Completed Challenges

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No Waste Challenge 2011

During the waste-heavy month of December, we called on Hawaii residents to learn where our trash goes when we “throw it away” and to reduce the amount of waste we send to our island landfills. During the course of the month we learned about where our trash goes in each county, what is recyclable and how that process works, as well as how to reduce 1/3 of our waste stream through composting.

Members were encouraged to do a waste audit to see how much and what types of trash we are throwing away, and with the help of member guides and tips, reduce that waste to a single bag during the final week of the year, the week of Christmas.
Over 100 members rose to the “One week – One bag Challenge." Over 300 members reported recycling at home during the month, and over 200 reported composting at home. 175 people recycled their Christmas trees rather than sending them to the landfill, and 130 people reported successfully reducing the amount of waste they produced during the holiday season – a time of year when we typically produce 25% more waste than usual.

Overall, we had set a goal of diverting 50,000 lbs of trash from Hawaii’s landfills - as far as we can count we achieved at least 33,000 lbs diverted during the month of December. We are hopeful that the habits we developed over the holidays will continue throughout the year and result is a permanent waste stream reduction.

Finally, we piloted a new form of group action called the CarrotMob, by group shopping together at Kale’s Natural Foods to support their efforts to reduce waste at Hawaii Kai Shopping Center by building storefront customer recycling bins, and establishing cardboard recycling for the store/deli. With the help of over 400 people, we met our goal: $1600 to set up recycling facilities for Kale's and for customers of Hawaii Kai Shopping Center - AND Kale's had their "2nd Best Day Ever" in sales and "Best Deli Day Ever" (the first best day ever was their grand opening). During our CarrotMob they logged logged 452 transactions at the register and had exactly double the normal sales for a typical Saturday.

We’ll be continuing these waste-reduction efforts throughout the new year – sharing tips and strategies for producing less household waste, working together to convince businesses to change along with us, and following up on government policies that reduce the amount of material that ends up in our island landfills.

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Eat Local 2011

In the past 3 years, the Eat Local Challenge has grown over 300%! More than 3,000 people participated in the Eat Local Challenge this year, and the Challenge itself grew from one week to the entire month of September. The month-long campaign featured weekly mini-challenges:

Week 1: Education: Learn about Hawai'i's local food system
Week 2: Grow your own: Plant/harvest local foods at home and in the community
Week 3: Choose local: Find local food at restaurants and markets
Week 4: Eat strictly local: Strive to eat only locally grown foods for one week

More than 50 restaurants and retail vendors partnered in the Challenge, committing to source locally grown foods, and offering specials and discounts for Challenge participants. We joined forces with Yelp to do a special “Yelp Eats Local” week during the Challenge– bringing the Eat Local Challenge to a fresh, new crowd. Kanu launched a new feature of the website called “Locations” that maps crowd sourced reviews of where to find locally grown foods at restaurants and markets across the islands. Our forum, “Big Hairy Audacious Ideas for the Food Revolution” brought together 200 people to discuss how to make healthy, locally grown food accessible for everyone. Over 40 public and private schools from every county took part in the Eat Local Challenge. The Challenge wrapped up at a special “Eat Local” themed Eat the Street Food Truck Rally, where 39 food trucks were challenged to use locally grown ingredients. Over 2,500 people committed to choose locally grown over imported food, even if it costs more.

Read more about the Challenge:
Eat Local 2011 Highlight Reel (with photos)
See all the partners that participated in the Challenge

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Energy Challenge 2011

More than 1,000 people took the Challenge in the energy-intensive month of July, attempting to reduce energy use by walking instead of driving, switching on fans instead of air conditioning, and cutting electricity use by mindful use of appliances. Those with the largest drop in energy use from May-Jun to Jul-Aug qualified for prizes including a 120-gallon solar water heater donated by RevoluSun and a lighting retrofit for the entire home donated by Energy Industries.

One highlight of the Challenge was the amazing tips and stories people shared, including: How to do a simple home energy assessment; An intro to 9 types of smart power strips; Understanding rebates on energy-saving appliances; Recipies that cut energy use but not flavor; The basics of biking safely in paradise; 10 tips to reduce your gasoline consumption; and, 6 Steps to cut electricity by 25%.

Another highlight was two energy education fairs at Kukui Tower and Kukui Gardens, both arefederally subsidized affordable housing communities in urban Honolulu. Thanks to our partners at EAH Housing, the fairs drew a combined 350+ residents who engaged in interactive eco-education and launched their own mini-Energy Challenges.

We are still awaiting billing data to assess the Challenge impact, but initial results show that people did reduce their energy consumption in July and August compared to earlier months. Based on a small sample of Challenge-takers, folks reduced use by about 4% despite the summer heat encouraging more A/C. Some people saw reductions of more than 40%! Special mahalo to RevoluSun and Energy Industries for making this competition possible.

