tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-284414812012-01-03T14:57:21.663ZThis blog is an attempt to capture examples and evidence of communication used for the benefit of society. I'm particularly interested in communication that that successfully encourages us to lead more sustainable lives. I'm based in the UK and happy to hear about stuff like this wherever it is happening but can only publish comments in English.Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.comBlogger3401100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-39194269886527308452011-12-31T17:27:00.002Z2011-12-31T17:41:34.749Z

The end of the year is a good time to review what you are doing and where to head next.This blog was set up as a place to log my growing interest in behaviour and the role of communication in influencing it.Initially, posting about material I found interesting helped me direct what was then spare time to the topic.Then the blog became a good place to log interesting materials discovered along the

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-6742480220054314582011-11-24T10:31:00.007Z2011-11-24T14:44:45.449Z

Trust and reputation seem to be emerging as key ingredients likely to affect whether the Government's forthcoming Green Deal is taken up.The Department of Energy & Climate Change has opened consultation on the forthcoming Green Deal and the requirement on energy companies to contribute £1.3bn annually to ensure even low income households can access to energy-saving home improvements.According to

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-91994893561698557222011-11-21T11:40:00.005Z2011-11-21T11:54:40.793Z

It must the time of year for toolkits and toolboxes.The Forestry Commission has produced a guide to getting citizen engagement with the forests over which it has stewardship. Lots of professional communication rarely gets beyond the base levels of the pyramid shown here. But as the document points out, this bottom level provides the groundwork on which to develop mutual trust, understanding and

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-47735363948622695212011-11-21T11:31:00.003Z2011-11-21T11:36:20.321Z

The Department for Transport has produced a new guide for anyone interested in changing travel behaviours.The Behavioural Insights Toolkit is very accessible and has some really handy appendices. I particularly like the theoretical review in Appendix A, which crunches thousands and thousands of pages of potential material into a neat little summary.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-65596184578798078782011-11-10T12:10:00.004Z2011-11-10T12:27:13.714Z

I have recently come across a couple of freely available discussions of the usefulness of Corporate Social Responsibility that make good background reading to the topic.Interesting that they're both found from the finance sector. The first is written by John Surdyk, Director of Wisconsin School of Business in the USA.The second comes from a network supporting micro-enterprise and is Chapter Two

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-10059755347432688362011-10-31T19:48:00.005Z2011-10-31T20:06:43.968Z

That, in the end, was the title of my PhD, which is now available De Montfort University's open research archive.In short, its purpose was to contribute to the debate about the best approach to engage citizens with sustainable behaviour.It examined six distinct communication activities aimed at encouraging individuals to adopt more sustainable behaviours. Questionnaires were used to gather data

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-80004715758383814832011-10-18T13:29:00.002+01:002011-10-18T13:36:01.999+01:00

The Green Deal will become of interest to communicators at the point when it is a proposition ready for the public to be persuaded to take up.The project is one of the Coalition's big-win ideas that could see us tackling climate change and making our houses cosier without uncomfortable upfront costs.Interesting however, to see how the project is developing. One missing ingredient is whether the

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-3988359720705892182011-10-17T11:17:00.002+01:002011-10-17T11:23:31.433+01:00

This is according to CBI leader at Green Business dinner: Speech to CBI Green Business Dinner Dr Neil Bentley, CBI Deputy Director-GeneralThe speech contains some examples of companies which are tackling sustainability issues, also the view of business on the shortcomings of current UK policy.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-44443639597625125602011-10-17T08:58:00.003+01:002011-10-17T09:17:25.570+01:00

Adam Corner's Green Living blog reveals that the 'nudge' approach to encouraging behaviour change has informed thinking about how to make the forthcoming Green Deal a success.Launched next year, the Green Deal will enable people to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and pay for the work out of future savings on their energy bill.Previous, arguably more generous schemes, have not seen

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-33486395746314026762011-10-03T11:31:00.002+01:002011-10-03T12:00:14.442+01:00

Very much looking forward to Tom Crompton and Richard Hawkins coming to De Montfort University later this month. They're going to be talking about Common Cause, supported by Oxfam, WWF, Action for Children and the Public Interest Research Centre.The core argument of Common Cause is that we should do more than just communicate immediate (self-interest) benefits of behaviour change. An example

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-9897322153180240012011-09-15T09:08:00.005+01:002011-09-15T09:51:33.806+01:00

An idea that's been washing around in the UK for a while seems to me to be chiming with new evidence in the US - that climate change campaigns have historically framed messages around their own values when they should be framed round the values of the people targeted.Chris Rose in the UK has segmented people according to whether they are 'settlers', 'pioneers' or 'prospectors'. Very roughly,

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-69681994242477234952011-09-08T09:16:00.003+01:002011-09-08T09:33:34.115+01:00

