Communication for climate action

These are the best of times. These are the worst of times for climate action. It is now that we can usher in a new energy paradigm to combat climate change. And now is the only time we can do anything about it. 

In such difficult a situation, the role of communication becomes critical; it becomes strategic. Hitherto considered a good-to-have function in business strategy, communication aka public relations (PR) has waltzed to the center stage, separating upcoming marathon runners from mayflowers or creating one of the two.

As brands align to sustainable environmental, social and governance policies, storytelling and PR must get a seat at the table from the get-go – no more last-minute oh-by-the-ways. So counterproductive as it is to isolate business growth from climate action today, under-appreciating the role of communication in a successful climate-conscious business strategy can be self-defeating. 

India’s ambitious clean energy targets and rising climate extremities tacitly beckon public and private players to deploy PR as a strategic tool for accelerated goal achievement. In some countries, some companies are ahead of others in nature-positive climate action, in corporate social responsibility, in crisis management and in health and safety. There needs to be a lot of sharing of useful ideas and best practices to usher in change. 

Multi-stakeholder engagement, an effective messaging framework and the use of appropriate media channels are the differences between inspiring meaningful action and standing past intention and announcement.  

Integrating communication

Further, gone are the days when companies or their internal departments could operate in silos. The urgency of climate action today needs to percolate down to the last person. As board members deliberate on the need to adopt sustainable development goals for business, housekeeping needs to know how leaking taps and cracked pipes can water down positive results. Communication can be the connecting tissue that binds and mobilises all individuals in pursuit of a common goal. 

But far from bullet messaging and random choice of medium, where you are presuming the intended message will be directly received and wholly accepted by the audience, communication is a well-researched, change-oriented plan. It sings for your change-sensitive suppliers, for your email-fatigued employees, for your densely occupied site workers and even for your back-end technicians. 

There is an urgent need to create something bigger than the garden variety preach-and-prey. The business-as-usual approach to communication has sailed off with times past. Today, there is an overarching global campaign for combating climate change and it augurs well for brands to invest mind and matter toward understanding the importance of communication in crafting, achieving and enhancing their long-term sustainable growth strategy.

There’s too much hearsay 

There’s still a belief that communications efforts can be activated last minute or only reactively. The importance of timely human connection is left at the door. But think about this – as of today, there are over 600 million internet users in India alone and more than 400 million of them are using social media platforms. Most of these users are unbothered about absolute facts. The rumour mill is more alive and active than ever. In the recent past, fake news and irresponsible social media use have caused irreversible damage to many a company. 

When the ground is so ripe for careless whispers and disinformation, brands stand to gain from proactive communication and rapport-building for reputation management. They can safeguard their arduously-built image in time, pre-empt crises and even do some predictive maintenance. Communication can work like a Swiss army knife.

To part, communication is the backbone of all business functions and a pillar of intelligent business strategy. And when the clamor for nature-positive action is rising by the day, it is also what can set one brand apart from the other. 

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com