Husqvarna is a global category leader in robotic lawn mowers, a product that by design contributes to the issue of declining biodiversity. Husqvarna was struggling to adequately address the problem and knew that simply raising awareness wouldn’t suffice. A survey echoed a similar dilemma among consumers: while it was considered important, many felt powerless to take action. We introduced Rewilding Mode, a bold move that showcases Husqvarna’s commitment to sustainable technology. Yet, the mower serves only as the enabler. The real hero is the empowered customer who, equipped with our solution, makes an impact for SDG 11 from their backyard.

Husqvarna is the industry leader in robotic lawn moving worldwide with key markets in countries that place a high value on picture-perfect lawns. In fact, 20-30% of the green areas in European cities are made up of private gardens. Yet, private gardens are often overlooked in the discussion concerning biodiversity loss, even though excessive lawn mowing poses a threat to potential pollinators. It’s a global problem, but one that requires local engagement.

If each garden owner in Europe set aside 10% of their gardens, it would equal four times the size of Europe’s largest nature reserve. This has the potential to benefit vital species on our planet significantly.

As an industry leader, Husqvarna has both a responsibility and an opportunity to change the discourse around what perfect lawns should look like and why.

Husqvarna wants to actively drive the transition towards reduced climate impact and increased circularity in their industry. Their commitment to sustainable innovation is evident with their resource-smart and zero-carbon solutions, aimed at diminishing reliance on traditional fuels in lawn mowers. Their targeted emissions reduction of 35% by 2025, as approved by SBTi, makes them the first forest and garden company in the world to do so. With the goal of introducing 50 circular innovations by 2025, of which 20 were already launched by summer 2023, Husqvarna’s initiatives span every stage from design to supply chain to end-of-life product management.

Husqvarna also nudges its customers in the right direction by encouraging the adoption of renewable energy for low-emission battery charging and integrating scheduling features to accommodate the habits of local fauna in the garden. Their overarching aim is to inspire 5 million customers and colleagues to embrace sustainable choices.

Rewilding Mode is a welcomed addition to Husqvarna’s sustainability work, especially impacting SDG 11 and 15. Husqvarna aims to challenge the picture-perfect lawn their competitors promote, by showing that leaving a little organic chaos to thrive in the garden supports local biodiversity and pollinators. Though leaving 10% of one’s lawn uncut may not seem like much, it can make a crucial difference on an aggregated level. Rewilding Mode is also a strong proof of concept that equipping customers with easy-to-use tools empowers them to make an impact.

Outside the key markets, Husqvarna is a company mostly unheard of as robotic lawn mowers are rare. Therefore, the market-leading position needed to be solidified globally. To strengthen brand values as pioneering and sustainable, the campaign needed to demonstrate technical edge yet strike a chord emotionally to drive Husqvarna’s brand top of mind for consumers.

The objectives of the campaign were to:

- Raise awareness of Husqvarna’s robotics division.

- Connect the Husqvarna brand with a new audience, mainly a modern tech audience.

- Generate discussion regarding our perspective on the “perfect lawn” and create actual value for pollinators in cities.

- Generate coverage beyond garden and home-focused outlets.

- Increase brand associations with advanced technology and climate awareness.

- Demonstrate how advanced Husqvarna’s robotic lawn mowers distinguish themselves from the competition and justify the higher price premium.

The public awareness of how biodiversity loss threatens critical ecosystems is increasing. The COP15 biodiversity conference was a pivotal moment, during which countries sealed a new international deal to curb species loss and protect nature. EU had in parallel introduced an agricultural policy encouraging farmers to save 5% of their land to strengthen biodiversity at scale in Europe. In this context, Husqvarna recognized it needed to accelerate its proactive work for supporting local biodiversity. However, biodiversity is still a blind spot for companies. Only a quarter of organizations worldwide have devised strategies to address biodiversity loss (Capgemini, 2023). Thus, we also saw an opportunity for Husqvarna to be a pioneer in their industry and beyond.

Biodiversity loss is monitored on a global and national level, but most countries lack a local systemization of species loss. We saw an opportunity for Husqvarna to contribute to local understanding and monitoring of biodiversity.