How do you know if a company's claims about being sustainable are true, or just greenwash?That's a current debate discussed in a current Ethical Corporation article. Do you ask companies to verify that the facts of a claim are correct? Or are you verifying that what a company is making is progress in line with what its stakeholders want it to do?If you use a straightforward lists of quantifiable

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-74180346387105903052011-09-05T12:07:00.002+01:002011-09-05T12:27:14.093+01:00

According to a Defra news release: The Grey Squirrels (Prohibition of Importation and Keeping) Order 1937, part of the Destructive Imported Animals Act 1932, makes it a criminal offence for a land owner not to notify Defra of the presence of grey squirrels. There've been grey squirrels in my garden for years and I've never told a soul. This archane legislation is highlighted as reasonable to

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-409007792915039122011-08-31T18:37:00.002+01:002011-08-31T18:39:33.344+01:00

Looking forward to reading Kathleen Hoffman's new blog as I'm sure it'll have much information in it that's transferable to environment behaviour.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-46431586630456955252011-08-05T12:31:00.006+01:002011-08-05T18:03:43.081+01:00

The CHARM project brings together theory from two different disciplines and uses digital technology, including Facebook, to encourage sustainable behaviour change.From social psychology, the social norm approach is being used to influence behaviour by telling people what others like them do.Practice theory suggests that sustainable or unsustainable behaviours are best understood as being part of

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-32356289531531274642011-07-29T14:53:00.010+01:002011-07-29T16:47:53.104+01:00

I think there are three points at which green issues and communication come together.One is green marketing, where you are promoting your wares on the basis they are a green choice.Another is greening your company, where you are contributing to the story of how your organisation as a whole is operating appropriate green policies and actions.The third is where you are encouraging other people (

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-28199240416850456712011-07-29T11:42:00.006+01:002011-07-29T11:53:25.561+01:00

Psychologist Robert Cialdini was on Radio 4 this morning talking about how his work on social norms and reducing towel usage for the hotel industry has been trialled in the NHS - and has resulted in reduced costly 'no shows' for appointments to see a family doctor.I've mentioned his work previously - he and his fellow researchers are experimenting with simple tweaks in messaging that play to the

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-17616805836277387872011-07-21T11:33:00.003+01:002011-07-21T11:37:41.278+01:00

This US-sourced article off the Institute for PR's website walks through how to measure and separate out the value of PR from other promotions such as advertising.Some pretty impressive case study examples towards the end.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-81155676337272648202011-07-19T12:30:00.003+01:002011-07-19T12:54:45.289+01:00

Baroness Neuberger, chair of the House of Lords Science and Technology Sub-Committee, says the Government's nudge policy won't achieve enough on its own.She says that reliance on nudges - tweaks to processes that encourage us to take the healthy/green/good option because it is presented as the default for instance - won't achieve the big changes society needs unless used alongside policy and

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-83133700026280002652011-06-29T14:39:00.007+01:002011-06-29T14:56:36.595+01:00

According to a recent report by the consultancy firm Accenture, most consumers do not realise that their electricity consumption impacts on the environment.While 85% acknowlege that fuel use (such as in cars and planes) has negative repercussions for the environment, only 42% are similarly aware of the impact of home energy use.The report, Engaging the New Energy Consumer, uses statistics like

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-20002447327767775962011-06-25T19:14:00.003+01:002011-06-25T19:16:54.685+01:00

Good review on Tom Watson's blog about how the 'good stuff' companies do is badged, with a move away from 'corporate social responsibility' reported. Interesting that it is not, publicly at least, seen as anything to do with PR.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-47236031047904265062011-06-21T10:26:00.003+01:002011-06-21T10:39:02.430+01:00

There's a very useful guide here for anyone looking to review their communication evaluation.It follows on from the Barcelona Principles last year, which called on the PR industry to move away from advertising value equivalents as a measure of performance.The slide-based guide has a page for each type of campaign and promises to be a very useful template for anyone trying to build their

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-24219043954569613212011-06-21T09:57:00.002+01:002011-06-21T10:10:50.320+01:00

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne doesn't always get it right when he's dealing with the press, but he or his aide gave, I think, a good example of how to build a case for keeping climate change legislation in a speech reported in the Guardian.We all hate unecessary bureaucracy so deregulation is instinctively appealing and ideas about 'one in one out' logical common sense.However the proposals are

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-33621802114680116612011-05-26T12:47:00.013+01:002011-05-26T14:38:28.540+01:00

I mentioned earlier a conference I attended in London recently, the presentations for which are now on the web.Click here for videos of talks in full by the head of the Government Behavioural Insights Team David Halpern, plus speakers from Unilever and B&Q.It's a shame environmental psychologist Doug McKenzie-Mohr's talk wasn't able to be posted. It was useful for his caution over-reliance on

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-69857142347453315672011-05-26T09:43:00.003+01:002011-05-26T09:49:48.526+01:00

