How Eco Rewards Green and Active Travel scheme is supporting children to be active and achieve long term behavioural shift in Bracknell Forest

Eco Rewards’ unique scheme offers rewards and incentives to promote greener travel, healthier lifestyle choices, and reduce carbon footprint, driving long-term behaviour change. Users can report their cycling, walking, and active travel journeys by scanning over 150 QR codes throughout Bracknell Forest with the app or self-reporting online.

Culture, tourism, leisure and sport

25 Feb 2025

The challenge

Regular physical activity provides significant benefits to physical and mental health. In adults, physical activity contributes to prevention and management of noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety. In children and adolescents, physical activity promotes bone health, encourages healthy growth and improved motor and cognitive development (WHO, 2024). Wider benefits include improved learning and attainment, increased productivity in the workplace / school, better resilience, improved sleep, and improved social skills (PHE, 2020)

The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) issues guidance on the amount and type of physical activity people should do to improve their health. For adults, it is recommended to engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per week, whereas for children, it is recommended to aim for an average of at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day (UK Chief Medical Officers report, 2020).

Despite these recommendations, nationally, only 67% of adults aged 16 and over, and 47% of children and young people meet this guidance. Furthermore, 20% of adults are classified as inactive, that is participating in less than 30 minutes of physical activity per week (PHOF).

Active travel, that is walking or cycling to work or the shops, can offer a convenient, accessible, and affordable way for individuals and groups to increase their physical activity levels. The Active Travel and Physical Activity Evidence Review (2019) commissioned by Sport England demonstrated a largely positive impact of interventions to support active travel. Furthermore, there was strong evidence of the impact of interventions in school settings, with such intervention having the potential to develop active travel habits that may be continued into adult life. Participating in active travel also brings about a multitude of environmental benefits, supporting a reduction in climate change, congestion, traffic, and pollution.

Bracknell Forest Council was looking for a system that allows scheme members to log their green and active travel journeys, whether by bus, rail, walking, cycling, or wheeling, with the goal of promoting long-term behavioural change.

The solution

Bracknell Forest Council chose Eco Rewards to develop, implement and maintain an incentive scheme to encourage green and active travel choices by Bracknell residents and people working or studying in the borough. Eco Rewards worked with Public Health to encourage communities to be more active and physically healthy, as well as including strong messages on the environment and climate change.
The scheme was defined, developed and delivered by Eco Rewards in 2020 to encourage green and active travel choices by rewarding participants with challenges, competitions, special discount offers from 1000s of well-known online retailers. Participants can see their individual carbon savings in the App and their online account, and they are entered for regular prize draws. Prizes are linked to goals, level of participation and individual improvements.

Eco Rewards have developed marketing and reward incentives, and successfully rolled out for schools, residents, and businesses across the borough. This unique scheme is helping educate and encourage residents to make less car journeys and use healthier greener modes of travel. Eco Rewards have achieved significant take up, demonstrating behavioural shift from car use to walking, cycling, wheeling and public transport, and secured ongoing rewards with over 2000 major online retailers.

The scheme was expanded from engagement with residents and schools in 2022 to include Public Health in Bracknell. Eco Rewards add value by harnessing innovative QR and GPS technology, processes and incentives. This encourages schools, residents, businesses and visitors to choose walking, cycling and other green travel, while promoting additional benefits in health, wellbeing and community spirit.
As this innovative incentive scheme is automated in collecting travel data, there is no administrative burden on schools or businesses. The App and website provide information and links to existing guides, promote the benefits of improving physical and mental health and address the importance of tackling climate change by using active travel.

Gamification is used to challenge and set goals which participants then work towards. Although the specific cycle and active travel challenges are time limited to promote achievable goals, the App-based system is designed to incentivise and challenge adults to walk, wheel or cycle, achieving longer term behavioural shift to healthier and sustainable lifestyles.

The impact

With Bracknell Forest Council, Eco Rewards have exceeded targets to reach, uptake and change behaviour. A recent report to Bracknell Forest Council showed the growth in members and the number of active and green journeys reported. The scheme demonstrated an average 49% behavioural switch away from driving, over 183 tonnes aggregated carbon saving compared to driving and over 606,000 green miles reported so far.

