Stopping traffic in Hamilton with a carbon-negative fuel solution

In collaboration with Enbridge Gas

To promote renewable natural gas as a cleaner fuel alternative, we put an eye-catching out-of-home campaign on wheels.

A bus from Hamilton wrapped with a blue wrapper with food scraps

Challenge

Position Enbridge Gas as a leader in low-carbon energy solutions and raise awareness of renewable natural gas (RNG) as a turnkey alternative to diesel fuel.

Solution

Generate buzz by literally putting the campaign on wheels, with an RNG-fuelled proof of concept rolling through the streets of Hamilton.

Deliverable

Out-of-home
Sponsored content
Social campaign
Digital ads

The context

As the global population grows, it’s expected that energy usage will increase by 50 per cent over the next 30 years. To support the Ontario government’s commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, Enbridge Gas is faced with a daunting task: keep pace with future energy needs, keep energy affordable and reduce environmental impact.

Renewable natural gas (RNG) — a cleaner energy solution that is produced by capturing methane from organic waste — is one answer to this problem. It’s quick and cost effective to retrofit existing diesel-powered buses and trucks for RNG.

Test-driving an innovative new fuel source

Launched in partnership with the City of Hamilton and the Hamilton Street Railway, Ontario’s first carbon-negative bus hit the streets in January 2021.

We wanted to turn heads with a campaign that demonstrates Enbridge’s commitment to low-carbon energy solutions and communicates the benefits of RNG as a market-ready fuel source: less methane in the atmosphere, less diesel on the road. With the first bus as a proof of concept for carbon-negative fleets of the future, we could encourage buy-in from municipal transit authorities and government decision-makers, as well as the general public.

Side view of a bus from Hamilton with a blue and food scraps graphi wrapper

Driving home a complex message

The topics of RNG and carbon negativity can be difficult to explain and understand. In addition, municipal decision-makers need hard evidence to build a case for council approval. So it was important to sell the practicalities of RNG without resorting to dry facts and figures.

Our solution was to make the bus itself the centrepiece of the campaign. We designed a bold bus wrap that would stop passersby in their tracks, with the organic building blocks of RNG — eggshells, apple cores, banana peels — splashed against a vivid blue background. Then we told a deeper story online through sponsored content, social posts and online ads.

Welcoming the public aboard

This project is a perfect example of the power of “showing, not telling.” Since anyone can literally step inside the campaign and experience its claims firsthand, a potentially complex topic is made simple and concrete. It’s rolling proof that RNG can work.

The paid campaign delivered over 2.1 million impressions, over 25,000 clicks and over 20,000 page views. The social campaign was widely shared and generated buzzy discussion online. But perhaps the most telling result is the growing interest in RNG from other organizations.

How RNG is picking up speed

A year after Ontario’s first carbon-negative bus rolled through Hamilton, we designed a similar campaign in partnership with Bluewater Recycling Association, Ontario Waste Management Association and Enbridge Gas. The unveiling of Ontario’s first carbon-negative waste collection truck, powered entirely by RNG sourced from local cow manure, was quickly followed by a two-year province-wide pilot project. One day, full adoption of RNG-fuelled waste trucks in Ontario could be roughly equivalent to taking 100,000 passenger cars off the road every year.

While there are no overnight solutions on the road to net-zero emissions, here at Context Creative we’re proud to have a hand in influencing policy in the transition to cleaner energy.