Interesting blog that I've not seen before - the We First blog by Simon Mainwaring. I found this post of particular interest, given that it succinctly cuts to the chase about what should underpin ustainable development for business and better, why.It won't appeal to everyone. It will still read far too capitalist and growth orientated for some people. However it does offer an argument that is

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-33805186007542888242011-05-26T09:16:00.002+01:002011-05-26T09:31:01.836+01:00

Interesting post here about how to tackle the thorny issue of why study after study shows a gap between what we say we do or intend to do, and what we actually do.The first thing to acknowledge is that study after study also finds evidence that we do to an extent do, what we say we will do, and that is useful when trying to build an explanation of behaviour.But it's also very useful to

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-10010681869373769982011-05-19T15:57:00.007+01:002011-05-19T17:17:25.612+01:00

A new report from the New Local Government Network makes recommendations, with examples, on how to identify the citizens that are likely to deliver the 'Big Society'.It argues that with budgets about to be radically cut back, the only way to continue some services is with more input from ordinary people.The idea is to identify who are the 'pioneers' in the community and present behaviour change

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-52659297626282916092011-05-10T12:13:00.002+01:002011-05-10T12:22:03.234+01:00

Professor Jeff French has posted some mini guides to social marketing on Scribd. I particularly like the quick-read accessible overview for evaluating small-scale social marketing projects.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-24314267887852062972011-04-22T14:47:00.004+01:002011-04-22T14:59:28.458+01:00

Interesting post here on the potential that simple energy saving holds for cutting down on carbon emissions.Largely US examples but also some EU performance data further down the article.Comes from the Green Economy Post, which I've only recently come across.One suggestion in the article is to make more use of opt-outs rather than opt-ins. In other words - have machines that are automatically

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-22980584862576960932011-04-14T15:12:00.002+01:002011-04-14T15:19:06.429+01:00

Nice walk through the history of evaluation of communication in the UK and beyond available on Youtube. Prof Tom Watson's lecture is in two parts; here and here. He thinks corporate comms will continue to advance its measurement, whereas measurement of publicity efforts will lag behind. Social marketing comms, which encourages behaviour changes for social benefit, probably fits best in the latter

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-32819222562669560522011-04-14T14:18:00.002+01:002011-04-14T14:22:07.478+01:00

Interesting information here on the Ethical Corporation website about how the Co-op is stepping up its corporate responsibility. You sense from the article a bit of frustration that Marks and Spencer get the credit for being leaders, when the Co-op has quietly been leading the game but without the same level of communication. How much and how often to communication your organisation's

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-77043583442937005522011-04-08T14:24:00.003+01:002011-04-08T14:33:20.710+01:00

Doug McKenzie Mohr has a long track record of writing and working in the field of social marketing and he's in London later this month for a conference I'm hoping to attend called Challenging behaviours: making sustainable choices everyday choices. Although the conference appears full it will be available on the web.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-52447499536846768812011-03-18T17:36:00.003Z2011-03-18T17:39:51.793Z

There's a nice little online book here which explains in straightforward language how to achieve (or be able to judge) good quality quantitative research. It's about the medical world but generally useful.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-44550810101405872011-03-02T13:32:00.005Z2011-03-02T13:47:06.587Z

Nice article here about the role of innovation (and unstated, also of communication) in bringing in the next wave of change we require if we are build a more sustainable future.People don't see the need or have the drive for the provision of something they already have (e.g. energy) in a new way, says article author Mallen Baker. That's why leaving it to the market won't work.There's also a role

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-86002205925964225722011-02-08T10:23:00.012Z2011-02-08T19:45:48.246Z

Spillover is the idea that if you encourage people to undertake one environmentally-friendly behaviour they'll be more likely to try another. In that way, little changes lead to bigger things.It's a concept promoted by DEFRA (Defra calls them 'wedge' behaviours) and also FUTERRA ('foot in the door' techniques).An alternative argument is that put forward by people like University of Cambridge

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-79729710359434023892011-02-01T16:11:00.003Z2011-02-01T16:22:13.826Z

Nice example here of a short video about climate change aimed at school pupils. Focusses on actions the music industry could take.Not completely sure the target audience will be as beguiled as I was by the splendid cafe chosen for the discussion but the rest is pretty good.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-76136994703682116222011-01-21T16:52:00.004Z2011-01-21T17:32:48.815Z

Earlier this week I was at a guest lecture at Leicester University given by Emma Smith and among the topics was the amount of data already collected that can be helpful not just to academic researchers but when planning a communications campaign.Some of the following I knew about, but others were a nice discovery:OECD, World Bank, UN, UNESCO, and the Inter-university Consortium for Political and

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-91981837264897278872011-01-10T09:17:00.002Z2011-01-10T09:36:13.197Z

