Case Studies

Here's how I made sure our 'TravelWise' information cards are as sustainable as our transport policy

Andy Thorpe, Senior Transportation Planner at Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council had to get information on the Council's 'TravelWise' scheme into the hands of 45,000 individuals in a concise and user-friendly way.

What I did

Evaluate the situation

"Sandwell Council's TravelWise campaign encourages sensible use of the car and promotes alternative ways to travel that are more environmentally friendly, cheaper and healthier. The aim is to cut congestion and pollution."

"To comply with the Education Inspections Act, we needed to put information on the various forms of sustainable transport into the hands of our school population and parents. Details on how to access information about road safety and polices for travel assistance also needed to be distributed. Although other media will also be used to publicise the information, we thought that it would be good to use something that could be kept to hand and easily used by the students, or in the case of younger children, their parents, to help plan their journeys."

"We decided to use plastic cards as they are robust, colourful and handy; children can easily keep them in a pocket or adults in their wallet."

Choosing a reputable supplier

"I surfed the web to find suppliers and obtained a few quotes. We got advice and information as well as a quote from ecocard™. They suggested we use a card made from Ingeo™, a plastic made from plants, and one that would fit with our sustainability commitment."

"Quality is a massive thing for me and with this being a first order I wanted be safe in the knowledge that my order would arrive on time and to the same quality as the samples I received. I can confidently say that everything was to my satisfaction and in-line with their in-house quality promise, CardMarque®; I was that pleased I have since ordered from them again."

Ensure the material is genuine

"I had heard a number of horror stories about the authenticity of environmentally friendly products that concerned me. It was quite interesting to hear how ecocard™ tackled this problem and it was extremely reassuring to know that their Ingeo™ card had been independently verified by Din Certco as being made from 100% PLA."

Distributing the cards

"The cards were sent to each school with covering letters addressed to the head teachers in order to explain what they are and how we would like them to be used. This was done by a local courier service."

What I've learned?

Consistency is key

"You need an established supplier who will be there when you need a top up. We intend to distribute around 5,000 cards to the new student intake each year over the next few years."

What I'd do differently?

Ask for advice with any quote

"It's common sense, but you'd be surprised how many companies just come back with a price and don't take an interest in the project as a whole."