If new home shoppers in B.C. want to know the environmental advantages of homes built under the purview of BC Hydro's Power Smart New Home program, all they have to do is open the refrigerator door. What they'll find is a mock milk carton touting the environmentally friendly, Energy Star-certified appliance in which it sits.

The carton's just one element of an ambient sales kit that was developed by Vancouver-based Karacters Design Group (a division of DDB Canada) highlighting the functional benefits of a Power Smart New Home. The program enlists builders and developers to improve the energy performance in new homes in a variety of ways.

Collateral materials also include green-touting towels, boxes of washing detergent and energy-efficient light bulbs. The kit was circulated throughout Power Smart show homes and display suites in the latter part of April.

"The benefits are unexpectedly built into everyday domestic items, creating a message of less waste," explains James Bateman, CD at Karacters.