Submitted Abstract
Environmental awareness is raising significantly in Luxembourg but the complexity of environmental cause-effect chains can be difficult to grasp for many citizens. The objective of the project “Science to be green” is to provide scientific insights to citizens on the nature and magnitude of their environmental impacts, thus helping them to pursue environmental friendly lifestyles. Four interactive seminars will be organized by the Life Cycle Sustainability Analysis (LCSA) group of LIST. These events will be free of charge and held during a weekday evening (one-hour duration) at Cercle Cité to attract a broad audience (about 100 participants expected for each event). A live polling system will be used to engage the audience in the scientific discussion process. The multiple-choice questions will stimulate their reasoning, challenge their preconceptions and allow the speakers to adapt to the audience feedback. After the presentation and the “question/answer session”, drinks and snacks will be offered to continue the discussion in a more convivial atmosphere. The events will address several sectors on which any citizen could act through personal choices: mobility (in particular commuting and electric mobility options), housing (energy saving and building options), food (dietary choices and waste management), and spending and investment (budget choices). The quantification of environmental impacts of consumers’ behaviours and choices will be based on the standardized life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, for which the LCSA group has strong competences. The common thread (fil rouge) for the seminars will be the carbon footprint of a Luxembourgish resident, in order to facilitate the comparison with a quantified reference to which people can relate. Other environmental indicators will be also analysed depending on their relevance to the sector. The project visibility will be ensured via a dedicated webpage, where the events will be announced and where the summary sheets and video recording will be published after each event. Events will be advertised via different communication streams (social media, associations, events publishers, posters, etc.). The satisfaction of the audience will be evaluated via a questionnaire distributed at the end of each event, which will also include questions to understand the impacts of the seminars on the attendants’ lifestyles.