Eco-Friend:

Re-purposing of carbon footprint reduction research for the greater good.

A Recommendation Report

Prepared for: Sallie M. Gowdy-Burke

Project Manager
Pullman Community Center
Prepared by: Elyse Waham, Leah McLeod & Ryan Greer,
Pullman Community Center Committee Members
April 10 , 2016
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Date: April 10 , 2016

To:
Sallie M. Gowdy-Burke
Project Manager
Pullman Community Center
From: Elyse Waham, Leah McLeod & Ryan Greer
Pullman Community Center Committee Members
th

Subject: Recommendation Report for Eco-Friendly Social Media Campaign

Attached is a report on the Eco-Friendly Facebook page project. Below are the research
methods, results, conclusions, and recommendations for the proposed task of managing the
effects of global warming from an individuals standpoint. Summarized is what has been done on
the project and why we made these decisions. The general population is aware that some portion
of global warming is occurring, many are not aware of the individual effect they have on the
process, we hope that education on global warming and carbon footprint reduction in a
community will impact our environment in a positive way. Eco-Friend is a means to make this a
possibility, by targeting those who are already familiar with the Facebook platform and who have
carbon impacts on the environment; we create a place for education and support.
The Facebook page is based off of previous research on global warming affects and
carbon footprint reduction. Found was that it is necessary to highlight the scary truth of reality of
destroying our planet and that only insight can instill change. With this background knowledge, a
loose template from CarrotMob, an environmental group, and love for our home, Earth, the EcoFriend page was created. Eco-Friend is just beginning to bloom into the useful and accessible
tool it has the potential for. To help reduce the individuals carbon footprint affects and build a
more sustainable future for tomorrow. However with continued investment and resources this
page could influence countless communities worldwide for a healthier future on our planet.
The Eco-Friend Facebook page was created to educate people on carbon foot print
reductions. The project was started in March 2016 and completed in April 2016. In that time the
page was founded, a logo was created and articles where posted. A usability test was conducted
and according adjustments to the website where made on April 10th. The website was then
launched and has been a success thus far.

Table of Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................... 4
Introduction................................................................................................................................... 4
Research Methods......................................................................................................................... 4
Results............................................................................................................................................ 5
Conclusions.................................................................................................................................... 5
Recommendations......................................................................................................................... 5
References...................................................................................................................................... 6
Appendices:
A................................................................................................................................... 7
B................................................................................................................................... 7

An Executive Summary
This report involves research into the how an individual affects the process of global
warming. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the amount of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere has increased by nearly 30%, ultimately causing concern for the health of living
beings on Earth. Current laws and procedures have failed to produce a substantial legislature to
effectively get companies to reduce their carbon contributions. This leaves every new generation
to continually contribute to one of the greatest problems that the future of mankind will face. So
how do we combat such a large issue? One person at a time! If we all have some knowledge
about global warming and how we as individuals are contributing then we can make the
conscientious choice to change our behaviors for a healthier Earth.
The social media movement has captured this generation. It therefore, seems appropriate
to utilize a social media platform as the means to spread new awareness. This could ultimately be
used to generate a shift towards a greener tomorrow. However, carbon emissions and global
warming are topics very rarely discusses in social groups currently. This is why Eco-Friend, a
social media campaign on Facebook, was designed. It is our concern that individuals can take the
environment for granted. If we can reach all those who continually and routinely have behaviors
that contribute to global warming, maybe they will see that mother Earth should be thought of as
a privilege. So to have the most impact the Eco-Friend page was designed to be easy to use and
accessible to those of all levels of knowledge on the topic. With continued investment in the page
such as gaining followers, we could further the education of people on global warming and
carbon footprint reduction behaviors.
The Eco-Friend Facebook page was created to educate people on carbon foot print
reductions. The project was started in March 2016 and completed in April 2016. In that time the
page was founded, a logo was created and articles where posted. A usability test was conducted
and according adjustments to the website where made on April 10th. The website was then
launched and has been a success thus far.
Introduction
The social media movement has captured this generation. It therefore, seems appropriate
to utilize a social media platform as the means to spread new awareness. This could ultimately be
used to generate a shift towards a greener tomorrow. However, carbon emissions and global
warming are topics very rarely discusses in social groups currently. This is why Eco-Friend, a
social media campaign on Facebook, was designed. It is our concern that individuals can take the
environment for granted. If we can reach all those who continually and routinely have behaviors
that contribute to global warming, maybe they will see that mother Earth should be thought of as
a privilege. So to have the most impact the Eco-Friend page was designed to be easy to use and
accessible to those of all levels of knowledge on the topic. With continued investment in the page
such as gaining followers, we could further the education of people on global warming and
carbon footprint reduction behaviors.
Founded in March 2016, Eco-Friend is a social media campaign fighting against global
warming and carbon emissions. When we created the organization, our focus was to educate the
worlds population on how to lower carbon emissions, but through some narrowing, we decided
to focus on educating social media users. About 72% of internet users have an active Facebook
account, which gives us the ability to reach more people than we would in person (Demographics
of Social Media Users, 2015). Using a Facebook page, allows us to upload pictures, statistics,
4

