Climate advice on the telephone and Internet

With support from the Federal Environment Ministry's Climate Initiative, the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv) and the consumer organisations of the federal states (Länder) are for the first time offering a comprehensive information service for consumers to encourage them to adopt climate-friendly patterns of behaviour and save money at the same time.
With the slogan "For me - for you - for the climate" ("für mich. für dich. fürs klima"), a network of the consumer organisations of the 16 federal states and five other consumer associations are working hard to raise consumers' awareness of their opportunities to help protect the climate. The aim is to harness the massive potential for private households to cut their CO₂ emissions. Climate protection pays off - that is the lesson which every consumer should learn and put into practice.

The campaign focusses especially on mobility, which on average accounts for around 15% of household spending. The consumer alliance aims to help consumers identify the costs of their mobility and achieve targeted reductions - while maintaining or even improving their quality of life. One option is to buy a highly fuel-efficient car which uses two litres less fuel per 100 km driven than similar models, thus cutting costs by as much as € 3000 over the vehicle's lifetime.
 
The climate benefits as well. Cars currently produce around 100 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year, equivalent to 12% of Germany's total CO₂ emissions.
Other project priorities are climate-compatible food and financial products. The alliance also aims to improve the overall conditions for consumers' climate protection efforts, and counters some of the false promises made by manufacturers in their advertising with climate arguments.
 
As part of its "For me - for you - for the climate" project, the alliance has carried out a comprehensive climate survey among consumers and run nationwide campaigns on climate-compatible mobility. It has also set up an Internet portal for consumers with information about CO₂ and money-saving tips, as well as a telephone hotline which advises consumers on reducing CO₂ emissions in the home.
The network comprises the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv) (vzbv), the 16 consumer organisations of the federal states (Länder), the German Tenants' Union (DMB), the German Transport Club (VCD), Germanwatch, the Federal Association of Senior Citizens' Organisations (BAGSO) and the Consumer Service (VS) of the German Catholic Women's Union.
The Federal Environment Ministry is supporting the development of the consumer alliance for climate protection as a Climate Initiative project and will provide a total of € 24.5 million in funding to 2010.