Overview of activities

Residential Sector

The ELI program started with an investigation of the market for efficient lighting products. Market studies illustrated that CFL were not at all well known. Most frequently, respondents could spontaneously name only incandescent lamps (98.2%). Next in frequency were fluorescent lamps (23.1 %), CFLs (21.9%) and halogen lamps (17.8%). Only 21.9% of respondents mentioned CFL. Respondents said they used incandescent lamps (97.7%) at home most frequently. Other types of lighting were used less frequently. CFLs were used by only 12.6% of respondents.

Using survey data, two initial stages of the CFL campaign were implemented in the residential sector:

A pilot project in three municipalities (with populations between 5,000 and 10,000) and follow-up activity in five municipalities (with populations between 10,000 and 20,000) where the “grassroots” approach had been tested. The pilot and follow-up projects confirmed that the chosen communication strategy and messages conveyed reached the target audience and showed that this is a successful method for small municipalities. However it was decided the “grassroots” approach could not be used directly in big cities. The approach was significantly modified before being tried in large population centres.

In December 2001, the ELI Latvia team successfully organized the CLF campaign, “More Light for Less Money” in Liepaja, one of the larger cities in Latvia. Liepaja has a population of over 90,000. The big city approach was tested here in order to prepare the CFL campaign for Riga (which has a population over 800,000). The campaign was later conducted (November and December 2002) in Riga and six satellite cities with populations ranging from 20,000 to 80,000.

Analysis of the “grassroots” strategy

Municipalities – innovation champions

Three local governments participated and promoted the pilot lighting project in the residential sector - the municipalities of Broceni, Dobele and Ludza. These municipalities were to be the main actors in and champions of innovation for the CFL campaign. They were chosen after consideration of a number of potential alternative selections, including electric utilities, banks, a national telecommunications company, a natural gas supplier and district heating (DH) companies as well as other municipalities.

Several municipalities were selected to test the promotion of energy efficiency ideas. In close cooperation with the ELI Latvia team, these municipalities also participated in the information process and supported their participating residents financially.

1. In September 2000, the municipality of Broceni (3,500 inhabitants) was selected for testing the CFL campaign in small cities. The test received the full support of the municipal council.
   
2. In November 2000, the municipalities of Dobele (12,000 inhabitants) and Ludza (10,000 inhabitants) also decided to participate in the CFL campaign.
   
3. During the pre-campaign period (October – December 2000), leaflets were given out and posters put up. In addition, lessons in schools, information days and other events were organized. Meanwhile, the ELI team assisted in the preparation of documentation required for the bulk purchase of CFLs.
   
4. The campaign ended three days before Christmas with a sale of the CFLs. Broceni was our most successful test case since every second household purchased at least one CFL.
   This pilot project also allowed the ELI Latvia team to test the strategy of providing small loans to inhabitants (from $5 to $30 USD). The loan period varied from town to town and in term from six to 12 months. All of them were non-interest bearing loans; only the loan amount had to be repaid. A loan agreement was signed between the municipality and its residents as part of the sales process.

Consumers showed a comparatively large interest in this option (~30% in Broceni and ~50% in Dobele). The ELI Latvia team worked out an agreement between the supplier of CFLs (Philips) and the municipality (or municipal enterprise). The agreement was tested and accepted by both the municipalities of Broceni and Dobele and, as well, used in follow-up activities. The money flow and the flow of CFLs are presented in Figure 1. As indicated by Figure 1, residents had two ways to purchase their CFLs: They could either pay in cash or take out a loan from the municipality.

Figure 1. Financial and organizational scheme of the loan
The CFL campaign introduced both the municipality and its residents to new credit possibilities.

In this process, the municipality has a very important role as champion of innovation. In fact, during the implementation phase of the pilot project the municipality itself demonstrated best lighting practices to the entire community. However, also very important was the positive behavior of the residents themselves who showed themselves to be open to new ideas and strongly in favour of efficient lighting.
Role of government
Government has always played an important role in the promotion of energy efficient technologies. As one of the EU candidate countries, Latvia is in the process of bringing its laws and practices into conformance with EU legislation and directives. The Latvian Government has, for example, worked out a system of energy efficiency labeling for the entire lighting sector.

The Government has also developed several documents in connection with the promotion of energy efficiency measures, the latest of which is called, A National Energy Efficiency Strategy (2000). One of the purposes of this particular document is energy labeling for technologies. The Cabinet has also issued a directive called, The Regulation of Energy Use Labeling. The ELI Latvia team assisted in the preparation of both this document and the information brochure. The Government has also begun instituting a policy of consumer protection through this document.

The pilot project did what in the Government’s energy efficiency strategy required. It demonstrated both a ways and a means of implementing the efficient use of energy for lighting by focusing on the end user. The Government’s consumer protection policy in energy is also directed towards assisting end users.

Other actors
The investigation of potential supporters of an efficient lighting initiative identified tasks and organizations, which are charged with overseeing energy efficiency measures. Different programs within the framework of activities of USAID, PHARE, EC OPET, GEF, etc, identify various energy saving opportunities. Banks and foundations are encouraged to provide loans. As well, manufacturers have always played the main role in the development of know-how. The ELI Latvia team early established good relations, which led to excellent co-operation during pre-campaign period, with the CFL manufacturers Philips, Osram and GE.

