The problem with change is it isn’t always easy; particularly when it comes to embracing sustainable living. For years research has pointed to the ‘action gap’ between consumer intent to live more sustainably and actually taking action to change their lifestyle and purchasing decisions for more sustainable choices. 

Coming out of a year as exhausting as 2020 consumers’ would be forgiven for believing that sustainable living is simply too complicated and expensive to consider.

This emotional and economic barrier is addressed beautifully by Ikea’s latest campaign, ‘Change a bit for good’ which perfectly punctures consumer fatigue surrounding big dramatic statements on the climate crisis. Messages which are nonetheless important; but can make taking action feel like a fundamentally pointless pursuit.

This sense of powerlessness is brought to life in the campaign by a little robot who is inspired by a movie poster featuring the tagline ‘save the planet’. He sets off on his quest to do just that - attempting and failing to remove a plastic bag from the riverbank and then trying and failing to block a truck from entering a factory. Before visiting a beach that has been hit by an oil slick and feeling that it is just too much to accomplish alone.

This sense of it ‘all being too much’ is a powerful consumer insight and one that perhaps sustainability marketing has shied away from in the past. As the little Robot returns to his family - to see them using reusable Ikea bags and growing vegetables and herbs he regains his robot mojo and smiling face.

The campaign, which will run on TV, outdoor and social underlines the little changes people can make to be more sustainable. Powerfully conveying the message that doing something, however small, is better than being overwhelmed into simply doing nothing,

Ikea has also created a ‘Choices for Change’ tracker - which tracks the positive impact customer actions are having on the environment. For example tracking how much carbon has been saved by consumers choosing to eat plant balls my meatballs. Customers will be able to receive personalised updates on the positive impact of their purchasing habits.

Kemi Anthony, Marketing Communications Manager at Ikea, explained: “Many people still believe that more sustainable living is a choice available to the privileged few, which doesn’t have to be the case. With this campaign our aim is to democratise sustainability demonstrating how easy it actually is to make very simple, sustainable and meaningful changes.”

Ikea has set the ambitious goal of becoming fully circular and climate positive by 2030, but crucially, as this campaign so perfectly underlines, it has also laid out simple, attainable ways for consumers to change, a little bit at a time. An approach which brings sustainability back down to earth and gives consumers tangible ways to move from good intentions to positive actions.