Climate Week, which runs for the first time in March this year, has already got lots of high level backing, with sponsorship from Tesco and supportive words from David Cameron, Sir Paul McCartney and a host of others.The list of business backers should help this event get a bit more coverage.PR Week says the event is aimed at 'invigorating' the public's view of climate change. And that certainly

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-89922055139664632722010-12-15T16:03:00.003Z2010-12-15T16:17:10.009Z

Recent article in Guardian here suggests corporate social responsibility is becoming embedded. Not just the thinking of 50 interviewees but also pulls together other recent research.The original research the article is based on is from Echo Research and is here. Further comment on the article here.Given that some of the info is gathered post recession it is good to know that trust and

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-22060948177968608352010-11-21T16:26:00.010Z2010-11-21T17:13:45.704Z

Despite the title this isn't a book suggesting climate change will be quite pleasant.Marek Kohn has used IPCC physical projections about the changes to our climate by the year 2100 and added the likely social changes that'll lead to, focussing on the British Isles.Five degree temperature rises will make most of the South of England so hot that we'll need to do our socialising outdoors in the

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-27174251331416975412010-11-14T12:13:00.004Z2010-11-14T12:37:42.147Z

The 'earthcast' laid on by book publisher Earthscan this week offered some up to date thinking about encouraging behaviour change relevant to sustainability/climate change.Lorraine Whitmarsh and Chris Rose come at the issue from different backgrounds, the former being a researcher and the latter largely a practitioner.It looks like the slides and talk are available on open access by clicking the

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-28335785918257059852010-11-03T11:16:00.001Z2010-11-03T11:20:52.833Z

Only recently learned of this video, which is very accessible. Another reminder that the shopping bags are a distraction and it's the stuff in them that we need to be thinking about.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-61545820229458006942010-11-03T10:36:00.004Z2010-11-03T11:13:27.637Z

If you can bear to watch this rather slow and ponderous video on YouTube you'll see Defra claiming its work with forests a shining example of sustainable development. There's more on the importance of forests on the department's website here.So it's an awkward sell now to be proposing to sell off big chunks of forest.Government departments are supposed to be exemplifying what sustainability is

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-23144447806863904132010-10-27T14:15:00.004+01:002010-10-27T14:24:56.499+01:00

There's a potentially good example of 'proper' CSR rather than window dressing here by Toby Webb of the Ethical Corporation.I recently spoke to a senior business figure who told me that post-BP oil spill, CSR was 'dead'. When I asked him what he meant he said that gestures to make a company look good and get column inches have had it. The only CSR that matters now is one that adds clear value to

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-29278558537347882632010-09-21T19:52:00.009+01:002010-09-21T20:28:48.216+01:00

It was interesting to hear a report from the Liberal Democrat Party conference today suggesting the party was going a bit cold on green issues. The Today programme on Radio 4 reported that it was no longer a priority.I can't help but wonder if that's because the state of the economy really is dominating everything, or because Lib Dems are sensitive to the fact it's also slipping down the public's

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-90330528611127086642010-09-20T18:19:00.004+01:002010-09-20T19:07:54.793+01:00

The lack of posts recently has been the consequence of my being busy working and writing up. Here's a slightly longer post to compensate...A recent issue of PR Week suggested that the Central Office of Information is the conduit for roughly half of all government campaigns. Given that in its annual report the COI reported spending more than £500 million, that's a lot of money spent on campaigns

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-92187924841865005522010-09-08T19:45:00.003+01:002010-09-08T19:51:19.722+01:00

Love this post from the gents who wrote Sustainability Marketing - there is such a fuss about plastic bags and it's good to be reminded that it's the shopping in them that's the real issue.The best line for me...Plastic bags represent a ‘side show’ to the main consumer lifestyle event, where changing consumption habits and imposing taxes makes gives everyone a warm glow and the illusion of

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-55686993313363638352010-09-06T13:00:00.003+01:002010-09-06T13:05:13.385+01:00

Thanks to Mike Newton-Ward for sharing the fruits of his summer reading and providing an update on new and recent materials to emerge about social marketing.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-68220369139753706222010-08-16T13:10:00.006+01:002010-08-16T14:17:05.698+01:00

The coalition government is certainly making the most of the lack of an effective opposition at the moment.Or maybe they've done such a good job at convincing us we're in a dire economic state that 'anything goes'.I'm a bit surprised that David Cameron's wooing of wealthy tourists from China and India hasn't attracted much criticism over its lack of sustainability credentials.It seems we've moved

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-81274253291865336472010-07-21T13:04:00.004+01:002010-07-21T13:25:34.022+01:00

This guide on changing energy behaviour has now been downloaded 3000+ times, according to one of the project's partners who was speaking at an event I attended recently.The BEHAVE project evaluated more than 40 case studies of energy behaviour projects to try to distil what works into a best practice guide.It is useful for advising on the use (and limitations) of PR (pages 12 & 31) and some

