p ri nz conference - michael field (2)
DESCRIPTION
A key-note address I gave for the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRiNZ) conference on the important role PR and communications professionals have in the sustainability area.TRANSCRIPT
Michael Field - Sustainability Practitioner
SustainabilitySustainability
Some food for thought…
Mammal species – 25% threatened
Coral reefs – 50% in danger
Sea fisheries 70% over-fishedor collapsed
Farmland – 67% degraded
Wetlands – 50% gone
Freshwater fish populations50% less
Large rivers 60% dammedor diverted
Bird species – 10% threatened
Mangroves – 50% gone
Original forest – 80% gone
So what areour chance of
survival?
50%
Depressed yet?
Sustainability definitionsSustainability definitions
Official definition: Intergenerational Equity
But what does this mean?
“Meeting the needs of today, without inhibiting future generations from
meeting their own needs”
Three areas of knowledgeThree areas of knowledge
There’s all the things that we know that we know
There’s all the things that we know that we don’t know
Then there’s all the things that we don’t know that we don’t know
Translating the talk…Translating the talk…
Everyone loves technical terms – it makes them sound clever
Carbon sequestration Cognitive dissonance
Or even better – acronyms GHG, GWP, NZETS, CO2e
Every single issue we face as humanity boils down to one thing…
PopulationPopulation
1950 = 2.56 billion Exceeded in ’80s 2006 = 6.53 billion Each year 77
million added
Resource useResource use - - The Funnel MetaphorThe Funnel Metaphor
Res
ou
rces
Time
Demand
Supply
?
Sound businessSound business
Sustainability thinking is not about a driving need to save the planet
It’s not even new!
Frederick Herzberg’s theories of business management
The theoriesThe theories
Holistic assessment framework
Measures overall health, not just financial
Understanding all impacts
Therefore all risks, liabilities and opportunities
External driversExternal drivers
Stakeholder pressure Sustainability reporting Government pressure Legislation and compliance Competitors are doing it….
The ‘by comparison’ metaphor
The cost of changeThe cost of change
Sustainability
Legislation
Minimum requirement
Cost of change too highBusiness fails
Gradual investment over time
OpportunitiesOpportunities
Cost savings through efficiency Energy reduction Waste to landfill Materials (doing more with less)
How can you know all of them without sustainable thinking?
What’s includedWhat’s included Ecological protection Climate change Peak oil Energy Transport Infrastructure Reputation management Buildings Materials efficiency Waste minimisation Species protection Impact assessment (holistic) Sustainable development?
In real terms…In real terms…
Materials minimisation Emissions Effluents and waste Green procurement Energy efficiency Biodiversity
Economic performance Sustainability policies Sustainability training and education Stakeholder engagement Sustainability reporting Environmental / Sustainability
Management System
The story behind InterfaceThe story behind Interface
You’ll have seen Interface used as ‘the’ example before many times
Presenters love to use it Here’s the story behind it from
someone who was there…
Reporting – the urgent driverReporting – the urgent driver
Sustainability reporting is fast becoming expected by stakeholders
Government requires it under its ‘6 Pack’ initiative
So, simple fact, almost everyone will be reporting very soon
Your roleYour role
Sustainability reports are obviously in the public arena
They are almost always available online – this puts them in the global arena
Who tells them what to write, how to write it and what the risks are associated with it?
Who tells them how?Who tells them how?
Unfortunately for you, people like me or rebranded ‘environmental consultants’
Completely untrained and inexperienced in communications and PR
Very unlikely to understand the risks involved or how to get the message through
Global Reporting InitiativeGlobal Reporting Initiative
GRI - globally recognised
Performance indicators for organisations to report on
So they know what they need to tell people
The GRI ‘how to’The GRI ‘how to’
Sustainability reports must have: Transparency Completeness Inclusivity Material correctness Relevancy Comparability Neutrality Accuracy Clarity Timeliness
Communicating meaningfullyCommunicating meaningfully
How does an organisation make it relevant now?
Usually they don’t
And who are they communicating with? They usually don’t know
What about the risks? Not even on the radar
Changing behaviourChanging behaviour
It’s wasted effort if people don’t
Left to environmental and sustainability professionals
Leads to Cognitive Dissonance What?
Cognitive DissonanceCognitive Dissonance
Values must equal behaviour If values and behaviours don’t match this
leads to stress Something needs to change to stop that Historically assumed people would
change behaviour if it was pointed out In fact, much easier to change our beliefs
than our behaviour
Why preaching doesn’t workWhy preaching doesn’t work
People are bored with the same old messages
And lets face it, the messages are boring so who can blame them?
It needs to be meaningful and easy Tell me what to do not what not to do Guilt doesn’t work
Doing it better…Doing it better…
Michael Field - Sustainability Practitioner