‘Say no to wasted energy’ is a new climate change campaign from EECA (Te Tari Tiaki Pūngao) via Clemenger BBDO Wellington. As part of the Gen Less platform, it inspires New Zealanders to use less harmful energy in their everyday lives to help halt the effects of climate change.

Until now, climate action messaging has encouraged people to make personal sacrifices. To give up the things you love. But for most of us, this feels too hard, too confronting and too overwhelming. So, against the stressful backdrop of Covid-19, EECA and Clemenger BBDO sought a way to make climate action less of a burden for the majority of New Zealanders.

This is a win for both the individual and for the planet, finally putting these two factors in alignment rather than opposition. It flips the way people usually think about climate action, and demonstrates that it can in fact be effortless. It challenges New Zealanders to ask themselves: What are the things you could easily ‘say no’ to? The stuff you feel socially obliged to do, but which you’d really rather not?

Everyone’s answer will be different. Is it commuting into the office every day to ‘show up’ when you’re more productive from home? Or do you drive here and there all weekend, to activities and catch ups that you’d secretly rather skip?

However you want to live, ‘Say no to wasted energy’ empowers you to drop the things you don’t like doing – so you can save some precious energy – yours, and the planet’s.