We don’t want to be preachy or boring but this blog is where we share our values and experiences and write about the issues shaping the future of our businesses and our society. Catch a glimpse into our lives and find out what’s new in our world...

Tuesday 23 June 2009

Media Bashing At Green Week

There were a range of views at the opening day of the European Commission's annual Green Week around the question 'Can the media and society change climate attitudes?' but a lot of criticism was levelled at the media.  Much of this seemed to be pure media bashing - on the one hand participants claimed information overload, on the other hand the media wasn't doing enough to convince people about climate change.  Speakers claimed that the media would always represent the climate change doubters' viewpoint as well which is basically like saying we don't want balanced reporting or a free press.

The European Commission said very candidly that as an institution it was "not built for" communicating but that they had come a long way.  "We're trying to transform a dinosaur into something more modern" said the Commission representative. 

Climate change is a real issue and yet the information is out there and we're not acting on it, said filmmaker Franny Armstrong whose film The Age Of Stupid projects forward to a gloomy future.  The media is failing, she said "not from a lack of information but from a lack of imagination".  Like everyone else, Armstrong said, the media doesn't want climate change to be true.

Germany's tabloid paper, the Bild Zeitung explained how it had joined forces with Greenpeace and other NGOs to raise awareness through shocking headlines like 'Unser Planet Stirbt' or 'Our Planet Is Dying' and front page spreads on the need to act on climate and to behave differently.  And the blogosphere was promoted as the place for aggressive and independent environmental journalism.

17-year old Nurul, a social media filmmaker from Indonesia asked why Europe wasn't doing anything to combat climate change when they are already feeling the impacts in her country.  She was an impressive speaker but neither the moderators nor the speakers mentioned that Indonesia is the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, due to deforestation, forest fires and the degradation of peatlands, according to a 2007 World Bank report. 

Clearly we must all act and the media has a role to play, not just in educating the public but in changing the perception of environmental issues.  Already environmental awareness is becoming more mainstream but environmental gestures still remain largely as tokenism. 

The session concluded with the idea that for the media to keep running with the climate story, it needs to find ways to constantly repackage the information.  But a positive message is needed.  We have always promoted the idea that sustainability should be presented as a positive, as a benefit for society.  In today's economic climate, we feel it's a win-win situation.  We need to keep getting the message out but move away from the doom and gloom disaster rhetoric and towards the positive.

Sunday 14 June 2009

Focus On Innovation



If the general economic slowdown seems to be doing one positive thing, it's to focus industry's minds on innovation.  That's not to say that business in general is not innovative.  Without innovation, there would be no development.  Without development, there would be no business, no competition, no economy.  So why all the fuss about innovation now?

Innovation and creativity go hand in hand.  And creativity shines through in a recession.  When budgets are challenged and the big bucks solution is no longer an option, creativity comes to the fore to discover the big idea, the ambitious plan.

We work a lot on innovation and the interplay between innovation and sustainability.  These last couple of weeks we've attended a number of events which couldn't have made the point on innovation more strongly.  Firstly, research publisher Science Business' event on the Innovation Economy which featured business, policymakers and academics from around the world looked at how innovation can be strengthened in Europe.

Then an event we were involved in making happen - a debate on 'Can innovation lead us out of the climate crisis?' organised by environmental news service ENDS and sponsored by the European chemical industry.  Here speakers from a range of backgrounds, hand-picked by Sustainability Consult, gave their views.

The various conclusions?  "Innovation is part of the answer, a big part of the answer, but to think it is the whole answer would be a mistake" from the European Commission.  "Innovation is part of the answer but innovation needs a market" from a carbon market expert.  "We also need social innovation" from an environmental NGO and "We need innovation in policymaking" from a representative of the European white goods industry.  We'll be posting a video of the various viewpoints in the coming days.

Finally, at the interact congress for the online advertising industry, a whole bunch of high-level speakers from the internet industry (Google, Microsoft and co) stressed the need for innovation and creativity in these tougher economic times.  The message is clear - innovate to survive!