WEEE is the European Union’s most comprehensive environmental directive, requiring manufacturers to recycle, recover and re-use all the electrical and electronic components they market.

The RSA, as part of its ‘Moving Towards a Zero-Waste Society’ manifesto challenge, needed to create a communications programme that would raise this topic and transform the public’s perception of an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ issue into an ‘I can make a difference’ issue.

A seven metre high sculpture was commissioned, composed of three tonnes of waste electrical goods, representing the waste that the average British person creates in their lifetime. A website was also commissioned to provide businesses, schools and individuals with information, resources and on-line tools. The website launched on the day of the unveiling of the WEEE Man sculpture on the green adjacent to the London Mayor’s office.

The website features a unique carbon footprint calculation tool. It allows users to determine the amount of material and energy needed to produce a given product, relative to the earth’s available resources. Visual analogies are employed to make this figure understandable to the user. The site also provides achievable steps and advice on how we all can manage and change our environmental impact.

Additional to target audience specific content and educational resources, an interactive tool was developed which calculates a footprint - the amount of material and energy needed to produce a given product relative to that available on the planet. The site provides achievable steps and advice on how the individual, business and education can manage and change their impact.

The project inspired designers, manufacturers and consumers to take environmental responsibility to heart. The site had 2.7 million hits in its first six weeks and was featured on News at 10 and other news programmes.

Find out what we can do for you.
Email us or call us +44 20 7490 1196