APPENDIX 48
Memorandum from the West Midlands Education
for Sustainable Development Forum
"THE EDUCATION,
COMMUNICATION AND
MARKETING OF
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT"
This paper serves to stimulate the discussion
of the first meeting of a focus group of Sustainability West Midlands
on Wednesday 29 January 2003 at Government Office for the West
Midlands. It has been prepared by the West Midlands Education
for Sustainable Development Forum through a process of consultation
with ESD—Forum members. It particularly draws on the findings
of the West Midlands Education for Sustainable Development Forum,
the ESD—Forum's coordinator Marina Churm, research by other
educationalists, reflections made by professionals and practioners
involved in a national "Communicating Sustainable Development"
conference and other government and non-governmental bodies.
1.1 Sustainable development is a multi-dimensional
and complex idea. Research commissioned by DEFRA and conducted
by the Sustainable Development Education Panel in 1998 states
that for many, "sustainable development" has a fragmented
agenda, creating confusion in the public and amongst organisations.
The "twisting of the sustainability agenda", particularly
by economic interests, is also a common complaint. In communication
terms, therefore, there is a considerable challenge in integrating
all of the issues and the communicators both maintaining an integrity
and retaining the essence of the sustainable development concept,
by questioning their own processes of communicating with people.
1.2 Taking advice from a national conference
on "Communicating Sustainable Development" in December
2002, a body such as Sustainability West Midlands needs to focus
on three guiding principles; clarity, consistency and leadership.
— Firstly, transmitting clear guidance
on what "living (or operating) in a sustainable development
manner" means will help to build people's understanding of
what sustainable development is.
— Secondly, Sustainability West Midland's
own behaviour provides the visible evidence of whether there is
sincerity behind its communication and marketing strategy. The
drive that determines the actions and reactions of SWM needs to
consistently reaffirm sustainable development processes and practices.
— Finally, Sustainability West Midlands
needs to embrace a leadership role. Evidencing the long-term,
strategic, added value of operating in a sustainable development
manner needs to be expressed to the people of the West Midlands.
Whilst innovation is doubtlessly important providing inspiration
and motivation for the region is likely to be more productive.
2.1 Sustainable Development Communication
strategies: learning from others
Authorities across the UK are now beginning
to develop sustainable development communication strategies. One
of the most useful sources of information about where and what
levels of strategies are being developed is via local authority
Local Agenda 21/Sustainable Development officers.
2.2 One pioneering authority in this endeavour
is Worcestershire County Council. The foundation of their emerging
strategy has been the collation of data in terms of both sustainable
development activities and the stakeholders involved in these
activities. This process has already taken over three years, and
is dynamic. Much of the capacity for communicating with the people
of Worcestershire was found in existing Local Authority departments
and non-governmental organisations but their efforts required
greater co-ordination and promotion.
2.3 This scoping exercise has been seen
as essential for identifying the various entry levels for different
audiences throughout Worcestershire and steadily progressing the
strategy into an action plan which aims to build on people's skills,
knowledge and confidence so that they can make more informed decisions.
2.4 One of the difficulties experienced
during their development of a communication of sustainable development
strategy has been the misunderstanding of many of those involved
in sustainable development work. Several stakeholders stated that
they were involved in doing sustainable development work but later
were discovered to not necessarily be involved in actually communicating
with the people of Worcestershire about sustainable development
issues. Those developing the sustainable development communication
strategy have therefore had to stress that they are focusing on
those stakeholders who have a role in either raising awareness
amongst people or in projects, which explicitly provide learning
opportunities. For this reason, the key audiences for Worcestershire's
strategy are the formal and informal educational communities.
3.1 Effective communication approaches
The communication challenge is to take the notion
of sustainable development and put it where people can see it.
However simply informing people about issues of sustainable development
is not enough. The premise of a communications and marketing strategy
is presumably to influence people's behaviours, values, and attitudes
ultimately so that they make one choice over another. In terms
of sustainable development, such a strategy underpins the need
to bring about significant behavioural change with outcomes that
can be clearly demonstrated to change a society's ecological footprint
and impact on its economy and social equity.
3.2 Educational research by Dale in 1970s
identified that people remember:
20% of what they hear and listen to;
30% of what they see (eg via still and moving
pictures);
50% of what they hear and see (eg demonstrations,
audio exhibitions);
70% of what they say and write (eg role plays,
conducting research and writing reports); and
90% of what they say and discuss, as they are
actively involved in doing something.
