wide audience. I have deliberately kept the interface as simple as possible to reinforce the user friendly aspect of the system.

By holding the code on the packaging up to the terminal, the user would be able to see the journey that product has taken. This would be represented by an augmented reality map with the path marked on it. The user would be able to watch the carbon footprint increase as the product covers a greater distance. The system would use a series of icons to depict the transport used. If the product had traveled a shorter distance (within Europe), a zoomed in map could be used. This type of technology was used recently in this Lego campaign, by holding the box up to the screen, it shows you to see what the set would be like assembled. Many parents take their children with them when shopping, I think this function would appeal to them in particular and be a great way to get them involved with the campaign.

From the research I collected, a problem that became clear was that people didn’t understand the value of carbon. By giving them a clear way to compare the carbon footprint of other things, It would help them to gain a better understand of the true value of carbon. By selecting a shape, they would be able to see that items carbon footprint, for eample: Large Car - 9 tons of carbon emissions per year Pig (1 ton of pork) - 11 tons of carbon emissions per year

This type of technology has been used recently in the Ford C-Max campaign.

To make a selection the user would hold their had over one of the red circles until it turned blue. Doing this gradually over four seconds would help to eliminate any mistakes when making a selection.

Carbon footprints are calculated from five stages of the products life. It became clear after research that it is vital to educate people about all of these and not just focus on the ‘food miles’ stage. From here the consumer would be able to find out more information about each stage of the scanned products carbon footprint. Some of these may include further opportu-nities to use the augmented reality function of the system. For example, the ‘product manufacturing’ stage may contain an visual representa-tion of the methods used.

In-store Terminal

Tesco fresh orange juice 1LTRCARBON FOOTPRINT - 360g

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Select a shape to see its carbon footprint.

Tesco fresh orange juice 1LTRCARBON FOOTPRINT - 360g

A carbon footprint is canculated from 5 stages. Select a stage to find out more.

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rawmaterials

productmanufacturing

distribution& retail

consumeruse

disposal& recycling

ECSCAN

When a receipt is scanned it will give the user a code that is saved to the phone as a text message. This code is then entered into the website to update profile information and carbon points total.

The Eco-Scan app would allow user to scan the QR codes on the carbon labels. By doing this they are able to log all the carbon efficient items that they are buying and learn more about these products. This will also give the opportunity to collect Carbon points. Each carbon labeled product would carry a carbon point value that when bought, could be transferred into club card points.

Point the camera at the Eco-scan logo.

Tesco Pure Orange Juice (1ltr)

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Carbon points: 5

Carbon foortprint of item: 250gNational average of item: 480g

Total carbon saving: 230g

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Total number of items: 13Total carbon points: 27

Total carbon foortprint of all items: 2950gTotal carbon saving*: 4780g

*measured against the nation average of similar items

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Scan new item

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Scan receipt

This is a visual representation a carbon footprint. The red area represents the carbon footprint of the item. By measuring this against the national average for a similar item, a carbon saving could be calculated. This information could be easily gathered by a 3rd party, for example the Carbon Trust. Giving the consumer a visual representation makes the information more digestible. They are able to compare products easily with information that is accessible and understandable

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Tesco Pure Orange Juice (1ltr)

Tesco Non-Biological Liquid Wash

100W Pearl Lightbulb

King Edwards (2.5 kg)

Organic Baby New (750 g)

Tesco Non-Biological LiquidCapsules

60W Spotlight

Tesco 100% Pure Squeezed Orange Juice

Tesco Pure Orange Juice (1ltr)

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Carbon points: 5

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Carbon foortprint of item: 250gNational average of item: 480g

Total carbon saving: 230g

App

My profileMy profile

The website would offer a way for consumers to interact with the campaign in their homes. this is often a reflective environment when people may be more open to finding out more information about carbon footprints. By creating a profile, it would also allow them to log the shops they have collected using the Eco-Scan app, and to keep a detailed record of their shopping history.

By giving the consumer easy to follow, visual representations of there shopping history, it may encourage them to improve their shopping trends.

By using a webcam, the user would be able to see augmented reality maps in the same way as the shop terminal.

The website would contain a variety of information about the campaign. It would offer information about carbon footprints and also have links to relevant sites like the Carbon Trust and the Tesco homepage.

I have consciously kept the navigation of the site very simplistic to ensure that it could be used by a widest possible range of consumers.

An important part of the campaign is to offer the user a digestible way to summarise their totals. The information could then be shared via email or Facebook. This would help the campaign to grow and encourage others to become involved.

Once the user has logged their carbon points using the code created by scanning the till receipt, they would be able to spend them in the same way as clubcard points. A link would connect them with the correct page on the Tesco website.

What is a carbon

footprint?

What are carbon points?

Usefullinks

How is a carbon

footprint canculated?

Compare carbon

footprints

How to reduce your carbon

footprint

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Find out more

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Home

Tesco fresh orange juice 1LTRCARBON FOOTPRINT - 360g

Food miles covered 127,

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Scan item

Total shops logged: 8Total number of items scanned : 13

Total carbon points: 27

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ECSCAN

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Total carbon foortprint of all items: 2950gTotal carbon saving*: 4780g

*measured against the nation average of similar items

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carbon footprint

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Tesco Pure Orange Juice (1ltr)

Tesco Non-Biological Liquid Wash

100W Pearl Lightbulb

King Edwards (2.5 kg)

Organic Baby New (750 g)

Tesco Non-Biological LiquidCapsules

60W Spotlight

Tesco 100% Pure Squeezed Orange Juice

View top carbon saving

itemFilter

View all scanned items

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Website

A face book application would be set up allowing the user to share the information they have logged via the website. Connecting the campaign to social media would help to increase the reachable audience. Sharing information about your carbon savings would start rivalry between friend about who has the better carbon footprint, and in turn would increase the interest in the subject. The page would contain information about the campaign and links to relevant websites.

To add a fun element to the campaign, users would be able to create a ‘carbon face-print’ by overlaying a picture of thier face onto the visual representation of their carbon foot-print. By being able to personalise this element of the campaign, it may encourage the users to share the information with their friends.

Facebook

This project has given me the opportunity to explore a subject that I previously had very little knowledge of. I can honestly say that it has changed my own personal opinions on the subject, and I will be much more conscious of carbon footprints when considering the products that I purchase. As well as sustainable development, this project has allowed me to explore the subject of how people can interact with product packaging. With the use of digital technology and interactive design, the possibilities are endless and opportunities are fascinating.

The opportunity to become more environmentally conscious through the purchases they make. The chance to educate themselves in a subject they may not have much understanding of. The chance to interact with exciting new technology. The opportunity to earn points that are redeemable against future purchases. A chance to share the information they are collecting with others. A simple and engaging format that would appeal to vast range of consumers. The ‘feel good’ factor of knowing they are to their bit in relation to tackling climate change.

The chance for retailer to position itself as serious about tackling climate change. Create added appeal to customers that care about saving the planet. Build consumer trust for the retailer. A chance to let consumers know at they cutting edge of technology. The opportunity to reward customers for making environmentally influenced purchases. The opportunity for retailers to asses the energy savings that could be made within its supply chain. Increased purchases of own brands that carry the Eco-Scan label.

Summary

Consumer Benefits Retailer Benefits