The REConVERDtim Sants-Montjuïc project, co-financed by the Barcelona City Council within the framework of the subsidies of the Action Plan for Climate Emergency, aims to promote sustainable consumption in the city through the REC currency. The main theme of the project is the promotion of more sustainable lifestyles among the residents of the city, specifically the district of Sants-Montjuïc, which contributes to the reduction of GHG emissions. This will be carried out through the coordination and cooperation of key actors in the field of sustainability and the promotion of local trade through social innovation, using the REC citizen currency.
What is REC?
REC is a citizen currency focused on promoting and promoting local consumption in the city. This payment tool was born in 2018, when NOVACT, together with Barcelona City Council and other entities designed and launched the REC within the framework of the European projects B-MINCOME (2016-2019) and GMeRitS (2020-2021) in 10 neighborhoods of the Besòs. This project channelled social aid in RECS, in order to avoid the commercial desertification of the ten neighborhoods that make up this territory. In 2020 NOVACT launched the “Li Toca en el Barri” (2020-2022) bonus campaign – with the support of Social and Solidarity Economy, Barcelona Activa and Neighbourhood Plan of the Barcelona City Council-, focused on promoting local and conscious consumption in these 10 neighborhoods of Barcelona.
Since September 2022 REC circulates also in the neighborhoods of Sants and Poble Sec pilot, where together with the Institute of Culture. During this pilot test, more than 1,000 people have already circulated around 200,000 RECS among 50 cultural establishments.
In recent months, a new section has been developed in the app called “Participa”, with weekly challenges and awards to encourage purchases in RECS, which also offer users interesting information on sustainability and tips on how to make a conscious consumption.
What does the project consist of?
In the new project;REConVERDtim Sants-Montjuïc, we want to extend the use of the RECS citizen currency to the entire district of Sants-Montjuïc with the objectives of:
1. Improve the coordination and cooperation of the trade sector and community-based organizations in the Sants-Montjuïc district through the co-creation of a campaign of citizen mobilization that promotes eco-socially responsible behaviors focused on local commerce.
2. To strengthen awareness among citizens of the Santos-Montjuïc district of alternatives to promote the most sustainable lifestyles, modifying consumption patterns, promoting conscious consumption, local commerce and sustainable food.
To achieve these objectives, a communication campaign on the importance of conscious consumption will be co-designed and launched, which will include activities in different entities in the neighborhoods of Sants-Montjuïc stores (retails) In addition, weekly, a series of weekly challenges will be launched through the REC app to encourage use.
To overcome these challenges will have two types of awards:
– In the “Awards” section of the REC app, information and tips related to sustainable consumption can be viewed that helps citizens consume in a more responsible way.
– All those who have overcome the challenge will receive in the wallet of the app the discount in RECS that has been specified in the challenge. This bonus will be received in the purse of the app once the time has finished to overcome the challenge (usually on Mondays weekly)
Other information about the project
The duration of the project is 16 months, with start date November 1 and end date February 28, 2025. This project will be carried out in collaboration with rezero, the entity that promotes the Comerç Verd project, which has been working for years in the Santos-Montjuïc district, as well as other entities that have given their explicit support in the territory. At the budget level, the project has 9.000€ dedicated to discounts in RECS, prizes and draws to make the use attractive. The RECS bonuses can be spent until March 31, 2025.
The project is part of the call for subsidies for the development of projects in the framework of the Action Plan for Climate Emergency & Barcelona City Council. The lines of action we want to influence are in the economy, local consumption and climate culture.
