The Sustainable Lifestyles Accelerator – Catalyzing Change (ACCELERATOR)

The project “The Sustainable Lifestyles Accelerator – Catalysing Change “ finished in the end of 2021. The project’s target was to mobilizes tens of thousands of people in seven countries (Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Denmark, Spain, Mexico, India) to analyse their material and carbon footprints, and to plan and implement footprint reductions by behavioural change. The project also developed tools for further up-scaling the approach.

Based on earlier experiences, we assumed a footprint reduction potential of up to 25 % per participating household and a very potential for scaling up these environmental effects. To guide and support such a transition, the Sustainable Lifestyles Accelerator provided online and offline tools (and their combination) for footprint calculation, individual roadmapping and experimenting, and sharing experiences for up-scaling.

The project consisted of five tasks. First, we identified existing online and offline tools and household studies to gain a better understanding of the approach to be developed. The knowledge gained was incorporated in the following task of footprint calculation, individual roadmapping and experimenting, and sharing experiences for up-scaling. During three rounds with an increasing number of households, we developed a webtool as well as communication platforms on social media, to accelerate sustainable lifestyles in the seven partner countries.

The offline tools developed were D-mat’s Climate Puzzle and the game of our Mexican partner Design Your Action. The online tool SUSLA was developed by all partners together and its beta version was published in 2021. In the end of 2021, the project partners launched the SUSLA app in a joint international social media campaign inspiring people to find out their carbon footprints and to start reduce them - #daretonow.