The Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development, based at De Montfort University in Leicester (UK) has devised an online survey to enable you to test whether or not your communication campaigns are working or not. The survey is very quick and easy to use. We recommend using it in the following way. First, plan your communication activities around the launch of Display or your National energy certificate, then, before you actually do your communications activities, email the link around to the building users – or people who you are targeting through the communication activities. The survey is either available on-line or in ‘hard-copy’ paper form. We recommend using the on-line version as it is then very easy to analyse the results. Either way, make sure the survey is available to as many people as possible. The survey is available in English, French, Finnish, Italian and Portuguese. It can also easily be translated into other European languages.

The survey is very straightforward and is just in a couple of sections. The first asks the building users about their awareness of the effects of buildings on climate change, the second about basic environmental behaviours - what kind of actions make a difference. People are also asked if they’ve seen a Display certificate around.

After the survey has been distributed and completed, you are free to start your communication campaign. Once you have completed your communication activity you then simply re-distribute the survey and compare the two sets of results – before and after. Hopefully, if your communication campaign has been a success you see that understanding and awareness of climate change, and the effects of buildings (and their users) has on the environment has increased.

For further information or to receive the link to the survey please contact Richard Bull.