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-55585039543751645752010-06-20T08:16:00.006+01:002010-06-20T09:03:46.419+01:00

Energy efficiency isn't the most sexy subject in the world. And it's lack of sexiness is stopping it from getting recognition as something worth doing to improve people's lives.That's the opinion of a keynote speaker at an energy efficiency conference I've just been to. Diana Urge-Vorsatz was one of the key players involved in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) whose work

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-84395995457981837682010-06-11T16:41:00.002+01:002010-06-11T16:49:11.300+01:00

As this very reasonable article on Ethical Corp contends, it's early, but not too early, to start examining how BP's CSR policies appear to have been more about window dressing than fundamentals.UK media has picked up a bit on reporting BP's nightmare in the Gulf of Mexico since I last commented on it, but more for its effect on our pensions than for what it says about a key British company's

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-57767849584533556132010-06-11T16:05:00.003+01:002010-06-11T16:14:00.285+01:00

...but only perhaps if you display it in your front window or invite lots and lots of people into your home to use the bathroom.Recent research indicates that, just like many other consumer purchase decisions, green purchase decisions are made partly because of what it says about us.I missed this study when it first came out, so am endebted to Gillian for passing on the link.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-60407527694864034092010-06-11T10:04:00.003+01:002010-06-11T10:10:32.346+01:00

A conference of non profit and social marketing researchers has just been held in Bucharest. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go but luckily all the papers have quickly been posted on the web here.Useful for anyone who needs to encourage truck drivers to eat healthily, get folks to give to charity, give blood or take up higher education. Also useful if you want to discourage people from drinking

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-14166504761963645472010-06-03T08:33:00.002+01:002010-06-03T08:38:41.326+01:00

Futerra and UNEP have published a very useful guide explaining communciations planning for sustainability.It has lots of examples and is highly readable.The document was part of a bigger programme of projects for which there is a very useful list of similar resources on this page.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-9763284919840132272010-05-25T08:57:00.009+01:002010-05-27T11:12:54.156+01:00

The BP oil spill on the US coast is interesting to watch on many counts. Obviously it's a major environmental problem but for observers of news and PR there are some other little nuggets to observe.News is always bigger when it's closer to home. So the way this news is impacted by the fact it's on America's doorstep. So while we don't yet know where it will finally sit on the scale of the world's

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-83472741955373553242010-05-12T16:45:00.003+01:002010-05-12T16:57:34.154+01:00

I missed this when it was on the radio but fortunately it has appeared on the Ethical Corporation's website.It is EC's Toby Webb, talking on Radio 4's Today programme about whether companies are really all that bothered about behaving sustainably or in other responsible ways.Some good current examples talked about, including BP and M&S.Another contributor points out that with social media like

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-29307299190075427032010-05-08T07:49:00.004+01:002010-05-08T08:12:16.613+01:00

A recent poll in the US appears to suggest that the fall-off in environmental interest in the UK is mirrored over there.According to the Gallup poll, people have less positive attitudes to the issue of 'environmentalism' and there is debate about whether this is due to the poor state of the economy or the fact that the issue is becoming more associated with a particular political party (something

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-10633408178002878282010-04-20T09:25:00.002+01:002010-04-20T09:33:40.458+01:00

Or rather don't. If you've ever got your dashes and your hyphens muddled up, there is a good post differentiating the two here.I've always been a fan of the dash, so am disappointed to read in the Concise Rules of APA Style that it shouldn't be over-used because it weakens the flow of material :-(

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-14375955619490200272010-04-02T15:24:00.004+01:002010-04-02T15:48:32.522+01:00

Public communication campaigns are often criticised for raising awareness with the assumption that this will lead to action. For lots of reasons it frequently doesn't. This is why communication campaigns, especially those aimed at changing behaviours which involve a fair bit of engagement from participants, need to identify and track changes beyond just 'raising awareness'.There's a good

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-66632840826006046302010-03-31T14:55:00.009+01:002010-03-31T16:44:16.123+01:00

Even though it's a few years old this freely available online report from a researcher in the US is full of wisdom about the current state of communication evaluation.The commentary that public communication campaigns are generally better at process evaluation than outcome or impact evaluation won't be a surprise to many people working in this field and is still an issue.I've lost track of the

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-38970650591497388802010-03-25T18:50:00.006Z2010-03-25T19:30:40.705Z

There's some interesting wisdom about how we think in recent Food Standards Agency research into attitudes to food.The more familiar it seems we are with words, the less scary they seem to be.In one example, 31% of people were concerned about eating food cooked in a microwave, but 57% were concerned about eating food from a magnetron (another name for a microwave).The survey found a pattern with

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-32696894894435896932010-03-09T09:52:00.004Z2010-03-09T10:17:11.994Z

