A little awareness goes a long way.
An educated public is a public that can and will make smart choices. We see it over and over at RIESTER. We have nearly a decade of experience in California applying our Brand Activism approach to an important cause: recycling. Even in the state that pioneered recycling in America, and has the highest rates of recycling, there is room for improvement.
A relatively new project we are working on is San Diego’s STAND FOR LESS campaign. STAND FOR LESS has given a unified voice to public and private entities that are working passionately in areas related to conservation and sustainability.
A recent contest asked people How they STAND FOR LESS. The responses we received were inspiring and educational. It’s amazing what people are doing every day to make a difference for their local communities, for California, for our country and our planet.
When everyone recycles we save space in our landfills and we recover valuable resources that can be reused. When people bike more and drive less we use less oil and the bikers have stronger, healthier bodies. When people replace their older cars with more fuel-efficient cars it makes a difference—creating less smog and demanding less oil. And in water-starved California, anything people do to use water more responsibly is vitally important. It’s important for California’s ecological and economic health.
It all adds up and we can never forget the role that effective public awareness campaigns play in changing behaviors.
The STAND FOR LESS contest winner is a mother of two teenage boys and a librarian. She recycles and cuts back on water use by encouraging everyone in the family to take shorter showers. Take a moment and read through the entries—we think you’ll be inspired to use fewer resources in your life. We were!
The California work mentioned here is for CalRecycle. Prior to 2010 California’s recycling programs were handled by the California Department of Conservation. 
