“Sustainable, secure and reliable ways of living are not predetermined goals based on assessments of individual lives, but rather a process of collective learning and co-creation by all partners to develop aspirations and capacities that can envision and shape alternative living contexts.”
This is what the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and the One-Planet Network learned as they reflected on 24 projects under the Sustainable Lifestyles and Education (SLE) Programme.
The SLE Programme is one of six initiatives initiated in 2014 under the United Nation’s 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns (10YFP), now known as the One-Planet Network. The 24 projects under this banner helped identify inspired solutions to inspire locals to live more sustainable and resilient lifestyles.
The ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability Southeast Asia Secretariat (ICLEI SEAS) led the Philippine-based project “Active City-Community Engagement to Leverage Emissions Reduction through Activities that Transform Energy-use” (ACCELERATE). Working with several cities in the country, ICLEI provided practical guidance and training programmes on energy efficiency in the building, tailored technical support to enable energy saving in residential or office buildings.
Outputs of the ACCELERATE project include a GHG Emissions Reduction and Analysis survey, an online platform on energy efficiency and conservation (EEC), and a policy brief to further disseminate key EEC information across the Philippines.
On top of dealing with diverse local contexts, the 24 projects also contended with a host of challenges throughout their implementation, most notably the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic prompted the project teams to creatively navigate the health and safety hurdles, as well as served as an opportunity to revisit what it means to live sustainably and resiliently.
The implementation highlights include: (1) the challenges of sustainable lifestyles; (2) opportunities utilized and (3) actions taken to meet project objectives; (4) learnings from the projects’ unique contexts; and (5) achievements of the projects.
You may access the full report, “Co-Creating Sustainable Ways of Living: 24 Stories of On-the-Ground Innovations,” HERE.
