Provincial Wood Stove Exchange Program

Sample Highway 16 Program

Exchange Goals

  • Goal #1 - Residents who heat their homes with wood, or use an uncertified wood burning device, utilize the exchange program to replace their old devices with new technology, whether gas, pellet or certified wood, or other cleaner heating alternatives in order to reduce wood smoke.
  • Goal #2 - Residents learn how to burn wood more effectively in order to reduce the amount of wood smoke in their community.
  • Goal #3 - The community rallies around the idea of cleaner air quality and members influence each other to make a difference with their burning habits.

Timeline

  • Three years, with the launch to take place in November 2007.

Program Basics

  • Kick-off in fall / winter 2007.
  • Use a voucher system that includes registering to get involved.
  • Hearth products members provide an additional 15 % discount for four weeks in March.
  • Provide a retroactive rebate for turning in old stoves.
  • Provide discounts for services such as chimney sweeping, stove service, firewood and firelogs.

Specific Objectives

  • Utilize the resources to change out 400 or more appliances.
  • Get people to improve their wood burning habits.

Target Audiences

  • Hesitant consumers living with the Highway 16 corridor who burn wood in old wood stoves.

Messages

  • Replace your old stove to save money, protect your home, and make the community a better place to live.

Necessary Actions by Residents

  • Replace old wood stoves with new technology stoves.
  • Use their wood burning stoves or fireplace inserts correctly.
  • Have old appliances destroyed or taken out of service.
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Implementation Steps

  • Step #1 - Create a Community Goal
    We need to tighten the message regarding the air quality situation in Highway 16 and better define locally why it is important to burn clean by using technology that reduces the amount of smoke people produce. We recommend creating a rallying cry that builds on the pride residents have about their towns and focuses them on taking ownership of their actions as they pertain to their environment. One idea is to make Highway 16 towns a “Smart Home Heating Community” or a “Wood Smoke Reduction Community.”

    At the same time, we think it is important to define a benchmark for when the community reaches its goals. We suggest that success be demonstrated through posters or bulletin boards or in the local wood stove exchange office. This rallying cry should be disseminated through all official communications put out by local town officials and hung on the doorknob of every home in the metropolitan areas of the corridor. One way to disseminate the information is to develop a Power Point that can be utilized at council meetings and at local community meetings.

  • Step #2 - Create a Local Contact
    We recommend emphasizing one point of contact to answer questions about stove exchanges and conduct one-on-one follow-ups and proactive outreach. This local contact would be an approachable, friendly person who has equity in the community or is at least a local business person. This person would have local contact information and standard office hours. This local presence would provide technical assistance and would make sure that people have all the information they need to make a change.

  • Step #3 - Gather Demographic Information
    Using this information as a guide, review demographic data from the census to locate exactly where people who are likely to exchange stoves live and shop. Determine the right communications tools (see below) based on their exact demographics and also outline the right medium with which to reach them via the media. This data can be gathered from the census as well as a local phone or mail survey. Also, gather contact information from people that express interest in the program so that follow-up research can be conducted.

  • Step #4 - Continue Barriers Research
    An important step is to utilize immediate and long-term barriers research to continue to refine solutions to the program implementation. We recommend continuously asking people about their responses to the program and why it might not work for them. Through observation, conversations and surveys implemented by the on-the-ground contact, determine the exact reasons why people do not support the effort. With the assistance of town personnel, create a list of people who are assumed wood burners and determine how to reach out to them — through the phone, grocery story surveys and / or town hall meetings. Then, calculate the results and continue to implement the program with any fine tuning.

