Leading European energy company Vattenfall is on a mission to remove fossil fuels from society. They already supply fossil free energy to consumers and businesses, and have one of Europe’s largest electric vehicle charging networks.

So when they asked us to inspire the automotive industry to change by showcasing their expertise in decarbonising production chains, we proposed more than a campaign. We proposed a product. We wanted to produce the first truly fossil free vehicle, in partnership with electric motorcycle manufacturer CAKE.

Why? Because while electric vehicles don’t emit CO2 when used, they create emissions when manufactured, assembled and transported. In fact, emissions from making EVs can be 70% higher than petrol models.

Our objective wasn’t just to remove emissions from the production chain of one bike. But to inspire the whole industry to more responsible production and climate action.

It’s no surprise we’re staring a climate emergency in the face. And the world desperately needs systemic transformation in order for us to deliver the huge cuts in global emissions we need. To put it in context: if we want to stay on the 1.5 degree Celsius pathway, the EV industry alone needs to reduce emissions by over 80% in their manufacturing process by 2032 (source: Polestar, 2022).

So if we wanted real impact, we knew we had to do something that inspired other companies. Not only by showing that fossil free production is possible. But also by communicating our journey in a radically transparent way. Turning competitive thinking, company secrets and patents on their head for the climate. And by open sourcing all the data from the project. For anyone, for free.

To get the ball rolling, we needed to create a ‘ripple effect’ which reached beyond the project, provoking industry action and impact across global production chains. Our creative idea set both the ambition and direction: “One bike built to change how all vehicles are made”.

But the launch also had to explain rationally that a truly fossil free vehicle has no emissions when made, as well as being emotionally engaging and shareable. To do this, we created a visual representation of the project’s ambition of zero emissions.

By suspending the bike in a transparent cube that showed the smoke from the total emissions when produced and then emptied to zero, we had a simple visualization of the goal of the project: a truly fossil free vehicle.

The visual cube concept was designed to be the foundation for all launch communications: from video to physical events to interactive digital tools.

In consumer research, we discovered that most people are unaware of the hidden carbon cost of how electric vehicles are made. In workshops we saw the existing bike dismantled and the emissions of every single component calculated: 1,186kg CO2e.

A learning – from our experience communicating systemic transformation with Vattenfall – was that people don’t engage with figures. So how do you make 1,186kg CO2e relatable? Our breakthrough moment came when we learned that one tonne of CO2 fills the same space as a small house.

We set a deadline of 2025 to produce the bike. But that’s a long way off and the path isn’t clear. So we took a strategic decision to communicate about the journey not just the destination. And to inspire the automotive industry we decided to communicate with radical transparency – sharing every breakthrough and setback along the way.

The campaign ran from 31 August to 18 September 2022 in Sweden, Finland, Germany and The Netherlands. The main film ran on YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Vattenfall’s and The Cleanest Dirt Bike Ever website. There is also an in-depth project film, featuring interviews with key stakeholders from Vattenfall and CAKE.

Since launch, we’ve used the visual cube concept on the website, events and marketing materials to show our progress. We’ve broken it down in to smaller cubes to show the emissions of the bike’s individual components, and we’re showing it shrinking as we work towards our goal of zero emissions.

And as partners come on board, they can use the cube concept to show how they’re contributing to reducing emissions.

The project got a press coverage of 6,911,500 contacts, including articles in Fast Company and Sweden's business publication Dagens Industri. It got picked up by the World Economic Forum’s Twitter account, with 4.2 million followers.

But the real impact is the change the project is already inspiring. With seven impactful partners on board, the reach and potential is huge.

Through Papershell we got Polestar’s attention – a company looking for new ways to reduce plastic in their +51.000 EVs sold annually. With Öhlins, there’s potential to reduce emissions in over 3 million suspensions sold annually - to clients like Yamaha, BMW and Volkswagen. And with SKF, the global leading bearing manufacturer, the project has potential to help basically all industries to more responsible production.

So by changing how one bike is made, we inspired the industry to change the way all other vehicles are made.