Canadian Municipal Solutions for a Greener Earth

How Environmentally Conscious Are Your Citizens?

The environment has emerged as a key area of public concern in recent years. Lately it seems that everyone, from individuals to politicians to industries, is talking about the fate of our planet and what should be done to ensure a healthy earth for future generations. While there is a significant body of research into public views on the environment, many questions remain unanswered, particularly for municipalities that are looking to green their communities and encourage environmentally responsible behaviour among citizens.

To help local governments better understand citizens' attitudes towards the environment, Ipsos Reid is pleased to offer your municipality the opportunity to participate in our annual Municipal Solutions for a Greener Earth syndicated research study. This shared-cost vehicle is designed to explore key issues related to the environment in your community, including:

Where does the environment sit on the public's issue agenda?
How do citizens rate the overall quality of the environment in their community?
How do citizens rate their performance, and the performance of their municipal government, when it comes to preserving and protecting the local environment?
What do citizens perceive as the most important environmental issues facing their community?
Are citizens prepared to pay increased property taxes to address important local environment issues?
How high a priority do citizens place on specific municipal initiatives aimed at preserving and protecting the local environment?
What are some of the things citizens are doing to reduce their personal impact on the environment?
What can municipalities do to encourage environmentally conscious behaviour among citizens?

In addition to these core questions, Ipsos Reid is also pleased to offer two optional modules that target key areas of concern: pesticides and waste management.

The Pesticide module includes questions around citizens' pesticide usage and support for by-laws banning cosmetic pesticide use in their community. The Waste Management module includes questions around citizens' waste reduction efforts, satisfaction with municipal programs and services, and support for local waste reduction initiatives.

Ultimately, this information will provide municipalities with valuable insight into citizens' environmental attitudes, behaviours, and values. Municipalities can then use this information to help citizens reduce their ecological footprint and become a greener community.

How Does Your Municipality Compare to Others in Canada?

In addition to looking at citizens' overall attitudes and behaviours, we believe that one of the best ways to understand the environmental mindset in a community is to compare your results to those of others. As part of the final deliverables for participating in this study, Ipsos Reid will compare your results to those of other Canadian municipalities. This includes creating a behaviour performance Index that lets you see how your citizens' environmental behaviours compare to those living elsewhere in the country. These municipal comparisons will provide valuable context, added insight, greater depth of analysis, and benchmarks against which to evaluate your performance.

How Does The Survey Work?

We will conduct a telephone survey of 300 citizens aged 18 years of age and older in each municipality that decides to participate in the research. This will provide a good overall assessment of citizens' attitudes and behaviours, as well as provide insight into how to grow environmental stewardship in your community. The margin of error on a survey of this size is ±5.7% (19 times out of 20) and the survey is large enough to allow the results to be analyzed according to key demographic variables.

To keep the costs low, the same core questions (outlined above) will be asked in all municipalities. Furthermore, municipalities can participate in one or both of our optional modules (discussed above), add custom questions, or increase the number of interviews for an additional charge.Your individual results will not be shared with other municipalities.

All Subscribers Receive...

Detailed tables with crosstabulations of the major demographics such as age, gender, home ownership, length of residency, and families with children under 18.
PowerPoint slides of your results and an in-person presentation of the findings to an audience of your choice (travel will be billed extra).
Comparisons of your results to other Canadian municipalities.

Subscription Options and Pricing

Core Subscription
$6,900*

Pesticide Module
(only available with core subscription): $1,500*

Waste Management Module
(only available with core subscription): $1,500*

Custom Questions
Closed-ended questions: $900 each*.
Open-ended questions: $1,400 each*.

* plus applicable taxes

Schedule (2012)

This research will be completed in October 2012. Municipalities need to confirm their participation no later than September 19. Custom questions should be submitted by September 24. The survey will be conducted from October 3 - 11, and results will be available in late November 2012.