An alternative view to encouraging people to change what's called their 'environmentally signficiant behaviours' (flying, eating meat, driving everywhere, super-size shopping) is not to worry about it because technology will save the day.And it is certainly encouraging when new ideas come along that are going to be part of the answer. The new smart meters we'll get in our homes by 2020 for

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-43445910743606361662010-03-05T13:34:00.002Z2010-03-05T13:49:41.089Z

Consulting stakeholders and encouraging participation are buzzwords in many organisations. This page has a two minute video separating out the different levels of involving stakeholders.You don't need to be interested in environmental issues to transport these ideas into other areas.Huge amounts of similarity, I think, with core concepts in PR about communication models from one-way through to

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-57340561035658106442010-03-03T13:08:00.002Z2010-03-03T13:10:13.214Z

This snippet advertising a forthcoming Green Monday event demonstrates how M&S and Wal Mart both see being sustainable as a key part of a successful business strategy.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-59807086479235724232010-02-23T11:51:00.007Z2010-02-23T13:55:12.785Z

There are some really interesting reading in a new publication called From hot air to happy endings published by the UK based environmental think tank Green Alliance.One the face of it this is yet another communication handbook telling people how to communicate about climate change, and there have been several of these over the last few years. (For a recent example click here.)But the format of

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-79727746202782306842010-02-09T15:12:00.007Z2010-02-09T17:41:36.283Z

It would be fascinating to know the reason behind quite a quick shift in public opinion shown by a new Populus poll. The poll suggests that the number of people that think climate change is real and largely man made has dropped from 41% to 26% since November.In the intervening time there have been two stories rumbling which have encouraged a lack of trust in the science about climate change (for

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-10130305310060200242010-02-05T14:52:00.002Z2010-02-05T15:04:30.666Z

The Dancing Disability Enthymeme is a nice post reviewing a new persuasion campaign in the US. It's on a blog I've just seen for the first time run by a US researcher (among many other talents) also interested in persuasion and behaviour change.Posted using ShareThis

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-67535622563474200852010-02-01T13:35:00.003Z2010-02-01T13:55:33.025Z

There's a useful collection of videos and other material now online from an annual conference of communicators from the field of environment and conservation. Communicate brings together professional environmental and conservation communicators at an annual conference. Defra has provided funds so that the rest of us can access the material too.My main interest, having not been able to attend, was

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-24701479798019659242010-01-29T09:03:00.007Z2010-01-29T09:37:52.681Z

David Cameron has indicated an interest in using psychology previously, and it has popped up again as a lens for seeing how people have responded to government policy at the annual financial shindig at Davos. This article in the Guardian was written by UK shadow chancellor George Osborne together with Chicago professor and co-author of Nudge, Richard Thaler.One section of direct relevance to

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-55002939545257485282010-01-25T12:21:00.005Z2010-01-25T12:31:45.225Z

A new guide for communicators produced by the COI would be useful to anyone working in PR wanting to get to grips with how social psychology theory can be incorporated into behaviour change communications.It reviews lots of behaviour change theories from social psychology and behavioural economics and gives practical examples of campaigns which have been guided by these theories.The five step

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-41849504439948689032010-01-24T09:13:00.006Z2010-01-24T09:51:59.967Z

Quite a lot of environment campaigns, those run by corporates and even by governments, suggest business as usual is fine, just use a bit less energy.So we can carry on owning a car, just drive it a bit less. We can have a new plasma telly or two, so long as we don't leave them on standby. For many people who are really into climate change thinking, this isn't very convincing, and they're looking

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-71242881590774982462010-01-23T16:02:00.012Z2010-03-06T11:39:55.682Z

A post of a few days ago started with the opposite view, and summarised a point made in an article I was reading.I've not researched it but my gut instinct is that in many cases, good CSR will help a company's financial performance, it's just hard to compare two things you often use different criteria to assess.So it was handy to come across this piece which points to the alternative view - that

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-19041815331764678532010-01-20T08:58:00.004Z2010-01-21T11:49:06.392Z

There's a thought-provoking article about the bid to take over Cadbury and what role its CSR reputation has played in the battle on Ethicalcorp.None really. Mallen Baker writes that despite the good record of Cadbury, all that matters today is how much money is on the table.A reminder to all of us about targeting messages to key audiences and their concerns. And a powerful argument for why good

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-15362592123142436032010-01-06T08:47:00.003Z2010-01-06T08:53:32.097Z

Some interesting back reading about CSR, and also about the structure (what 'bits' make up CSR) in this post by Toby Webb.If the link to the Drucker article doesn't work try here.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-69098851785134703032009-12-17T16:31:00.002Z2009-12-17T16:44:40.353Z

