#CHANGE AGE is the claim of the awareness campaign which, from 30 July to 31 August 2019, will involve the Palermo coast of Mondello with the aim of protecting the environment from the dispersion of cigarette butts. Developed under the patronage of the Municipality of Palermo, the project is promoted by Philip Morris Italia in partnership with ERICA, a leading cooperative society in communication and environmental planning in Italy, and with PUSH, a laboratory born in Palermo for social innovation and sustainability in urban areas. The initiative aims to stimulate awareness of the community with respect to a problem that is too often underestimated.
It actually corresponds to 800.000 tons the weight of cigarette butts dispersed every year in the environment all over the world: it is small waste, which if not properly managed can pollute the marine and terrestrial ecosystem. Conceived by the creative agency H+, the campaign concept leverages the sense of individual responsibility by encouraging the adoption of virtuous, ethical and environmentally sustainable behaviors. In addition to the site-specific installations along the entire Mondello seafront and in the lidos involved, the correct disposal of butts will in fact be made possible thanks to the distribution of over 8.000 pocket ashtrays in recyclable material.
On the waterfront they will also be placed 10 large binders in which the public will be invited to throw away the collected butts. “Contributing to the solution of a complex problem such as that of cigarette butts is one of the many elements with which we approach our sustainable development strategy – commented Gianluca Bellavista, director of external relations at Philip Morris Italia, who added – Unfortunately, it is a widespread problem that requires a concrete and effective solution, with a commitment from all the social actors involved. We have therefore chosen to work on raising awareness, symbolically starting from Mondello to represent the Italian seaside resorts. Palermo and its citizens – concluded Bellavista – have shown great enthusiasm for this initiative and participation at all levels.”
A commitment that finds confirmation in the words of Salvatore Di Dio, President of PUSH, who commented on the launch of the campaign as follows: “If we really want to save the future of our species, a radical change is needed in our consumption models, our styles of life and, in a small way, of all our bad habits. Whether it's choosing how to get around the city, how much energy to consume or how to dispose of a butt, we must be able to build stimuli, motivation and opportunities to review our behaviors with new eyes and then improve them. We are happy to support the #CAMBIAGESTO campaign because it has exactly this purpose: to build culture in a sustainable way. One gesture at a time."
Thanks to the technical partnership with ERICA it will be possible to monitor the progress of the campaign, both on a technical level, by identifying the quantity of butts that will be recovered and therefore not abandoned on the beach, and by monitoring the perception of the campaign itself by the smokers who will be on the beach, who will be interviewed using specific questionnaires in August. According to Emanuela Rosio, Director of the Company, “ERICA has been studying the phenomenon of littering for several years now, so much so that together with AICA, the University of Turin and the Ministry of the Environment it has conducted an important research on the matter. With Philip Morris Italia we have embarked on an in-depth study of the environmental issues linked to the phenomenon: the campaign we are presenting proposes concrete action in the field to combat the abandonment of cigarette butts on our beaches."
The #CAMBIAGESTO campaign it will take place throughout the month of August on the Mondello coast and will involve the bathing establishments "L'Ombelico del Mondo", "Mondello Palace", "Sporting Club", "Bassa Marea", "Sirenetta" and "Valdesi" - which will place the installations and materials created for the project in their spaces ; a phase of analysis of the results will follow which will allow an evaluation of the effectiveness of the campaign for its potential implementation in other Italian contexts.
The campaign ultimately invites the public to get out of the automatism of a gesture perceived as harmless, but which has enormous consequences on the environment. The message conveyed: "A part of you already knows how to do #changegesto", has the aim of stimulating change, rather than blaming the wrong attitude, by leveraging an individual conscience that already exists. Each of us is endowed with an emotional intelligence, which can guide us towards virtuous behavior, if we listen to it. This part in the campaign is represented by a magical shadow that acts correctly.
While the two young men are facing each other with their eyes fixed on the smartphone, their shadows kiss, the woman throws the butt on the ground, while her shadow throws it into the ashtray. All the materials and installations in the campaign, including the recyclable piggy bank-shaped ashtray, recall a playful imagery and are designed to bring the public closer to a theme that is too often perceived as distant and disconnected from the single gesture of each one. We believe that the success of a campaign is based on individual responsibility, rather than stigmatization of a behaviour, and on building together the conditions for the awakening of a collective environmental awareness.