3.3 These findings help to identify what
media and communication approaches are more effective than others.
This research identifies that the active engagement of people
in making decisions and formulating policies is a more beneficial
means of communication than expecting people to read information
produced by others. If Sustainability West Midlands are to incorporate
these fundamentals into a future communication and marketing strategy
then facilitating opportunities for people and organisations to
become involved in local projects and sustainable development
"in action" will be more effective than circulating
leaflets for example.
3.4 It has been said that the media do not
deal with the day-to-day facts operating in our society but with
the news. To take advantage of media opportunities, consultants
and advisors at a recent "Communicating Sustainable Development"
conference agreed that story formats, linked to news items, should
be used. These identify the local distinctiveness and relevance
of sustainable development in action; stories about a local solar
panel project linked to an article on the climate change levy,
for example. This approach requires outreaching and researching
projects, signposting people to those stories (eg via databases),
enabling and coordinating effective networking between communities
and organisations to share such evidence. However it should be
stressed that Dale's research would indicate that only 10% of
that news item is likely to be remembered; in contrast, actually
seeing and being involved in the local solar panel project is
far more effective with up to 90% of the information discussed
likely to be retained.
4.1 Dialogue with the people of the West Midlands
Advancing greater sustainable development as
a result of a sound communication and marketing strategy demands
co-ownership; a dialogue with the audiences that Sustainability
West Midlands are trying to influence and communicate with. In
short, the target audience knows how to communicate with their
own groups. This fact requires networking and coordinating bodies
to take the time to engage constructively with people to form
solutions which are workable and realistic for their peers. Sustainability
West Midlands can provide a supportive framework for stimulating
and inspiring others and helping to build the capacity of others
to advocate sustainability.
4.2 In line with work by Worcestershire
County Council and others in their developing strategies, the
Education for Sustainable Development Forum has taken a profile
of the population of the West Midlands in educational terms. Stakeholders
across these audiences have subsequently begun to be identified
and it is these practioners and policy-makers who have been actively
engaged with over the last three years of the ESD—Forum's
activity. One clear message coming through the ESD—Forum's
activities is that people need to be listened to; it is people
who need to "buy into" the sustainability agenda; it
is people who need to "live sustainability" and it is
"educators" who have the professional capacity and knowledge
of how to communicate complex messages and build upon people's
skills in making informed decisions.
5. APPROACHES
AND ACTIVITIES
IN THE
WEST MIDLANDS
EDUCATIONAL SECTORS
5.1 Formal education audiences
5.1.1 Schools:
students, teachers, school suppliers (businesses),
parents, local authorities
Summary findings from a survey conducted by
the Education for Sustainable Development Forum across all of
the region's 14 Local Education Authorities (LEA) in Spring 2002
suggest that there is a significant degree of activity going on
amongst the 3000 schools in the West Midlands, although support
for this varies significantly between LEA areas.
5.1.1.1 The survey addressed seven principal
questions, as determined by six months of consultation within
the schools sector, and helps to identify key indicators of sustainability
for this audience:
— Is the authority involved in some
sort of benchmarking scheme, such as Eco-schools? How many schools
are currently active in this?
— Which staff have a strategic role
for supporting ESD in schools? What proportion of time is given?
Who else in the council has a significant role?
— Is ESD on the Education Development
Plan for the authority? If so, how is this expressed?
— Is there an explicit training / Continuing
Professional Development programme for ESD? Who are the main
providers?
— Is there a working or networking
group exploring ESD? What kind of membership does it have [eg
advisers, officers, teachers]? What is its brief?
— Where does the authority suggest
teachers go for support and/or resourcing? How is this signposted?
— Would you be interested in a regional
advisers' meeting?
5.1.1.2 Support from LEAs themselves is
strong in the larger authorities [eg Birmingham, Staffordshire/Stoke,
Worcestershire] although some smaller LEAs have made ESD a particular
feature [Dudley, Sandwell, Shropshire/Telford]. LEAs such as Coventry
and Herefordshire have taken a strong lead from their LA21 teams.
Policy and resourcing support for ESD also varies widely. Well-organised
national schemes, such as Eco-schools, seem to be well represented
in the region, as do support networks such as Groundwork Trusts
and Wildlife Trusts.