Following up on earlier post about the future being brighter, Jeremy Rifkin says that in the future all the energy will be home-harvested instead of coming from elite energy suppliers (see page 22). I think there is a little way to go yet in being able to make this dream real, but a future with no gas bill would be a good thing.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-61709258161352157392009-12-17T09:23:00.004Z2009-12-17T14:52:13.787Z

Undergraduate marketing students learn about the development of marketing from the Henry Ford days of the product being the focus (we can make lots of black cars all the same so that's what we'll encourage you to want) to the 'progress' of today when Apple and the like will try to anticipate the public desire then deliver it in so many variations you think they've done it just for you.Sometimes

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-63219157691614513122009-11-25T10:43:00.002Z2009-11-25T10:57:28.755Z

The government's latest activity as part of the Act on CO2 programme is to pay for outdoor ads (billboards to you and me) telling us what the weather will be like in future seasons if we don't act on climate change.I'd love to know how these are to be measured. Will awareness be measured, and if so what kind, given that poll after poll indicates awareness has been achieved? It'd be interesting

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-59684983429045102412009-11-18T09:42:00.004Z2009-11-18T09:47:01.492Z

There are lots of bits of justifications for a CSR programme if you look around a bit. PricewaterhouseCoopers have pulled a lot of it together in a guide found here.The purpose of the guide is no doubt to position PwC as the people to ring if your CSR is a bit wanting but it's no less handy for that.My thanks to Sarah for drawing it to my attention.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-76791370349588960302009-11-18T09:22:00.002Z2009-11-18T09:31:36.899Z

Not every idea from marketing is easy to turn on its head in an attempt to encourage people to act sustainably.Quite apart from the whole issue of whether harnessing our love of consumption is sufficient response (there are many who think we will HAVE to consume less to make a difference) sometimes the consumer goods associated with sustainability just aren't that sexy.I was trying to think about

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-44240066366202590832009-11-09T14:17:00.004Z2009-11-09T14:30:09.424Z

This very accessible book about how to get communities involved in changing behaviours is now available in a FREE online version (title reflects Canadian spelling).It uses ideas from social psychology to explain what more you need to do beyond communicating to encourage people to action.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-68290668735817778132009-11-03T18:01:00.008Z2009-11-03T18:35:55.415Z

Today's You and Yours programme on BBC Radio 4 had an introductory discussion about corporate social responsibility - and how it is faring during a recession.Naturally PR doesn't get the best of write-ups - and there are some examples of rather empty CSR platitudes by the likes of Trafigura and some of the banks whose actions have not proved to be sustainable (about 3 minutes in).David Grayson,

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-54781270035075375832009-10-21T18:50:00.005+01:002009-10-21T19:31:05.463+01:00

This week I was at a workshop at the Open University about social marketing (the one where you use marketing tools to encourage people to do stuff that's generally good for them and/or society rather than eat smoke and drink the wrong stuff then crash the car on the way home/burn the house down). I was interested to hear these nuggets of interest and wisdom:- Bristolians (and many other UK cities

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-43722658369164432572009-10-08T13:35:00.006+01:002009-10-08T15:35:57.075+01:00

The Carbon Reduction Commitment is taking shape, with more details announced on how it will work. (There is a PR and reputation angle to this... stick with it)This is the scheme were all big energy users, private and public sector, have to take part in monitoring and reporting of their energy use.In overly simple terms, organisations who are big energy users are to start reporting their energy

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-43072437367433350112009-09-23T10:06:00.001+01:002009-09-23T10:19:55.323+01:00

A post earlier this summer flagged up the companies most of us think are green.Recently Ethical Corporation, sensing its readers were fed up with the same old names featuring in their work, sought out some companies that were quietly making progress without public recognition.Among them, high street brand H&M. Here's the full list:Credit AgricoleFemsaHenkelSanofi-AventisHennes & Mauritz (H&M)

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-46886157850862886622009-09-15T21:09:00.002+01:002009-09-15T21:12:07.273+01:00

I missed this Radio 4 programme tonight and it's not available on 'listen again' so I'll definitely listen out for the repeat this Sunday.It's a programme about how ideas from social psychology and other behavioural disciplines are being exploited to alter our behaviour.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-22922149389078587092009-08-28T14:55:00.007+01:002009-09-01T09:02:50.560+01:00

A new initiative by the Travel Foundation aims to help travel agents talk confidently about sustainable travel to customers. Maketravelgreener is a dedicated website aimed to train travel agents about green issues. There's a trade article about the project here.Putting aside for a minute issues about how truly green the content is, given its from a body aiming to protect the travel industry, the

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-71875699142092082362009-08-06T09:25:00.003+01:002009-08-06T09:38:22.252+01:00

New research by a team of marketing-related companies has shown that 'supermarkets are the greenest' - at least that was the headline in PR Week.M&S and Sainsbury's et al took four out of the top five places in a poll about who should top the green business league table.It's an interesting way of measuring a company's green score.... no measuring of energy use or waste generated. You are green,

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-6655095098781853712009-07-30T16:56:00.006+01:002009-07-31T07:56:07.907+01:00

According to some new research collected before and after the stories of MP and other highly paid execs broke, the blind eye we were all prepared to turn to the unreasonable perks of others is no more.According to the reasoning discussed here (at least in the UK and until it's taken off - it is at 44 mins into the programme) our natural coping mechanism - to believe high salaries were somehow

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-76566347173409644892009-07-23T10:56:00.003+01:002009-07-23T10:58:53.770+01:00

Nike has responded to a Greenpeace report identifying the damage done by sourcing leather from the Amazon.A look at the wording indicates both how far Nike and Greenpeace have come over the years. It reads a lot less like a war now.