The Energy Challenge was our most difficult campaign to date. We struggled to reach 2,000 homes as we'd hoped to and a 25% reduction proved extremely difficult (we knew it was ambitious when we started). We sought feedback from participants and non-participants, and this is what we heard:

* energy is a problem many people feel will be solved by big solutions like wind, rail, or corporate and government action, not individual or community action
* it's hard to message energy saving in a "sexy" way. we needed a call to action that was catchier than "reduce your bill in July"
* saving energy is not "social" - you do it in the privacy of your home or on your commute - unlike, say, eating local, which you can do with friends
* many people felt they were doing all they could to save energy already (though when we probed a bit, there were addition steps to take)
* we could have done a better job of partnering and leveraging the work of other organizations like Blue Planet Foundation who focus on energy issues

Mahalo to everyone who provided feedback - it will help us craft more inspiring calls to energy action in 2012!

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Citizen Challenge 2011

The Citizen Challenge engaged more than 500 people in the action to follow and speak out on at least one issue during the 2011 legislative session. The vast majority of participants had never contacted their representative before or been to the Capitol. Our weekly "Rotunda Roundups" hosted in partnership with Common Cause Hawaii, educated more than 200 people with timely bill updates and action steps in the Capitol Rotunda, and events organized by Kanu Hawaii Youth Fellows drew more than 100 students from 17 different schools to the Capitol where they engaged with lawmakers and learned first-hand about the policy making process.

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Simplify the Holidays 2010

During the holidays, Americans produce about 25% more waste than at other times of the year. We called on islanders to model something different - asking everyone to wrap with recycled materials, give gifts of time and service instead of stuff, and recapture the holidays as a time of ohana and community instead of consumption. Roughly 1,600 members participated, and 1-in-10 reported that their friends and family participated with them (though this "ripple" impact isn’t counted in our numbers). Together, we kept 9 ½ tons of waste out of landfills and incinerators, prevented 4.4 tons of CO2 emissions, wrapped more than 6,000 gifts with recycled materials, kept 4,530 plastic bags from being wasted, purchased more than 1,500 locally made or environmentally friendly gifts, and gave 900 hours of service and more than $14,000 to local charities.

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Eat Local 2010

More than 30 business partners from every county participated, shifting their purchasing to local sources, featuring locally grown produce, offering menu items with local ingredients. Some of the largest restaurant and market chains in the islands participated including KTA Superstores, Whole Foods, Town Restaurant, Umeke Market, Foodland/Sack-N-Save, Roy’s on Kaua‘i, Kokua Market and more. Zippys offered a “Kanu Hawai‘i Special – Local Moco” made with local beef, island eggs, and a side of Nalo Greens instead of mac salad. Several businesses saw a measurable increase in sales during the Challenge. One farmer said that the challenge helped save their business, and nearly 1,000 people committed to a permanent change in their food purchases, shifting 10% to local sources.

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Your Vision. Your Vote 2010

In a year where the election system was seriously challenged by budget cuts, a shortage of volunteers, and the chronic problem of low turnout, we set out to with Common Cause Hawaii to get people to take up their civic kuleana - asking members to work the polls, register to vote, and cast their ballots. We focused on those typically under-represented in our democratic process, recruiting from high schools and universities, at homeless shelters and affordable housing communities, and among first-time voters. The results...

We recruited nearly 350 volunteers to work at polling places in the Primary and General Elections. More than 80% were young people from places like Kaimuki High School, Kalani High School, Punahou, Iolani, Sacred Hearts Academy and UH Manoa. These young servant-leaders were praised by Precinct Chairs for their work, got a "front row" look at democracy in action, and raised thousands of dollars for youth programs and nonprofits (many donated their stipends to their schools, clubs, or sports teams). We also registered almost 400 new voters. And, we helped our members and others vote smart with almost 100 candidates responding to Kanu's survey which asked about issues important to members, and about candidates' personal commitments to change.

This was our first effort at getting our members involved in elections, and we got practice at "field organizing" - asking our member-volunteers to be the recruiters and drivers of the campaign. It was a fitting first foray into elections work. Mahalo to all those who helped build the force of volunteers who made such a difference this election season!

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Live Aloha 2010

The vision of the 2010 Live Aloha Campaign was islanders united in acts of compassion and service, across Hawaii and the world. We fell short of our numeric goal, but 15 projects across the islands moved more than 800 people to action - members, friends, and newcomers to Kanu Hawaii. People who couldn't be part of a project lived aloha in other ways. Members sent us their stories from across Hawaii and also from Washington DC, Florida, California, Japan, and more. There are more than 100 inspiring member postings in the Campaign Journal. Mahalo to all who helped keep Hawaii's aloha spirit alive. Let's sustain it by regularly reconnecting with the people and communities that touched us on Live Aloha Day.

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Make Our Voices Count 2010

More than 500 members voted, discussed, and attended workshops on how to advocate at the legislature. We submitted letters and testimony on a number of bills. Here, in brief, is where those bills ended up (for more complete commentary, visit each bill’s link from the main campaign page).

