In Rennes Métropole, if you change, it changes everything!

The urban community of Rennes Métropole (in North-West France) launched the campaign «Je change, ça change tout» (I change, it changes everything) aimed at raising awareness and mobilising the citizens.

On June 23rd 2011, the local TV channel "TV Rennes" dedicated a programme to the involvement of Rennes Métropole in favor of sustainable energy (« Ca pose question » - 06/23/2011).

It was first recalled that the urban community has been committed to reducing CO2 emissions since 2008, with the objective of -20% by 2020. A commitment that was strengthened by the unanimous adoption of the urban community Climate Action Plan in October 2010, as underlined by Hervé Letort, Mayor of Saint-Erblon and an elected official of the urban community.
He said that each municipality had already worked on its Sustainable Energy Action Plan - SEAP, that have all been completed AND applied.

Among other guests of the programme, Brendan Catherine, environment and energy manager for the Rennes urban community, introduced the campaign « Je change, ça change tout ».
He is convinced that we have to raise awareness among citizens, companies, to encourage a general action, and turn individual initiatives into a collective move.

This campaign notably offers to create posters in the framework of a European project coordinated by Energy Cities: ENGAGE. These posters display a person and the action they engaged to take in favor of sustainable energy. The citizens of Rennes had the opportunity to have their photograph taken during a green festival, Naturazik, and to get their poster for free! You can find these posters on the campaign website: www.ca-change-tout.fr, a forum allowing exchanges of best practices and promoting everyone’s commitments.

Hervé Letort insisted on a “real awareness” from the citizens and on increasing commitment. An eco-citizen committee is being build, in order to “work directly with the citizens” and to give a bottom-up move to the decision-making process, “not to impose anything”.

And Mr Letort concluded about the "-20% objective by 2020" : “this is completely feasible and we will achieve it, collectively”.

The city of Rennes has been a member of Energy Cities since 1995, and so has been Rennes Métropole since 2007.
Both are Signatories of the Covenant of Mayors.


© image Rennes Métropole