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-59550771807414569872009-07-21T15:26:00.004+01:002009-07-21T16:20:02.261+01:00

Universities are about to be set carbon reduction targets. Naturally this is reported as a big deal because it's appearing in the education section of the Guardian. There's a bit more background to the targets on the HEFCE website.But tough targets are everywhere. I'm not sure why universities don't qualify for the carbon reduction commitments faced by other public bodies.The Guardian points to

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-32188469179706602952009-07-20T10:01:00.004+01:002009-07-20T10:19:34.006+01:00

New work by the Stockholm Environment Institute in York has confirmed what most people involved in climate change already suspected. The more money you have, the bigger your carbon footprint.I was told some time ago by a frustrated home energy conservation worker that the most common destination for cash saved on domestic energy bills was tickets for a short-haul flight to somewhere nice.Still,

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-42447245731752179372009-07-01T09:06:00.006+01:002009-07-01T09:50:33.662+01:00

As suggested by an earlier post, Boots has got into difficulty in its attempts to balance social needs with planetary needs.This conflict is something I'm studying at the moment as part of a course on evaluating sustainable projects. Or perhaps that should be, evaluating projects for their sustainability, balanced with the sometimes conflicting demands for projects to also show a profit and/or be

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-45446218272789667482009-06-25T21:25:00.003+01:002009-06-25T21:34:41.641+01:00

Boots the Chemists, as I still like to think of them, appear to have failed to spot the flak they'd get pulling out of an ethical alliance.This blog entry is perhaps among the more frank on the topic, but similar to many with an ethical focus.The alternative view is set out here.Whatever the rights and wrongs of whether the new project Boots has entered into to replace the old one is better or

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-34452812296709997242009-06-23T15:09:00.006+01:002009-06-23T16:24:41.682+01:00

I've been attending a conference about non-profit marketing where the keynote speaker was Alan Andreasen. He has written extensively (sometimes alongside the marketing textbook guru Philip Kotler) about what social marketing is and how to do it.Given that the room was full of specialists looking at non-profit marketing, cause-related marketing and so on, his identification of the differences

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-85917501318961326132009-05-19T15:42:00.005+01:002009-05-19T15:55:39.104+01:00

A bit old but I've just come across this useful analysis of the launch of the Government's Act on CO2 campaign.Interesting insight into how, if your online and offline work is well co-ordinated, you can successfully steer people towards information they can use to change behaviours.If you want more on the campaign the organisers have published a toolkit for communicators who want to align their

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-2733247891566526812009-05-14T10:39:00.005+01:002009-05-14T12:55:57.757+01:00

The Trafigura story told on Newsnight last night made me curious to visit the firm's website and look at its CSR claims.I also looked at what it had to say about how a cocktail of its chemicals ended up being dumped in West Africa.There's an interesting study of language to be had from comparing the two pages. Those about the company generally are easy to read, the stuff about the chemicals

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-10201249079803635572009-05-14T10:21:00.002+01:002009-05-14T10:39:02.458+01:00

If their antics weren't funded from the public pocket, the current sight of MPs falling over themselves to give us our money back would be better than any current reality TV show.What the party leaders are aiming to do is demonstrate leadership - being the first to sort it out and set a new course.The Greenwasher column of Ethicalcorp offers a similar case study of the potential for leadership,

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-58080976026750414932009-05-11T19:30:00.004+01:002009-05-11T19:57:17.334+01:00

The plans to have every house fitted with a smart meter so that we can cut emissions and save money is an example of giving people information they can use.There's a lot of criticism in the environment & psychology literature that the 'information deficit' idea (give people information and they will act) doesn't work. And we can all readily bring to mind examples of where this is true - we all

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28441481.post-50859197292239597832009-05-05T09:44:00.006+01:002009-05-05T10:51:00.528+01:00

There's an interesting article here sourced from the US, which argues that the job of communicators is to engage people in the climate change issue. The press release about the article is here if you're looking for a short summary.The argument goes that each of us switching off a light or getting on our bikes once in a while won't be enough to sort the problem - we need to engage in it, talk

Caroline Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11643592468143674799noreply@blogger.com0