Introduction:

2CS is an exciting initiative of the Dublin Regional Authority.  It proposes a community based ICT platform which will encourage a culture of sustainable consumption and behaviour.  It proposes to do this by rewarding citizens for engaging in green practices for buying local produce and by volunteering their time to improve the social capital of their locality.  To date, South Dublin County Council has developed a social credit scheme which rewards community groups who improve their environment by carrying out pro-environmental actions such as community clean-ups & maintenance of community gardens.  The benefits of these actions are numerous and include:

Director's Note:

People tend to see sustainable behaviour as either inconvenient or expensive. Encouraging community participation in civic society or trying to limit the environmental impact of our day-to-day shopping, travelling and waste disposal requires thought, time and effort to change existing habits.

Governments and campaigners, service providers and industry are all searching for ways to motivate people to behave more sustainably. One of the difficulties in bringing about change is that people are usually not acknowledged or rewarded for their efforts in any tangible way. 

The Carbon Social Credit Scheme (2CS) is an initiative of the Dublin Regional Authority with the aim of providing the mechanism for citizens/communities to participate in sustainable behaviour and to be rewarded for these actions. 

2CS aims to change the pattern of citizen’s behaviour towards activities which will increase sustainability, reduce the environmental impacts of consumption and develop social capital in the Dublin Region. The Regional Authority intends to address this issue through the introduction of a ‘local/social reward scheme’, (initially piloted in South Dublin County), in which expenditure on locally sourced goods and services will be increased as participating citizens are incentivised to spend their rewards/credits on local produce, in local retail units and on local/municipal services. 

Working with FEASTA, the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability and South Dublin County Council, a 2CS Report has been prepared in response to the Dublin Regional Authority’s 2CS Study Brief, the key output of which was the preparation of an evidence-based study on the introduction of a distribution scheme for carbon/social credits among citizens, retailers, schools, community groups, local service providers, etc., in the Dublin Region, piloted in South Dublin County.

The Dublin Regional Authority intends to facilitate the development of the pilot project in South Dublin County with the ultimate aim of wider implementation across the entire Dublin Region.

For more details contact the Dublin Regional Authority

Patricia Potter, Director

May 2011