Can Individual Climate Action Drive Systemic Change? mymizu × Hachidori Denryoku on the 3.5% Rule and the Power of Community

Carry a reusable bottle. Cut down on waste. Choose renewable energy.

Even when we are already taking action for the environment, it is easy to wonder: does what I do as one person really make a difference?

And if individual action alone is not enough, how do we turn those everyday choices into something capable of changing wider systems?

That was at the heart of our recent conversation between mymizu Co-founder Mariko McTier and Hachidori Denryoku Representative Kazunari Taguchi.

From climate action and renewable energy to community, collective action and the often-cited “3.5% rule” for social change, the conversation explores how individual choices can become part of something much bigger.

🎥 Watch the full conversation

From individual action to collective change

Faced with challenges as large as climate change and plastic pollution, carrying a reusable bottle or making one different choice can sometimes feel insignificant.

But throughout mymizu's journey, we have repeatedly seen individual action spread through communities.

During the conversation, we share examples including young people in Miyakojima who took the initiative to map and grow their local network of refill spots, demonstrating one of the ideas at the heart of mymizu: co-creation.

Change becomes more powerful when people do not simply participate in something, but begin to make it their own.

Starting with what we love

Environmental communication often begins with what is wrong, what we should stop doing, or what we need to sacrifice.

This conversation explores another starting point.

One of the ideas at the core of Hachidori's work is “Save What We Love.”

What if environmental action starts with the places we love, the people we care about, the nature we want to protect and the kind of future we want to live in?

That sense of connection can be a much more sustainable source of motivation than guilt or obligation alone.

Choosing electricity as a form of action

Hachidori Denryoku also introduces a choice most of us rarely see: where our electricity comes from.

Alongside providing 100% renewable electricity, Hachidori has developed a model where part of customers' electricity payments supports the growth of renewable energy and social organisations, including mymizu.

It is an example of how an ordinary monthly decision can become part of creating a different kind of system.

The “3.5% rule” and why community matters

Another idea we explore is the widely cited “3.5% rule.”

Research into nonviolent movements has suggested that sustained, active participation by a relatively small proportion of a population can contribute to major social and political change.

The takeaway is not that 3.5% is a magic number.

It is that meaningful change does not require everyone to act at once.

And reaching that kind of momentum depends on people being able to find one another, build community and keep going together rather than trying to carry the responsibility alone.

Turning everyday choices into something bigger

Refilling a bottle or switching electricity providers will not transform society overnight.

But when individual choices connect with those of thousands of other people, norms begin to shift, new systems become possible and what once felt unusual can become part of everyday life.

So how can we turn individual climate action into collective, systemic change?

Watch the full conversation between mymizu and Hachidori Denryoku to explore that question with us.

🎥 Watch “Making Good Choices for the Future, More Comfortably”
https://youtu.be/xC4DnSXkf0M

Support mymizu through Hachidori Denryoku

When you choose Hachidori Denryoku, you can select Social Innovation Japan, the organisation behind mymizu, as your supported organisation, helping to support our work through your electricity use.

You can also get ¥1,000 off by entering our referral code “mymizu01” when you sign up.