THE CHALLENGE

National Grid is one of Great Britain’s largest infrastructure providers, providing an essential service that people rely on every day yet don’t “see.”

We were asked to find a way to make the public aware of the action being taken to move Great Britain towards a greener, more sustainable future, using the evolution of the grid itself to tell that story.

Leveraging the data available about the energy being produced and consumed at any given time, we wanted to give people the ability to make smarter energy choices for the environment at home and in real time.

The Green Light Signal lit up the sky with a low energy consumption lightbulb that glows green when the electricity supply at home is cleanest and greenest, letting people know when they can use power without negatively impacting the planet.

THE STRATEGY

We believed that if people knew when the energy available to them is coming from renewable sources, they would choose those times to perform heavy duty household tasks, causing less damage to the planet.

To reach policymakers and the general public, specifically Gen Z and young families, we created an innovative data solution that would earn attention, engage key decision-makers and increase renewable energy use.

In meeting the audience at home and offering them a real, practical solution to reducing their own environmental impact, National Grid demonstrated how they were acting boldly to combat the climate challenge.

THE EXECUTION

We linked National Grid ESO data to smart LED lightbulbs through an API, pushing carbon intensity data to homes in real time, and letting people turn their bulb into a Green Light Signal from home. A setting was created to change the color of the bulb to green once zero carbon energy sources kicked in.

To amplify the Green Light Signal to climate-engaged audiences, we sent bulbs to celebrities, influencers, decision-makers and politicians, and promoted it at COP26.

THE OUTCOME

The campaign reached 237.8M and achieved carbon savings equal to 17.1 million mature trees based on 1.1M households swapping 50% of energy use for clean and green.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson championed the Green Light Signal with an installation outside of 10 Downing Street.