The pilot project demonstrated ways and means of implementing innovative energy technologies. The approach was top-down. Three municipalities organized a tendering competition between efficient lighting producers for bulk purchases of CFLs that came with the ELI Program certificate. Philips, as winner, took part in all phases of the pilot project and actually introduced this efficient lighting technology. Individual representatives of the other manufacturers also played a significant role in the development of other innovative energy technology ideas.

Messages used during campaign

All CFLs sold during campaign conformed to ELI qualification standards. Three companies – Philips, Osram and GE – participated in the ELI qualification process. A number of different types of CFLs (produced by these companies) qualified. However, it should be noted that the results of the CFL campaigns could have been even better if all three companies had been even more actively involved.

• The high price of CFLs was determined to be the most important barrier to their wide use. Therefore particular attention was paid to explaining not only how it was possible to save money using CFLs but also the link between energy saving and the household electricity bill. Then, explanations were given about the importance of the CFL’s long lifetime with special attention paid to the advantages of bulbs with a lifetime of longer than 6,000 hours. The message put out was, “Buy a CFL because its lower energy consumption and longer life span will result in lower electricity bills”.
• The second message of the public information campaign focused on the one-year warranty provided by manufacturers of CFLs and the fact that the provision of this warranty was an indication of high quality as well.
• Finally the third stage of the public information campaign dealt with widespread misconceptions about CFLs, for example, “CFLs are bad for your health” and “CFLs interfere with radio transmissions”.

Follow up activities of the pilot “grassroots” project

The experience of Dutch researchers showed that many environmental innovations (including energy efficiency) never get past the demonstration project stage [5]. These researchers have proposed establishing a change agency to facilitate the commercial introduction and application of these innovations.
The experience of the ELI Latvia team confirmed that the facilitator of the information transfer (the change agent) also plays a significant role in the follow-up activities. Ekodoma took upon itself to transfer information between and among the participants both in the pilot stage as well as in the follow up activities. Ekodoma was selected as change agent because it had:

• Experience in cooperation with municipalities
• Knowledge in the promotion of energy technologies in EC OPET networking
• Experience in evaluating best practices in the energy sector
• Experienced persons on staff to lead the public information program.

The pilot project for the CFL campaign finished in January 2001 with an analysis of the results of the activities. The evaluation of this stage of the CFL campaign was presented in book form (in the Latvian language) to assist replication of similar activities in Latvia. The target group for this material was and is representatives of municipalities that are potential users of the bottom-up approach for similar efficient lighting campaigns. The book presents an analysis of the data and the results of the CFL campaign in the municipalities of Broceni, Dobele and Ludza. In addition, it includes a package of documents prepared during the campaign, which could be used in future activities.

The sale of CFLs increased in these cities by over 2,000% during the campaign.
The results of the pilot project were presented at the end of January 2001 to ten selected municipalities. Five of these municipalities expressed interest in participating in a follow up CFL campaign. These included Limbazi (population: 10,000), Ogre (population: 20,000), Valmiera (population: 30,000), Madona (population: 15,000) and Piltene (population: 1,000). These municipalities approved of the “grass roots” approach of the CFL campaign and used several elements of the pilot project case. Follow up activities were successful in three of the municipalities but less successful in two because the start of the efficient lighting activities in these two was delayed until the beginning of May when there were longer periods of daylight and therefore less need of artificial light.

The pilot and follow-up projects confirmed that the chosen communication strategy and messages conveyed reached the target audience and showed that it is a successful method for small municipalities. It also demonstrated that the “grassroots” approach cannot be applied directly in big cities and therefore has to be modified. The main reason for this is that contact between municipal officials and inhabitants in smaller cities tends to be more intimate. This means general acceptance of innovative ideas coming from local government is higher than in larger, more populous towns. This difference in character between small and large towns was taken into consideration during the second stage when the program began in larger cities.

Analysis of the “large towns approach” strategy

Main actors

The CFL campaigns in Riga and its satellite towns (or suburbs) were planned based on an analysis of market survey data, lessons learned from the pilot project and follow up activities, and from the results of the Liepaja CFL campaign called, More light for less money. This “large town approach” was tested in the Liepaja campaign in December 2001. It introduced participants with differences in the role of actors, to illustrate the changes needed and problems to be avoided. Positive results were attained:

• Residents purchased 600 times more CFLs than during 2001.
• The power utility, Latvenergo found its proper role in this event.
• Market investigation (done by SKDS) after the campaign in Liepaja showed a significant increase in awareness of CFLs (more than 60% of respondents had heard of CFLs after the campaign).

The CFL campaign in Riga involved a large number of players including the ELI Latvia team, various suppliers (wholesalers or representatives of manufacturers), retailers, municipalities, students, schools, Latvenergo and the residents of Riga. The interaction between and among them is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Main actors in the Riga CFL campaign

One of the more significant differences between the two approaches was the reduced level of involvement of the larger municipalities in the campaign. The change agent – Ekodoma – also took on the role played by the civic authorities in the smaller cities by stepping in whenever reassurance of the program’s authenticity or legitimacy was needed.