  • Step #5 - Tailor the Tools for the Community
    • Incentives
      We recommend highlighting the available incentives and the upcoming 15% discount while also creating a community reward for encouraging people to reach toward a goal. Perhaps this could be an event that everyone can participate in, or a town accomplishment or community item that people have been wanting for a while (a new sign, etc.).
    • Vivid Prompts
      Another idea is to create dynamic visuals (graphics in full color with pictures) that can be positioned within the communities to communicate the passionate reasons why people need to protect the Highway 16 environment. These can include:
      • Sign when you enter a town that indicates a "Smart Home Heating Community" or a "Woodsmoke Reduction Community"
      • Sign in towns' offices that demonstrate progress in reaching its goal
      • Posters for all businesses
      • T-shirts for students and town leadership
      • Copy for newsletters and reader boards
    • Education
      We recommend using reminders, or prompts, to ensure that people remember what to do when using their wood stove or to guarantee that people know how to replace their stove through the program:
      • Bill stuffers for businesses and utilities (electric)
      • Flyer for people to hand out in businesses
      • Mailers for retail and hardware store circulars
      • Ads in local newspapers or newsletters (NOTE: These are proving effective in the pilot efforts for Highway 16)
      • Home energy audits
    • Leadership
      It would be valuable to develop leadership messages from the mayor(s) and provide routine updates to the community about the progress of the effort. In these updates, the mayor(s) can refer back to the chart in the office and remind everyone about why the community is working together to achieve this goal. These messages can be delivered by other town leaders at town meetings or in group settings, like school events.
    • Home Visits
      Another strong tool would be to have the local contact work with town officials to determine how to make visits to people’s homes to discuss exchanges, clean home heating and perhaps energy efficiency when appropriate. The home visits can be an opportunity to create dialogue about the program and begin to move people to change. Perhaps these can be done in conjunction with a local school science club.
    • Commitment Cards
      Create a commitment card for people in town to sign that encourages them to take clean home heating steps for themselves and their neighbors. Give these cards out in the local wood stove exchange office or at local community meetings. Anyone who signs the commitment card can be eligible to win a monthly prize.
    • Events / Burn Trailer
      Take the burn trailer around to different community events and demonstrate the benefit of burning with a certified wood stove or gas appliance. We don’t recommend creating new events, but instead attaching program messaging to an already existing event. The purpose of this trailer movement is to demonstrate good wood burning and provide information to people who have questions. Within these clinics, we advocate also providing information about the new technology and its reliability.
    • Pressure Tools
      A fun idea would be to create a window cling sticker that people could put on their home or car windows. This sticker would make it easy for people to see who has replaced their stove and would create momentum of peer pressure.
    • Peer Communications
      The local contact can provide cards to the people who have already participated in the program and ask them to spread the word to their neighbors or friends. This will help make these people official stewards of the program. To give people motivation to hand out the cards, we can provide them with fuel rewards (discounts on fuel for every person they refer). Create an action item on the card that encourages a free home visit or another item that is free (firestarters or a tool).
    • "How-To Clinics"
      We recommend creating a series of "how-to" clinics around the towns that are free and provide wood burning training for people with either old stoves or even new Canadian certified appliances. A local hearth retailer could give these presentations and they could be held at routine times at the fire department with the local contact person in attendance (not a one time event). The clinics could be an opportunity for a town meeting as well (provide coffee and cookies), and a place to present information on the program (in a low key approach).
    • News Bureau
      Develop a proactive media relations effort where the program officials are continually updating the local media with stats and information about air quality and the exchange program. Additionally, officials can provide a meaningful flow of information that highlights the environmental challenges and offers input on ongoing barriers. Finally, pitching unique media stories that include people could also be a beneficial approach.

  • Step #6 - Simplify the Program Structure
    We think it is important to examine the program's forms and materials to ensure they are as simple as possible and do not impede participation in the program. Perhaps limit the amount of information they have to gather to utilize for the voucher.

  • Step #7 - Installation Tracking / Evaluation
    Finally, we suggest tracking all potential and in-process installations to ensure that everything is working smoothly and the process is meeting the needs of the household. This opportunity could be used to conduct follow-up research. NOTE: we advocate that more emphasis be placed on program evaluation. In fact, it would be wise for the Ministry of Environment, Environment Canada and the EPA stove exchange program to discuss an evaluation framework with the HPBA. This type of evaluation module would be helpful for program coordinators to check off as they evaluate CBSM strategies.
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