OUR WORK

Lighter Living Action: Québec

Working with RECYC-QUÉBEC in cities and communities across Québec to understand Québec residents’ motivations and support them in adopting lighter living behaviors.

PROJECT LEAD

Dagmar Timmer, Majid Khoury, Cora Hallsworth and Vanessa Timmer

PARTNER

OneEarth Living
BCIT Centre for EcoCities
RECYC-QUÉBEC

FUNDER

RECYC-QUÉBEC

How do we build on diverse motivations for lighter living and work with cities to support waste reduction and prevention while reimagining sustainable everyday living?

Together with RECYC-QUÉBEC, a key player in provincial waste management, we are tackling the question, “What can we do to enable citizens and consumers to prevent and reduce waste?”

While individuals have a role to play and are keen to do their part, people cannot “live lighter” without the supportive context that enables them to do so. This is why we are working to engage cities across Québec who can relieve the burden on individuals by providing enabling conditions, such as establishing reuse platforms and offering financial support. We are also working with cities across Québec in advancing lighter living by adapting the Lighter Living Action Pack for Neighbourhoods, which we first developed for communities in British Columbia.

Throughout this work, we are ensuring we communicate in diverse ways as we know that Québec is comprised of many unique groups who resonate with different messages and strategies. OneEarth Living worked with Majid Khoury to identify the diverse motivations that drive people in Québec to engage in lighter living actions such as reducing wasted food and using circular goods and services. Understanding the motivations behind why people in Québec consume enables more effective and targeted engagement and communications for activating a wider population than just those motivated by environmental concerns. This builds from the work OneEarth Living and SRRI did in British Columbia to adapt 7 Finnish Motivations to the Canadian context (learn more). Through the Motivations study, governments, businesses, and community organizations can clarify their audiences, refine messaging and outreach channels, and identify how to better support the uptake of climate and planet-friendly initiatives.

How do we build on diverse motivations for lighter living and work with cities to support waste reduction and prevention while reimagining sustainable everyday living?

Together with RECYC-QUÉBEC, a key player in provincial waste management, we are tackling the question, “What can we do to enable citizens and consumers to prevent and reduce waste?”

While individuals have a role to play and are keen to do their part, people cannot “live lighter” without the supportive context that enables them to do so. This is why we are working to engage cities across Québec who can relieve the burden on individuals by providing enabling conditions, such as establishing reuse platforms and offering financial support. We are also working with cities across Québec in advancing lighter living by adapting the Lighter Living Action Pack for Neighbourhoods, which we first developed for communities in British Columbia.

Throughout this work, we are ensuring we communicate in diverse ways as we know that Québec is comprised of many unique groups who resonate with different messages and strategies. OneEarth Living worked with Majid Khoury to identify the diverse motivations that drive people in Québec to engage in lighter living actions such as reducing wasted food and using circular goods and services. Understanding the motivations behind why people in Québec consume enables more effective and targeted engagement and communications for activating a wider population than just those motivated by environmental concerns. This builds from the work OneEarth Living and SRRI did in British Columbia to adapt 7 Finnish Motivations to the Canadian context (learn more). Through the Motivations study, governments, businesses, and community organizations can clarify their audiences, refine messaging and outreach channels, and identify how to better support the uptake of climate and planet-friendly initiatives.