The idea is as simple as it is ambitious, creating the largest nature reserve in Europe – one lawn at a time. We created an innovative feature that took the fight to the backyard. Literally. Rewilding Mode is the world’s first feature designed to rewild private gardens to let pollinators thrive. Thanks to a strong partnership with Husqvarna’s engineering team, we transformed 245,392 robotic lawnmowers worldwide into environmental warriors. Using advanced radar technology, we set the mowers to leave 10% of each lawn uncut, creating a sanctuary for pollinators. Beyond mere lawn care, this innovation was a testament to Husqvarna’s commitment to sustainable technology. It also activated the consumer by turning them into the hero and instigating a discussion around what a perfect lawn actually looks like. By enabling people to participate actively, we strengthened the bond between customer, product, and brand – illustrating how technology can promote environmental stewardship.

The target audience is tech enthusiasts, fond of home automation, and expect seamlessness with products. They frequent tech media and rely on websites or communities for product recommendations. They have started showing greater concern for environmental issues, which is why we needed to position Husqvarna as a tech-driven and environmentally conscious leader. A consumer survey revealed that almost two-thirds wanted to strengthen biodiversity in their gardens but were struggling to know how to contribute to such a complex issue. To encourage real change, we had to make a move that caused behavioral change.

We wanted Rewilding Mode to be simple and user-friendly, right from its design to functionality. To ensure adoption, we kept things easy: the calculation was done automatically in the app, suggesting the area for rewilding and activated with a click on their mobile device. The call to action was to help build Europe’s largest nature reserve.

The new update was seamlessly integrated, driving increased customer engagement in the app. It was released in early spring, allowing users to activate it by summer. We worked with engineers and environmental experts alike to ensure maximal impact. The global launch included films in key markets, generating attention in both traditional and tech media. Gardening tips were developed by garden expert Tom Massey to encourage everyone to rewild their backyard.

The films were shared on YouTube, educating viewers on the update’s environmental benefits. This was boosted with additional media placements at Meta platforms but with a very limited budget, it was only to gain additional attention to the website and hero film. The boost was timed around two weeks after the launch. The focus was earned media to reach the audience at their preferred sites and sources. A second media outreach was done during the International Day for Biological Diversity.

The real win? Over 1,000,000 square meters of lawn have transitioned into habitats for pollinators – a number that grows daily. The work contributes value to existing customers’ gardens by creating new, rewilded zones for pollinators. It gave them a story to share with family and friends, which further increased brand affiliation and recognition within their communities.

Rewilding Mode sets an example for the industry of how to innovate to counteract the externalities of one’s product. It also instigated new discussions about perfect lawns, effectively distinguishing Husqvarna from competitors.

Featured in over 200 major outlets, such as Fast Company and Forbes, it has touched over 312 million people across 20 countries. The campaign achieved a PR value of 94 million SEK. Notably, 8.5 million customers were engaged and over 3 million viewed the YouTube film.

Rewilding Mode gives consumers a tangible tool to make a difference in their everyday lives. Given the urgency of the issue, raising awareness of biodiversity loss is not enough – we need action. Rewilding Mode proves how more sustainable ways are welcomed when the barrier to adoption is low. The work is also a powerful example that can nudge competitors in the industry and beyond to follow in its footsteps.

The feature is highlighted at vendors and is now standard on all new, compatible Husqvarna mowers. The hope is therefore that all Husqvarna customers, existing and future ones, rewild their gardens to scale the impact.

Husqvarna is also exploring how to further innovate product features to strengthen biodiversity.

Carbon emissions were not measured for the project. However, we worked in a very resource-effective manner with a small team, e.g. to produce the campaign film. This decision was influenced by both budget constraints and awareness of the environmental impact of large production teams during the campaign shoot. We worked with a local production company to minimize this further. Given the nature of this project, we paid respect to the environment and fauna in which we shot the campaign film. In both pre-and post-production, we used online tools to minimize impact further.

As for Husqvarna’s own operations, where a large part of the development process was held, they are adamant about reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions. All buildings are heated using renewable energy sources and Husqvarnaa has transitioned to electric vehicles, despite its higher cost. They monitor energy consumption and calculate emissions to continuously follow up on its Carbon target set for 2025, which has already been reached. All meetings throughout the entire process of the project were held online to minimize travel.