Use a new 'barrel fee' on imported oil to fund future energy and food security. Passed, signed into law, but majority of funds go the State General Fund until 2015.
Use bond financing for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Did not pass out of the Legislature.
Use a portion of the Hurricane Relief Fund to restore school days this year. Passed, signed into law, spurred the agreement between the Governor and unions that ended Furlough Fridays.
Use funds from the Rainy Day Fund to maintain essential health and human services. Passed, with funds directed to a variety of health and human services. Awaiting Governor’s signature and release of funds.
Limit and disclose corporate political contributions; uphold restriction on campaign contributions by government contractors. Two issues combined in a single campaign finance bill. Restriction on contractor donations remains. Corporate contributions not completely transparent.
Urge lawmakers to take a vote on civil unions. They did. Civil unions passed by the Legislature. Awaiting Governor’s signature.
Mandate a minimum number of school days or hours per school year. Passed by the Legislature, signed into law by the Governor.

We owe a special mahalo to all those who voted “no” online, and those who engaged in respectful debate. It is no small thing to share your views publicly, or to stand up for what you believe in. This is the kind of discussion, civil disagreement, and political courage we want all Kanu Hawai‘i members to model.

The test of our community is whether shared values like respect and aloha can transcend differences we have on particular issues, and allow us to disagree without permanently dividing up. Hawai‘i (and communities elsewhere) need examples this kind of community now.

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Simplify the Holidays 2009

In all, nearly 1,500 people participated in the campaign. Almost 300 of us recycled at our holiday parties and used reusable or biodegradable plate-ware instead of paper or plastic. About 340 of us combined errands to save gas and cut greenhouse gas emissions. More than 300 of us donated to charities, volunteered, or gave directly to families in need. And, almost 600 of us wrapped gifts with reused materials rather than brand new wrapping paper. Our commitments to change holiday habits added up to big impact: More than 13 tons of waste we kept out of landfills and incinerators, 8 tons of greenhouse gases prevented, enough paper to save 215 trees, thousands of dollars donated and nearly a thousand hours of service to local charities, and almost 1 ½ tons of containers recycled. Most important, we spread a message that the holidays are about more than "stuff" but are really about honoring values of ohana, aloha, and kuleana.

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Eat Local Challenge 2009

The Eat Local Challenge started as a modest idea: Get 30 people to commit to eating local-grown for the week of August 8 to 15. Once the campaign was launched, though, member interest exploded. Members shared recipes for all-local dishes, threw eat local pot lucks, joined "smart mobs" at markets, eat out with our restaurant partners, and got friends and family involved (not all of whom got counted in the campaign tally).

We ate local for a more secure food system - one to sustain us beyond the 12-day food supply we currently have on store shelves. We ate local for the climate - to cut the fossil fuels and greenhouse gasses used in importing food to us. We ate local to keep more money in the island economy and to eat a healthier. Most importantly, we began to grapple with big questions related to our food: Will we develop over agricultural land needed to make our food system more resilient? Why is it so much cheaper to eat unhealthy fast food that has to be processed, packaged, and shipped to us, versus fresh fruits and vegetables from a few miles away? Many of the answers lie in public policy, and we start exploring them in the wrap up post. We'll continue to explore them in the months ahead.

Mahalo to all who participated in the 2009 Eat Local Challenge. We're looking forward to a bigger, better, and less Oahu-central Eat Local Challenge in 2010.

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Live Aloha 2009

Members engaged in events across the islands that challenged us to step across boundaries and work together to better our communities. We teamed up with leaders at Kuhio Park Terrace, residents of public housing in Waimea, homelss mothers and keiki at the Salvation Army shelter in Manoa for a day of shared work, and living aloha. Partners at the Institute for Human Services and Leadership Kauai helped make the day a success.

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Make Our Voices Count 2009

Members participated in our campaign to Make Our Voices Count at the Legislature this year. We considered, voted, and discussed 10 key bills; attended advocacy training together; and finished with "Service with a Statement" where members gathered at the Capitol to swap free CFL light bulbs with lawmakers and do free tire pressure checks on all of their cars. The message: "We're willing to do our part to address the issues we care about. We ask lawmakers to do their part by passing key bills." Roughly two-thirds of those who participated had never been to the Capitol to talk to their representative. We practiced a different kind of advocacy - one using demonstrated kuleana to change the hearts, minds, and actions of our lawmakers.

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Simplify the Holidays 2008

We fell just short of our 1,000 member goal, but 900 of us accomplished a lot in 6 weeks: 8 tons of waste kept from our landfills, 120 trees saved, thousands of dollars to local charities, fewer greenhouse gas emissions, less strain on nerves and family budgets.� More importantly, members said they spent more time with ohana, gave more thought to gifts given and received, and joined with co-workers, family, and friends in acts that were good for our environment and communities.

Read about the results of the campaign here:

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Day of Action 2008

We set out to rally 750 members in service to our communities. In the end, 780 of us responded to the call. At service projects across the islands, we donated thousands of labor-hours to clear trails, erase graffiti, serve food to those in need, tend community gardens, clean beaches and clear land for nonprofits.

Review results by reading:

We begin with a personal commitment to change in our daily lives, then join together to take collective action through our challenges.