5.1.1.3 Networking at a regional level is
still relatively weak, and there is a need to bring people together
in imaginative and mutually beneficial ways. The ESD Forum might
usefully perform this role [sometimes in partnership with other
bodies]. It is worth noting in this respect that the Forum's schools
committee representation is currently strongest among organisations
and individuals who support schools work but are not formally
part of LEA structures [eg NGOs and LA21 teams].
5.1.1.4 Identifiable stakeholder groups
who could communicate on sustainable development practices and
processes with schools include:
— Chief Education Officers.
— Members of education committees in
local authorities.
— Lead advisers for ESD [there was
a question aimed at this group].
— LA21 officers [and other key council
officers] with an education brief.
— Initial teacher trainers.
— Those involved in in-service training
for teachers.
— Headteachers and senior managers.
— Support staff in schools [eg learning
assistants, mentors].
— Schools-community liaison staff.
— Those offering services to schools
[eg site visits, special stimuli].
— Environmental Education Centre staff
and managers.
— National organisations with a local
base.
— Regional organisations.
— Children and young people.
5.1.1.5 In terms of effectively working
with schools in the region, the following suggestions have been
prioritised at a recent conference organised by the ESD—schools
group on this subject:
— Use existing school support services
both for advice and for marketing SD to the schools audiences;
www.wm-sustainabilityeducation.org.uk/schools—localsupport.htm
has an advised list of initial contacts throughout the region.
— Any "communication and/or marketing"
material must be tailored to the needs of the school, the students
and the staff. This means developing strategies and action plans
in collaboration with teachers, LEA advisors, school support organisations
and other relevant bodies.
— It is felt very strongly that education
professionals are the people best placed to identify the needs
of schools, and until the [large] schools sector itself has fuller
ownership of the agenda and its challenges, the region will be
limited by the capacity of a relatively small ESD support sector.
5.1.1.6 Outcomes the ESD—Schools group
might predict from such a consultative and collaborative process
include:
— support organisations making more
explicit National Curriculum and education strategy links;
— a need for opportunities for continuing
professional development for staff, not least through creating
time for teachers to share and develop ideas together [which was
the greatest support need outlined in the recent GTC teachers'
survey].
5.1.1.7 Many well-intentioned organisations
and bodies try to influence and engage with schools by presenting
them with leaflets and resource packs. Unless this approach includes
asking teachers what they want and need, it is likely to create
resentment, apathy, misunderstanding and disassociation—both
with the organisation producing it and with the message that is
being conveyed.
5.1.2 Colleges and Universities:
students, lecturers & staff, Learning and Skills
Councils, suppliers (businesses), visitors
Due to limited resources a planned region-wide
survey of Sustainable Development Education across the region's
colleges and universities has not been undertaken. Lecturers and
estate managers within these institutions identified, during their
involvement in the ESD Forum group, that findings from three key
areas of activity would need to be assessed before deciding on
any strategy. It was felt that progress against these self-selected
indicators would identify the relative status of individual institutions
against a regional and/or sub-regional baseline.
5.1.2.1 Indicators of sustainable development
for colleges and universities were featured as:
— Curriculum: How many courses
have specific ESD themes? How many modules have specific ESD themes?
— Institutional management:
Is there an ESD policy (operational plan)? Is there a named ESD
representative and/or committee?
— Estate management: What methods
do you use to monitor resource use? (eg CHP, Building Energy Management
Systems etc).
5.1.2.2 Two colleges in the region [Worcester
College of Technology and Walsall College of Arts and Technology]
were involved in the Eco-Campus pilot scheme, before national
funding was withdrawn in early 2002. Worcester CoT is now pursuing
the possibility of ISO14001 programmes, whilst Walsall has just
been granted Learning and Skills Development Agency funding for
some Sustainable Development Education work. Birmingham University
is one of the pilot universities involved in the national Higher
Education Partnerships for Sustainability programme.
5.1.2.3 The region's 6 Learning and Skills
Councils, who are responsible for overseeing all post-16 education
delivery, currently have limited activity in the wider sustainable
development arena. LSC activities are focused on basic skills,
lifelong learning, social inclusion and attainment of qualifications
for the existing and potential workforce of the region.
5.1.2.4 One of the most useful "sounding
boards" for ideas on approaches and networking between colleges
and universities across the UK is the Environmental Association
of Universities and Colleges www.eauc.co.uk.
