E.ON unveils ‘Our Imagined Future’

• E.ON has revealed a striking mural in the heart of Coventry, inspired by what children imagine a greener future could look like in our cities
• New research has revealed more than half (58%) of children hope to see more green spaces as part of a more sustainable future with some even visualising litter picking robots (19%)
• Designed by Coventry artist Ben Barter, the mural titled ‘Our Imagined Future’ has been painted by school children
• Unveiled in Coventry’s FarGo Village, the mural celebrates the 15-year strategic energy partnership between Coventry City Council and E.ON

E.ON has today revealed a giant mural in Coventry’s FarGo Village, illustrating what children across the country imagine a greener city could look like.

The design of the mural, titled ‘Our Imagined Future’, has been inspired following E.ON’s research with 2,000 children from across the UK¹ which revealed over half of children (58%) would like to see more parks and green spaces such as allotments in their local city, as well as more public recycling options (52%). Some children let their imagination run wild, suggesting litter picking robots (19%) and animals living in harmony amongst us (44%), all of which have been incorporated into the mural design by Coventry artist Ben Barter.

Over half of children in the UK (54%) also believe we need to reduce our use of plastic to make cities more sustainable, with 44% stating there should be more sustainable travel options in the future, such as trams and electric buses. In addition, almost half (47%) feel it is vital to have solar panels on all buildings and bus stops and over a third (34%) want to see only electric vehicles on the roads.

Ben Tuck, Social Value Programme Manager at E.ON, said: “Through this mural, we hope to further raise awareness of the importance of sustainability in cities like Coventry, and indeed across the country, as well as the changes we can all make to help build a greener future. ‘Our Imagined Future’ is a great way to visualise children’s inspiring and creative solutions to make our cities greener, more sustainable and better places to live.

“As part of our commitment to working with Coventry City Council to deliver long-term benefit to the local community, we are keen to build awareness and excitement amongst local residents around our shared goal of building a cleaner, greener Coventry.”

The mural design incorporates key findings from the new research, as well as sustainable solutions such as heat pumps, solar panels and EV chargers as part of a greener future in cities.

Located at the entrance of FarGo Village in the heart of Coventry and designed by both artist Ben Barter and muralist Katie O’Sullivan, the 32ft mural took over 40 hours to complete. It was finished by pupils aged 9-12 from local schools, Earlsdon Primary and West Coventry Academy, adding colour to children’s imagined futures. 

When looking into a sustainable future, 46% of children believe that cost is the main obstacle when it comes to building a greener city, followed by a lack of knowledge (17%) and confusion over what to do (13%).

The mural was commissioned to celebrate E.ON’s 15-year strategic energy partnership with Coventry City Council to transform the city’s approach to carbon reduction. The initiative sees the company, which has had its UK home in Coventry for almost 30 years, become the city’s new Strategic Energy Partner, forming an alliance that aims to build a cleaner and more sustainable city and drive a new green economy that will bring jobs and skills for generations to come.

Councillor Jim O’Boyle cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change said, “It’s great to see local children so involved creating this really impactful design. We know that young people are very aware of climate change and keen to see a more sustainable future and that comes across loud and clear for all to see. And that’s why of course our strategic energy partnership with E.ON is so important.”

E.ON is also making its return as lead partner for MotoFest Coventry 2024 and the company’s customer facing arm, E.ON Next, has been announced as a major sponsor of the Godiva festival. 

• You can visit the mural at FarGo Village, 105-106 Far Gosford Street, Coventry, CV1 5EA from 22nd May 2024 onwards.
• To find out more about the mural, and the partnership with Coventry City Council, please visit eonenergy.com/coventry
• To find out more about E.ON Next, please visit eonnext.com

Ends

^{Notes to editors}

^{1. Research carried out on behalf of E.ON by 3Gem in February 2024, surveying 2,000 UK children aged 8 -16 years old.}

^{Additional stats from the research:}

^{Children in the UK}

• ^{To make their city more sustainable, children would like to see more parks and green spaces (58%), more public recycling options (52%) and more solar panels (47%).}
• ^{46% of children in the UK believe that cost is the main obstacle when it comes to creating a greener future, followed by lack of knowledge (17%) and confusion over what to do (13%).}
• ^{Almost a half (47%) of children in the UK feel that it is vital to have solar panels on all buildings and bus stops as well as over one third (34%) only wanting to see electric vehicles on the road as part of a greener future.}
• ^{In order to have a greener future within their local city, children in the UK would like to see more green spaces like parks and allotments (55%) or less landfill and plastic waste (54%).}
• ^{Over half of children in the UK (54%) believe that they need to reduce their use of plastic to make their city more sustainable, and 44% believe that they need to have more environmentally friendly public transport, like trams and electric buses.}

^{Coventry specific statistics}

• ^{Over a half of children in Coventry (58%) believe a greener future is defined by having sustainable travel options such as electric buses, trams and cycle lanes. Other factors that ranked highly include offering more recycling options and having less waste (62%), cleaner air and less pollution (58%) and being entirely powered by renewable energy (50%).}
• ^{Half of children in Coventry (50%) believe that a greener future would include more space for local wildlife to live in harmony with humans, over one third (35%) believe that there is a need to have solar panels on all buildings and bus stops and 50% would expect to see less landfill and plastic waste.} 

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