25 June 2012: Today, Nectar and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead announce the launch of a pilot scheme aimed at incentivising positive behaviour amongst residents across the borough.

Following a successful pilot run in partnership with Birmingham City Council, Nectar will work with the Royal Borough to pilot the scheme which will reward residents with Nectar points for a variety of activities, including:

• Switching to easier methods of Council Tax payments – The Royal Borough aims to make it as easy as possible for residents to pay their council tax. Now, residents will be able to collect up to 1,000 Nectar points if they switch to more efficient, environmentally friendly methods of receiving and paying Council Tax bills.
• Volunteering – The Royal Borough is working in partnership with Windsor and Maidenhead Voluntary Action (WMVA) to encourage residents to volunteer. Residents will be awarded 1,500 Nectar points for registering with WMVA and an additional 1,000 points each time they begin a new volunteer placement.
• Adopt-a-street - Adopt-a-Street gives residents the opportunity to help keep the Royal Borough clean and tidy. Residents simply choose the area they want to ‘adopt’ and the Council provides them with the necessary tools to take part. Adopt-a-Street has been in operation since 2009, but residents will now be incentivised to sign-up and take part. They will be able to collect 500 Nectar points when they register with Adopt-a-Street and an additional 1,000 Nectar points each time they tidy their ‘adopted area’.

Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, said:
"Up and down the country local authorities are working hard to make each pound they spend go further for their residents. Incentives are an important part of that, helping drive innovation and efficiency savings through services.
"Windsor and Maidenhead are once again showing their pioneering approach to incentives. Building on the success of their recycling rewards deal, this new voluntary scheme is a great way to get local people more involved in their community by rewarding residents for their participation - proving that carrots really do work better than sticks."

Will Shuckburgh, Nectar’s Client Services Director, said:

“At Nectar we know Collectors and Partners love getting behind initiatives they believe in, with millions being rewarded for reducing plastic bag usage by Sainsbury’s or switching to paperless billing by British Gas. It’s really exciting to see the public sector now using Nectar points as a proven tool to effectively drive positive behaviour in the community. This has already been done in partnership with Birmingham City Council, rewarding recycling or more active lifestyles through leisure centre usage. Now the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is looking at an even wider range of positive behaviours. It’s really innovative thinking we know our Collectors will support.”

Cllr David Burbage, Leader of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, said:

“As a Big Society vanguard council, we are constantly looking for new and different ways of encouraging residents to get involved in their local communities and we are really excited by this innovative pilot.

“By joining forces with Nectar we are giving residents well-deserved recognition for helping others, and making our borough a great place to live. And, by changing the ways they manage their Council Tax, residents can also help make our borough greener as well as saving Council Tax payers’ money by enabling us to cut paper bills.“

The pilot with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead will launch in July, However, residents can register their interest in the scheme now and ensure that they receive all further information at launch by visiting rbwm.gov.uk/web/nectar.

Nectar’s partnership with Birmingham City Council is now in a period of assessment, but initial results are positive and it is hoped that this scheme will become a permanent initiative.

For further information, please contact:
Nectar: Megan Ratcliffe, megan.ratcliffe@aimia.com (020 7152 4881)
Emma Dennis, Emma.Dennis@Fishburn-Hedges.co.uk (020 7544 3049).

Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead: Cllr David Burbage, Council Leader, cllr.burbage@rbwm.gov.uk (01628 796322) or Andrew Elkington, Head of Policy and Performance, andrew.elkington@rbwm.gov.uk (01628 796025)

About Nectar
Nectar, the United Kingdom’s leading coalition loyalty programme, is owned by Aimia, a global leader in loyalty management.

In 2012, Nectar is celebrating 10 years of rewarding British shoppers and has given back over £1.7 billion of rewards to collectors, including money off shopping, travel, days out and cinema tickets.

Over 18.5 million collectors earn Nectar points when shopping for groceries, doing DIY, booking a holiday, paying household bills, buying petrol and even getting their car serviced. Collectors also earn Nectar points every time they shop online via nectar.com at over 500 leading online retailers.

Nectar was awarded the “Best card-based loyalty programme” at the 2012 Loyalty Awards for Europe and the Middle East.

For more information about Nectar, please visit: www.nectar.com

About the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a vanguard local authority for the Big Society. It is recognised nationally as a cutting edge council that is prepared to pilot new approaches to service delivery and resident involvement.

The council’s over-riding principle is that residents must come first in everything it does. This is reflected in its Big Society projects which are built on resident involvement, of which volunteering for council and other services is a central part. The result have included an expansion of library services and opening times – against the national trend – the opening of a brand new museum in Windsor and a national first scheme in conjunction with WRVS to reward residents who volunteer to provide low level care for older and vulnerable people in the community.