The Martlet

There’s a mob forming in town, and it’s growing by the day.

“I hear they’re going to start at the parliament buildings … and make their way down to the shop,” said Renaat Marchand over the phone. “I’m a little bit worried.”

On Friday, March 12, Renaat’s new waffle restaurant Wannawafel is scheduled to be visited by hundreds of hungry, happy “carrotmobbers” who will buy waffles in support of environmental sustainability.

Dubbing it a “reverse-boycott,” UVic’s Commerce Sustainability Club is looking for support from all Victorians, and especially the UVic community, to join them in driving up Wannawafel’s profits — 100 per cent of which are committed to making “green” improvements — one sugar-coated belgian waffle at a time.

The nervousness is more of a “positive excitement,” said Marchand.

He’s been waking up at 5:30 a.m., “head swimming,” planning for the biggest crowd he has ever experienced.

Marchand and his wife Krista turned the success of their Inner Harbour waffle cart into a new shop in Market Square last December. Since then, Wannawafel has only experienced downtown Victoria’s slow winter months. The small business, dedicated to producing as little carbon footprint as possible, earned support from Commerce Sustainability Club for its impressive tactics.

“All of a sudden to have a peak in sales at this time in the season … it’s a positive thing,” he said. “I’m sure we can handle it.”

The Commerce Sustainability Club hopes to give Wannawafel all they can handle and more, turning their revenue into environmental improvements Marchand might not otherwise be able to make. By committing 100 per cent of Friday’s revenues to reducing their environmental footprint, Wannawafel won the mob’s economic support, en masse, for one day.

The practice of organizing buying power as a means of green activism is catching on internationally. This is Victoria’s second carrotmob, and it will offer a chance for people to support green improvements in a small business in a “win-win situation,” says organizer John Bayley.

“We can bring sustainability into business in a very realistic and manageable [way] … the company gets money to make changes, and the customer gets something they want,” he said. “You don’t usually get a way to tangibly show people that their money has gone toward making a difference.”

Depending on the success of the mob, the improvements could be an environment-friendly dishwasher, and enlisting a local compost service for coffee grinds.

Wannawafel will also continue the improvements already underway. They are in the process replacing sugar packets with a single dispenser. They use recyclable plates and utensils and, depending on the product, sometimes use a slip of paper instead of a plate. They use energy efficient lightbulbs — which, inside the restaurant walled mainly by glass, only need to be used on the darkest of winter days.

But Marchand knows that more can be done, and he jumped at the chance to host a carrotmob. Back in his hometown of Opwijk, Belgium, he was part of multiple environmental groups and he is proud to do whatever he can to reduce his ecofootprint.

Helping Marchand identify and make improvements is Josh Schmidt, a co-founder of Small Feet Inc., a company that provides businesses with “carbon footprinting” strategies.

“We come into a business and, in a nutshell, try and help them achieve their sustainability goals,” said Schmidt, who is donating his time.

Carbon footprinting examines energy use, buying decisions and recycling and composting options. In the case of Wannawafel, Schmidt sees an opportunity for the business to become no-waste — essentially only needing recycling and compost bins.

How far the restaurant can go toward achieving that state will be determined by the size of the mob, and the profit they create. Success will be determined by numbers, says Schmidt, but also by the sense of community and the satisfaction that comes from helping a business achieve a shared goal.

“The greatest benefit of carrotmob is when someone … has that mental shift in their mind, and they say ‘wow, I can do the things I love, and have it line up with my ethics and values. I can make a difference for the planet just by buying the things I already [want],’” he said.

Leading up to the event, the Commerce Sustainability Club is drumming up support using Facebook, Twitter, blogs and posters around campus. There are currently over 550 members of “Carrotmob — Victoria” on Facebook.

“For it to succeed, we need as many people as possible to come so that Wannawafel gets the revenue they need,” said Bayley. “All it takes is a lot of people going and buying.”

To get that support, they are looking to students to make the difference, and a carrotmob is an easy way for students to promote change without going against the system, says Michelle Johnson, a member of the club.

While traditional activism often creates anger or has limited success, a reverse-boycott falls under the banner of “activism 2.0,” an approach that uses everyday consumer habits to influence change.

“I want to be part of a student generation that [takes part in] activism … in a ‘win-win’ way that doesn’t create enemies,” Johnson said.

Johnson thinks the best way to communicate with a business is by affecting the bottom line and by providing an instant windfall — the carrotmob looks to communicate just like that.

The mob leaves the parliament building for Wannawafel at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 12. They will congregate outside the shop in the entrance to Market Square on Johnson Street until 8 p.m. Everyone is invited to join.