Ekodoma – the change agent

The coordinator of the Riga campaign activities, Ekodoma, also acted as the change agent. The main tasks of the change agent in these campaigns were:

• To prepare a market strategy for each campaign (with a statement detailing the role of all the actors in the campaign)
• To work with Danish Power Consult to select companies to implement particular parts of the campaign – such as a media company, a public relations (PR) agency, a non-governmental organization (NGO) for school activities, etc.
• To coordinate the activities of all the different parties involved in the campaign, including the PR agency; the creative and media agencies; the NGO in charge of school activities; Riga City Council; various suppliers, retailers and information agencies; and the market survey company
• To manage the resources allocated to campaign activities
• To follow the campaign activities and make whatever on-going changes are needed
• To collect data and information and prepare a report of the campaign with analysis and proposals for future activities.

Flow of information

All information was divided into two groups:

• General information about CFLs
• The campaign itself and specific product information.

Information reached the general public through different channels including mass media, advertisements, direct information (POS), schools and the activities of social institutions.

The visual identity of the Riga campaign was taken from the Liepaja campaign. Three main messages – Start saving today! More light for less money! and, Think about the next generations so they still have the same opportunity as you have to switch on the lights! – were all used in the various information material. These materials included:

1. Brochures – pocket-size information books folded into four sections
2. Posters (A0 and A3 size) and voblers – to display the main messages of the campaign
3. T-shirts and caps for students
4. Calculators – tools to help shop assistants and information sources in POS
5. Colorful arrows - used in POS to identify the shelves where CFLs are located.

Public relations activities carried out by the PR company, Stils, included: Various publications and other mass media information, press conferences, various publicity methods to gain support for the campaign among the people of Riga, lobbying the Riga City Council to make bulk purchases of CFLs for use in municipal buildings as well as distribution to low-income households, and other general PR activities.

The media activities (the media company Carat BMS was awarded the contract) were divided into three parts with the following portion of the budget:

• TV: 60%
• Print: 24% (the newspaper Diena and Vestji Segodnja were used)
• Outdoor ads: 16% (mainly city buses).

The activities planned for the campaign were carried out within the framework of the public relations campaign. These activities included information supplements in newspapers “Diena” in Latvian and “Vestji Segodna” in Russian, three press conferences for journalists, conversations with individual journalists, conversation and other communication with Riga City Council officials, provision of commentaries by ELI Latvia representatives to the press, booking ELI representatives onto various TV shows as well as media monitoring and analysis.

Some of the more successful practices of the campaign were collected from European ELI programs. For example, during the campaign in 2002, a TV spot from the Czech Republic was used for the ELI Latvia CFL campaign. It was translated into Latvian and Russian. Some of the visual concepts were changed to fit the Latvian context.

The official web site of the campaign – – contained ten pages. The web site received more than 5,000 individual visits during the campaign period.

Some results
The following were used to indicate the success of the campaign:

• 1. Number of CFLs sold during the campaign
• 2. Follow-up market study after the campaign

CFLs from three companies - Philips, GE, and OSRAM – were certified in the ELI program and sold on the Latvian market. During the campaign more CFLs were sold than had been planned for. Residents in Riga and its five satellite cities purchased a large number of certified CFLs even though the market was already overcrowded with low quality, inexpensive bulbs not certified in ELI program. During the campaign, they purchased anywhere from five to 30 times more CFLs than in 2002.

Follow-up studies showed that CFLs had become better known during the campaign. Awareness of CFLs was raised 50% in, for example, Ventspils – a smaller urban center - but penetration was only about 3% in Riga, which is much larger. The results were obtained from the market study completed by the research company, SKDS and compared with data obtained in a market study completed in 2000, just before the campaigns began.

The success of this kind of campaign was based not only on the success of the distribution of information but, as well, on sales activities after that information had been distributed and received by the target audience. It can, therefore, be inferred that one of the key factors in the campaign was the attitude of suppliers and retailers towards the campaign. This was, in fact, the main lesson learned from the pilot projects in Broceni, Dobele and Ludza and, as well, from by CFL campaign in Liepaja. Suppliers of ELI-certified CFLs – represented in Latvia by Philips Latvia, Verners (Osram) and BMS (General Electric) – gained experience from the pilot projects and from the Liepaja campaign. All of them learned a great deal from the Riga campaign.

Visual information played an important role during the campaign. Both sales clerks and respondents reported that the colour of green used in the campaign was especially attractive and it was easily recognized and associated with the CFL campaign by everybody involved.

During campaign many students took part in on-line test about CFLs and related issues. Most answers to the test questions were given in contents of the website, students challenge was to read the information and find the answers. The on-line test is closed now, but website is still working: http://www.ekospuldze.lv

Inspired by the CFL campaign the prime minister of Latvia ordered to install CFLs in the Cabinet of Ministers. And, when giving interviews to different mass media, he highlighted this as example of good housekeeping for every inhabitant.

More detailed information is available at http://www.apgaismojums.lv/resident.htm