This project will help progressive, climate-friendly companies to further advance their web-based and other educational campaigns. Our service-learning partner will be Ben & Jerry's

Student Project Statement

We are working with Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream to refine their climate change campaign. Specifically, we are working with Andrea Asch, B&J’s Manager of Natural Resource Use. Since the release of the ice cream flavor “One Sweet Whirled,” and the website Onesweetwhirled.org, B&J’s has been dedicated to educating the public about climate change, and more than that, encouraging people to take action. The website provides basic information about global warming and also some ideas for how to take individual action, in addition to links to local activist groups.

Later this spring, B&J’s will be releasing a new flavor, most likely titled “Fossil Fuel,” that will include some basic information about global warming on the carton. This is where we come in. Ms. Asch has asked us to come up with ideas for how to revamp their climate change action website, and also for how to present information on the carton in a way that will be appealing to consumers and also will encourage further action. To do this, we have already gone through the website and conducted some market research (including eating some free ice cream). We are talking with our friends and trying to get their opinions, as ‘non-believers’ or at least ‘non-activists,’ about what would work for our project.

Our work will play a role in the emerging climate movement because we are helping a very forward-looking company with a large consumer base to craft a message that will, by being delivered to the consumer base, ideally attract attention and action amongst erstwhile unaware and inactive people. Central to our work is an attempt to funnel people through the website, which we will ideally reconfigure to better serve its purpose of educating and inspiring visitors.