podcasts, and quotes that could influence a person to make the change and go eco-friendly. As of
April 2016, our plan is to gain followers and build a community that can eventually build its own
community as sort of a branching system. If one person from a small town follows our page, they
can influence other local people into becoming followers and they can build a community center
dedicated to reducing carbon emissions. As the population of followers grows, the healthier the
Earth will be, all from starting a simple Facebook page.
Research Methods
Eco-Friend was originally designed to support the creation of a new course at the
community center that would educate participants about the effects of global warming and
carbon emissions. Instead of limiting the organization to local participants, the focus was shifted
to making Eco-Friend a social media campaign. Using Facebook as our main source of
communication towards communities gives us the opportunity to reach out to about 1.23 billion
monthly active users (Protalinski, E.). There are many forms of media pertaining to the health of
our ecosystem, that we can share with our followers through our Eco-Friend page [appendix A],
including educational movies, statistics, and podcasts. Access to Facebook is a privilege that is
becoming more and more available, allowing organizations fighting for the same cause to work
together. CarrotMob, an organization fighting to make businesses more sustainable, is an
organizational role model for Eco-Friend allowing our organization to follow their steps and
reach out to communities they have yet to reach. Researching global warming brings up a lot of
information, including information that has been misconstrued or taken out of context, therefore,
we decided to focus on what we want our followers to do. Global warming and carbon emissions
are problems we need to inform the community about, and to do so, we must give them the
correct information on how to reduce their carbon footprint as well as why they should influence
others to do so too.
Results
Eco-friend has now been operational for one month, and is currently in the process of
building a strong following in order to adequately spread the information that is vital in building
a sustainable tomorrow. Currently the Facebook page, from which Eco-friend operates, contains
a few articles discussing global warming, carbon emissions, and other related information. Over
time, and as the page grows in popularity, new methods of attack will be focused on in order to
continue the growth of Eco-friend and the work being completed by this organization.
Conclusions
Through social media outlets such as Facebook, we at Eco-Friend are working towards
building communities dedicated to educating the people about global warming and carbon
emissions. Educating the public about recovering the health of our planet is the first step to
creating a healthier Earth, therefore we want to begin the education step. Global warming and
carbon emissions are a topic we need to get trending on social media platforms, Global
warming is not a conqueror to kneel before - but a challenge to rise to. A challenge we must rise
to, therefore the more people we have fighting, the more successful the movement will be
(Lieberman, J.). If we do not work together, individuals stand little chance of seriously
reducing their carbon emissions (Heiskanen, E.).

Recommendations
Eco-Friend aims to continue growth of education on carbon foot reduction through the use
of Facebook to inform the masses. As social media has taken over the lives of the new
generation, this platform will have the ability create a community focused on reducing their
individual carbon footprint. The use of a Facebook organization to fight against global warming
allows Eco-Friend to reach communities that would not have been possible before. Furthering
Eco-Friends mission will require possible paying for page boosting and inviting people to like
the page will exponentially increase the page popularity and therefore continue growth.
Consistent updates to the page should be made, such as new relevant articles and tips would also
promote the page. All aspects of Eco-Friend should be easily accessible for all different levels of
knowledge relevant to our mission.
Although reaching out to online communities is easier than to a large local area, we also
think it would be helpful to develop local group meetings to encourage individuals to influence
each other. However, until the following of Eco-Friend becomes large enough for this Facebook
shall be the sole venue for content distribution and awareness. Our initial intent for the research
on global warming and carbon footprint reduction was to learn if humans could have a positive
impact on the Earth. It was found that with the conscience choice of people and their habits, as in
the original proposal, could with support and knowledge make a beneficial impact for the
environment's health [appendix B]. Now with the launch of Eco-Friend and the community we
can start to make a difference, at home, today.
Here focus more on recommending that your website is now ready to be used by the intended
audience

References
An Introduction to the Science of Climate Change U.S. Department of Transportation. Web.
The Demographics of Social Media Users (2015). Pew Research Center. Web.
Acquisti, A., & Gross, R. (2006). Imagined Communities: Awareness, Information Sharing, and
Privacy on the Facebook. Pittsburgh: Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Heiskanen, Eva, Mikael Johnson, Simon Robinson, Edina Vadovics, and Mika Saastamoinen.
(2010). Low-carbon Communities as a Context for Individual Behavioural Change. Energy
Policy. 38.12 7586-595. Elsevier. Web.
Lieberman, Joe. "Joe Lieberman Quotes." Brainy Quotes. Web. Retrieved from
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/joelieberm168628.html.
Patt, A., & Grothmann, T. (2005). Adaptive capacity and human cognition: The process of
individual adaptation to climate change. Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research,
Department of Global Change and Social Systems. Web.
Protalinski, Emil. (2014). Facebook passes 1.23 billion monthly active users, 945 million mobile
users, and 757 million daily users. The Next Web. Web.

Appendices:
A. Eco-Friends page: https://www.facebook.com/Eco-Friend-975029389249734/?
ref=aymt_homepage_panel

B.

Original research Eco-Friend is based off of:

Global Warming Education/Outreach Program proposal written by Elyse Waham