Sustainability Communications - UNEP

1 1 United Nations Environment Programme Division for Technology, Industry and Economics Sustainability Communications A Toolkit for Marketing and Advertising Courses Sustainability is an expression of the issues that production and consumption patterns will have to address to build a society where individuals and the environment are respected. Numerous public and private actors have already committed themselves to this path. For them, the issues of Sustainability which are at once ethical and strategic, political and economic are also issues of communication .

2 From marketing to advertising, from corporate communication to public awareness campaigns, the messages of Sustainability are embodied in practices that are increasingly well-established. These are something for marketing, advertising and communication professionals to reflect on, and also to learn from. This CD-ROM is part of that process of reflection and learning. It is not meant to impose a particular outlook but to provide a resource for the educators training tomorrow s marketing, advertising and communication actors. It should provide an understanding of the context and practices leading companies and public institutions to use Sustainability Communications as they seek to position themselves in the public eye.

3 It is not a turnkey teaching syllabus but a flexible, interactive tool which provides a synthesis of theoretical and methodological knowledge illustrated by numerous specific case studies. In this regard, it offers all kinds of pedagogic resources short presentations, campaign analyses, exercises, documents, web links and bibliographies to encourage students to think about and involve themselves in one of the major issues facing society today. 2 Contents About the CD-Rom p. 3 Module I - Sustainable development: the ethical and practical issues 1 - Introduction to the principles of sustainable development a) The sustainable development debate: reviewing some familiar and controversial principles p.

4 6 b) Defining the theory, illustrating the practice p. 12 c) Integrating sustainable development into Communications and marketing p. 15 2 - Production and consumption in a sustainable society a) The socio-historical context: individuals, citizens and consumers facing social and environmental risks p. 19 b) An integrated conception of the economic and social spheres: from private interests to the public good p. 23 c) Some key concepts: corporate social responsibility and responsible consumption p. 25 3 - Sustainable development and its social consequences for communication a) The mediators of sustainable development: institutions, civil society, business p.

5 29 b) The social demand for communication : a criterion of legitimacy and performance p. 30 c) The professionalization of Sustainability Communications p. 31 Module II - The economic and social context for Sustainability Communications 2. CSR and communication : regulation, controls and voluntary initiatives a) Definitions: legalistic and voluntaristic conceptions of CSR p. 32 b) Legal, social or economic constraints and voluntary initiatives: actors and tools p. 35 c) Specific constraints for communication and marketing: ethical and operational principles p. 38 3. The paradoxical aspirations of citizen-consumers: words versus actions a) Shared environmental and social values: what people say about sustainable development p.

6 42 b) Putting responsible consumption principles to the test of behaviour: limited practices, a restricted market p. 45 c) Understanding the paradox: the determinants of consumption and responsible attitudes p. 50 4. Challenges and opportunities: the issues for communication and marketing a) New approaches to effective communication : relation marketing and theories of reception p. 55 b) The business case : challenges and opportunities for companies p. 57 c) Information and participation: challenges and opportunities for public institutions p. 61 Module III - Sustainability Communications in practice 1.

7 Differentiated practices and issues for communicating Sustainability a) Product communication and Sustainability : green marketing objectives and tools p. 62 b) Corporate communication and social and responsible marketing: objectives and tools p. 66 c) Education and participatory democracy: communication tools and objectives for public institutions p. 72 2. The risks associated with Sustainability Communications a) The conditions of risk p. 73 b) The nature of the risks: penalties, reputation, rebound effect p. 74 c) The special case of greenwashing p. 76 3. Risk management: the methodological tools developed by professionals a) The minimum conditions for effective communication in the view of professionals p.

8 77 b) Strategic guidelines for Sustainability communication p. 78 c) Professional expertise and methodologies p. 80 Module IV - Marketing/ communication applications and exercises 1. Research: do actions and Communications match? p. 81 2. Changing a corporate image and communicating Sustainability p. 83 3. A comparative analysis of communication strategies p. 85 4. Using Sustainability campaigns to create performance indicators p. 86 5. Simulation: preparing a communication strategy p. 87 About UNEP p. 89 3 About this CD-ROM This CD-ROM deals with Sustainability Communications and is meant as a tool for teachers and students in higher education, particularly in the fields of marketing, advertising and communication , but also in other disciplines such as corporate communication or management sciences.

9 The contents of the CD-ROM can be adapted and applied to different objectives and numerous types of professional training courses in universities and other institutions of higher education, from first degrees to specialized masters. The contents of the CD-ROM are organized into four modules which summarize a body of theoretical and methodological information, illustrated by a large number of case studies: - The first module takes stock of the main ethical and practical aspects of Sustainability , with a particular emphasis on communication . - The second module addresses the main social and economic issues against whose background Sustainability Communications take place: efforts to codify corporate social responsibility and their effects on communication practices; attitudes to responsible consumption as opposed to actual behaviour, and the effects of these on Sustainability markets; and the challenges and opportunities of Sustainability communication for companies (business case) and public institutions.

10 - The third module summarizes the practices involved in Sustainability communication : green marketing, corporate communication , social and responsible marketing, civic participation and awareness campaigns. It also deals with the risks involved and shows how transparency and strategic planning are essential prerequisites for communication . It concludes with the methodologies employed by actors and professionals to communicate whilst managing risk. - The fourth module, lastly, presents a series of five exercises dealing with Sustainability Communications in theory and practice: an investigation into the consistency between a company s communication strategy and its actions, a comparative campaign analysis, a corporate image study, the identification of advertising performance indicators, and the preparation of a communication strategy.