The Importance of Monthly Surveys and Results

The monthly surveys reflect the Monthly Challenges and provide you with a chance to register any actions you’ve taken, or new habits you’re working on establishing. They truly are designed to take around one minute of your time, are multiple choice (with a comment option if you’d like to make one) and anonymous.

By taking the survey on time each month, the Cool Team is able to aggregate your answers with the rest of the community’s and generate results graphs that give a clear snapshot of your community’s habits and progress. We measure the number of actions taken and the amount of CO2 saved, when we can measure it.

Here’s a sample survey question for a one-time action:
Did you switch to using Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFLs)?

Already did this (I started doing this before the Cool Campaign)
Did it! (as a result of the Cool Campaign; this is cool!)
Not yet (I will get to this; it is on my todo list)

And here’s a sample survey question for a repeating action or habit:
Do you close curtains at night to keep heat in and open them during the day to let light in?

Already Doing This (before the Cool Campaign)
New Habit! (as a result of the Cool Campaign)
More Than Half the Time (as a result of the Cool Campaign)
Less Than Half the Time (as a result of the Cool Campaign)
Not yet (I will get to this; it is on my todo list)

Here are some results graphs:

January Actions

February Survey Results -- CO2

Notes on behavior change

Changing behavior is tricky business. Some people embrace change easily, others struggle over the simplest actions. By taking the monthly surveys, you have a moment to reflect on your commitment to reducing energy and consider what you have and have not yet been able to accomplish. Because surveys are anonymous, we hope you approach them honestly. There are no right or wrong answers! It is simply a tool to help keep you engaged and on track with the monthly challenges, and helps us know how effective the campaign is generally.