Top Tips For Communications Professionals

Julian Scola shared his expertise and experience
in EU policy and energy communications.

Julian Scola, this week's Sustainability Communications Lunch speaker, set out his top tips for successful communications.  A seasoned EU policy and energy communicator and campaigner, Julian is former Communications Director for the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) and has also worked for the Party of European Socialists (PES) and WWF.

Julian presented sound advice which generated a lot of debate, particularly around media relations.  Here are Julian’s top tips for communicators:

1/ Find the time to do a strategy

One key takeaway from the Lunch is that developing a communications strategy is key.  Julian said that communications activities done in isolation never bring the same results as activities done as part of a strategy.  While you might not think you have the time to do a strategy, it's essential.  

Having Fun At Green Drinks Brussels

Enjoying good conversation at Green Drinks

The October edition of Green Drinks Brussels took place last Wednesday.  We were happy to see some familiar faces and to welcome a great deal of new ones.  In total, we were around 30 people from NGOs, trade and business associations, EU institutions and companies.  We were happy to be joined by some trainees that needed advice about life in Brussels.

It seemed that quite a few people had had a tough September with a heavy workload after the summer, so having a relaxing drink and unwinding after work was well-received. 

Non EU-ETS Sectors Must Do Better On Climate and Energy Policy

Source: Wikipedia

This year, the European Commission adopted the Green Paper ‘A 2030 framework for climate and energy policies’ and subsequently conducted a public consultation.  It is currently preparing for more concrete proposals on the 2030 framework by the end of year.

A recent event at the European Parliament engaged an expert panel to debate how the 2030 climate and energy framework could be mutually reinforcing i.e. by addressing energy efficiency, renewable energy and climate protection alongside each other.

Five Tips To Reduce Food Waste

Today is World Food Day and if you’ve been following the news recently, you may have come across the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)’s recent report Food Wastage Footprint: Impacts on Natural Resources.  In addition to quantifying the key environmental impacts of food wastage, the report also identifies that approximately one third of the global food supply goes to waste.  This is a staggering figure and pretty daunting for the average European, not least because the problem is disproportionally higher in developed countries.  

While we consumers may have little control over what happens at the production and distribution stages of the food supply chain, we can exercise some control over how much food is wasted at the consumption stage.  So in honour of World Food Day, here are a few tips to help reduce food waste in the supermarket and kitchen.

Successful Exhibition At EFIB 2013

Sustainability Consult Team members
ready to discuss communications in the bioeconomy

After BIO World Congress in Montreal in June, Sustainability Consult exhibited at The European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology and the Biobased Economy (EFIB) last week on our home turf in Brussels.  EFIB is the largest bioeconomy conference in Europe.  

Communications Lessons Learned From The Horsemeat Scandal

After a summer break, the monthly Sustainability Communications Lunch returned with a presentation from Lisa McCooey, Deputy Director General and Director of Communications at trade association FoodDrinkEurope.

When the horsemeat scandal story broke, FoodDrinkEurope quickly became a go-to source for journalists.  Lisa told us about how the events unfolded and how FoodDrinkEurope chose to respond.