Added Value: As well as the rewards and incentives available through the scheme, additional social and economic benefits from the scheme to the local communities include:

Sustainability Benefits – This scheme has the potential to sustain beyond the original project timescales and is a long-lasting scheme, unlike once-a-year events
Health benefits (including mental health) for the individual if they regularly cycle or walk
Actively promoting a fitter, healthier lifestyle in line with Government and NHS priorities on health
Helping to reduce congestion in town centres and on local roads by encouraging greener alternatives
Positive Environmental impact as less traffic congestion will reduce the amount of polluting CO2 emitted by idling vehicles stuck in traffic jams
Discounts and Rewards funded by thousands of online retailers, which makes the use of greener alternatives more attractive
Savings in cost of fuel which is often overlooked as an economic benefit to the individual
An additional channel to communicate advice about walking/cycling routes and safety around the area
Stimulate increased usage of public transport. This scheme uses incentives and rewards which makes the use of alternative transport more attractive. This is likely to stimulate increased usage of public transport and ticket revenue.
Bracknell Forest Council and service providers can gather better data to assist with environmental reporting and planning, plus gaining statistics about their community, cycle schemes, travel patterns and future requirements for public transport and road use
This scheme aims to protect the environment, resulting in less environmental pollution. Cars consume fossil fuels, which emit vast quantities of greenhouse gases to the environment. Shifting to green transport choices would help rid the atmosphere of these toxic gases since walking and cycling have few to zero emissions
Health and Safety – Energy sources from fossil fuels like natural gas, coal and oil emit toxic gases that negatively affect our health, and these gases have been associated with rising cases of cancer and other cardiovascular diseases. Adopting green transport choices can only improve a region’s health status.

The scheme has had some very positive feedback from recent surveys of members:

Scheme is really great, although my contribution is small, I feel that as a community we are coming together to make positive changes"

I love this scheme! I wish more areas had something like this. The challenges are great and I have won a prize"

I struggle with my mental health and some days leaving the house can feel difficult. More than once I have told myself to just go out and scan a location to help feel motivated to go out without it feeling daunting. Invariably, I end up on a longer journey once I have left the house."

Has definitely helped me increase my fitness level by exercising more plus I’m enjoying it too whilst helping the environment by not using my car and saving money on parking!"

Love the chats I have with my daughter walking to and from school, this would not have happened in the car"

How is the new approach being sustained?

Eco Rewards have demonstrated significant value by developing a longer-term sustainable active travel scheme, which will maintain engagement, embrace longer term change and track positive action to encourage healthy active travel choices.

This innovative, proven green and active travel scheme which has demonstrated sustainable behavioural shift, motivates students, residents and visitors of all generations, and abilities to get out and enjoy the parks and attractions that Bracknell Forest has to offer. This scheme offers a long-term legacy and longer-term opportunities for public engagement and encourages a demonstrable increase in cycling/walking activity around the area into the future. In addition, the technology will provide a useful source of data and information on activity habits around Bracknell Forest.

The Eco Rewards App is transforming the way to plan, book, and record eco-friendly travels, with promising applications for Mobility as a Service (MaaS) in both urban and rural settings. The Eco Rewards App already has local journey planners built in, with maps and GPS locations, and links to bus and train services with real time information, where tickets can be purchased in advance.
Bracknell Forest Council have just extended the contract with Eco Rewards for a further three years.

Lessons learned

2020 COVID Challenge: The initiative was originally planned for launch in spring 2020, involving three schools. However, the possibility of every school nationwide closing in March for several months was not anticipated in our risk assessment! Nevertheless, a decision was made to shift the initial focus from schools to the broader Bracknell community. This adjustment allowed the scheme to gain early engagement, as residents took part during their daily walks throughout the lockdown.

The rationale for this was:

Reduce dependency on schools re-opening
Capitalise on behavioural shift to walking, cycling etc. during lockdown
Sustain environmental benefits due to reduced car use
Utilise remaining investment within original timescales
Achieve rollout during Summer 2020
Support healthy lifestyle initiatives
Opportunity to deliver useful data on travel choices

The scheme encouraged residents to continue walking and cycling after COVID-19 and this meant that the scheme was up and running when lockdown finally ended. No change to funding was required.

Getting Traction: The initial engagement with schools and businesses was slow post Covid, making it challenging for the Eco Rewards team to connect with Head Teachers or Senior Leaders. We discovered that direct outreach from the Council, through emails or personal introductions, proved most effective. This approach highlighted that the initiative was supported by the Council, ensuring it wouldn’t get overlooked among a flood of junk mail.

Contact:

Chris Mansfield
Regeneration & Economic Development Manager Bracknell Forest Council
[email protected]

Erika Vincent & Kevin Farquharson
[email protected]