Sitra’s Globe League awarded NGOs’ best ideas that inspire Finns to take environmental action in their day-to-day lives

Last spring, Sitra challenged NGOs to develop new innovative solutions to make sustainable living easy and attractive to Finns. The best ten ideas to inspire as many people as possible and to introduce a new and fresh point of view to reducing one’s carbon footprint were chosen to be in the development programme launched last autumn.

The first prize of the Globe League programme was awarded to Eettisen kaupan puolesta ry’s Lempivaatteeni campaign (in Finnish) that encourages Finns to use their clothes for longer and wear their favourite clothes proudly instead of always buying new ones.

The textile industry is the second-largest polluter in the world, second only to the oil industry. Textile waste amounts to more than 70 million kg in Finland each year, or 13 kg per Finn. The Lempivaatteeni campaign raises Finns’ awareness of the environmental impacts of the textile industry and inspires them to demand alternatives to disposable fashion.

“According to the jury, the Lempivaatteeni campaign introduces to the climate discussion a new positive way of inspiring individuals to take concrete and significant measures to reduce their carbon footprint. The successful campaign can break prevailing norms and consumption habits detrimental to the environment. The idea can be easily replicated and even has international potential,” says Sari Laine, head of the Globe League and Specialist at Sitra.

The members of the Globe League jury were Jukka Kurttila, Creative Director and owner of Finlayson, Jukka Kajan, CEO of the crowdfunding service Joukon Voima, Lassi Linnanen, Professor at LUT University, Kristiina Kumpula, Secretary General of the Finnish Red Cross, and Riikka Suominen, Editor in Chief of Vihreä Lanka.

“Through NGOs, it is possible to inspire a large group of people to make sustainable choices. Up to 70 per cent of Finland’s climate emissions are generated by choices consumers make in their everyday lives: how we live and move around, and what we eat and buy. We can also reduce emissions considerably through ordinary day-to-day choices. NGOs play a key role in bringing about social changes, and we wanted to get this driving force in motion with the Globe League,” Laine says.

The winning team of the programme was awarded EUR 20,000 for developing their idea further, while the NGO teams that conducted the best experiment and learned the most were awarded EUR 5,000 each.

4H Soini’s MuoviSampo, a project that inspires consumers to recycle packaging plastic with a solution inspired by the bottle deposit scheme, was awarded as the best experiment. In the pilot conducted in the municipality of Soini, consumers received local currency in exchange for plastic waste returned to collection points. The local currency could be used for paying for services provided by partners.

Nuoren Voiman Liitto was awarded as the team that learned the most. Its LitAdvisor campaign encourages Finns to exchange a holiday flight for a memorable reading trip to the world of books. Air travel is one of the biggest single sources of emissions of an individual, and it can thwart all other smaller green measures taken during the year. Therefore, reducing air travel can be a significant environmental act.

The teams participating in the Globe League created solutions that encourage Finns to take various measures in their day-to-day lives: vote for climate-friendly politicians, consume reasonably, engage in experiences instead of flying and visit nearby areas. Among the solutions were diverse campaign ideas, operating models and mobile applications.

“It was great to see how the teams developed their solutions during the Globe League, experimenting boldly and learning new things. NGOs’ solutions can play a major role in mitigating climate change and building a more sustainable day-to-day life,” says Riina Pulkkinen, Specialist at Sitra.

For more information, please visit the Globe League website: www.sitra.fi/en/projects/globe-league/.

Further information about the awarded solutions

• Eettisen kaupan puolesta ry’s Lempivaatteeni campaign: https://eetti.fi/toiminta/teemat/lempivaatteeni-kampanja/
• 4H Soini’s MuoviSampo: https://soini.4h.fi/muovisampo-plastic-coin and https://muovisampo.fi/
• Nuoren Voiman Liitto’s LitAdvisor campaign: www.lentolakko.fi/litadvisor/