5.1.2.5 In terms of progressing sustainable
development practices in both the teaching programmes, activities
and future developments within further and higher educational
institutions, members of the ESD—FHE group feel that the
obstacles are a national and strategic issue. It is widely felt
that funders and course award bodies do not have ESD or even environmental
management on their agendas. Therefore to benefit this substantial
post-16 learning audience, efforts should be directed towards
such bodies, including the local and national Learning and Skills
Council(s) if institution wide, wholesale core change towards
sustainable development teaching and practices are to come about
in the West Midlands.
5.2 Informal education audiences
5.2.1 Young People, Youth workers, Youth Service
Providers, Connexions
Statutory youth service provision is usually
sited within either the education or the leisure and recreation
departments of the Local Authority. There is however a vibrant
number of non-governmental organizations also supporting work
with young people. A baseline study of sustainability provisions
and delivery has began in Summer 2002 across the region, but due
to resource limitations has not been as widespread as originally
planned. To date information has been gathered from 10 of the
14 sub-regional statutory providers and a small sample of NGO
youth service providers. As with many sectors, the understanding
and therefore the delivery of "sustainable development"
is patchy.
5.2.1.1 The following approach for assessing
sustainable development youth work provision has been identified
through consultation with youth workers involved in the ESD—youth
group.
— What projects are you proud of? What
areas of work are you dealing with particularly effectively?
— What are the key issues facing your
service/young people in your area?
— Does the environment or global youth
work (or other issues of sustainability) feature in your Youth
Service Curriculum?
— Does the environment/sustainability/global
youth work fit into the training of your youth development workers?
— What training do you, or could you,
offer about the environment/sustainability?
— Would you be interested in meeting
other people working on these issues?
— Who else should we speak to? Who
else do you know who is working on these issues?
— What resources would you find most
useful in any sustainable development work?
5.2.1.2 Findings identify that many issues
are common to young people and youth work providers across the
region. Sustainable development understanding and priorities feature
under the themes of raising achievement eg education, self-esteem,
employment and training; democracy eg peer education, leadership
and social inclusion, which varies from issues of transport (particularly
in rural areas) and access to resources, gender issues, crime,
racism, sexual health, pregnancy and personal relationships.
5.2.2 Local people:
Communities, community development workers, local
authorities, local businesses
Early work by the ESD—Forum suggested
that there are very limited linkages between sustainable development
and the economic and social driver of "regeneration".
However, with the development of local strategic partnerships
and community strategies, there are increasing numbers of community-support
bodies that are beginning to see more positive signs of sustainable
development activities and awareness. There is also evidence of
certain funders requiring that projects address environmental
sustainability issues as well as the more traditional social and
economic opportunities.
5.2.2.1 Deepening the understanding of the
inter-relationship between sustainable development and the regeneration
agenda would serve to highlight the overarching nature of sustainable
development in the agendas and priorities of many strategic bodies
as well as at the community level.
5.2.2.2 It is therefore suggested by ESD—community
group members, that any communication strategy directed towards
local communities of interest and bodies working with them should
identify the long-term benefits of a sustainable development approach
to meeting targets which are often set in social and/or economic
terms.
5.2.2.3 A current research programme lead
by the ESD—community group is to secure funding for a region-wide
assessment of sustainable development provision and understanding
amongst community centres and groups across the West Midlands.
The principle that community centers could be, and should be tangible
beacons of sustainable lifestyles practices has been widely supported
following a 6-month consultation process with community-based
workers and organisations, working within the region and amongst
local authority sustainable development offcers/LA21 staff from
local authorities across the country. Support is currently being
sought from the local Learning and Skills Councils and Advantage
West Midlands, amongst others.
Endorsement by Sustainability West Midlands
would also be valuable.
5.2.3 Businesses:
suppliers, employers, employees, regulators, consumers
Statistics identify that almost 90% of businesses
in the West Midlands are small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
For the most part, this sector is not at a great risk of environmental
management prosecution or regulation and does not plan long-term.
The vast majority of sustainable development activity has focused
on supporting larger businesses through environmental management
systems such as ISO14001 to varying degrees of success.
5.2.3.1 A region-wide network of organisations
offering environmental business support under the collective name
ENSIGN operated for several years; its aims were to avoid overlap,
duplication and general business confusion as to "who does
what and why" and to share best practice. However, lack of
funding has seen this group flounder.
5.2.3.2 Several business support organisations
believe that the main business issue is a lack of recognition
that the environmental management agenda has now developed into
"Sustainable Business" corporate responsibility. This
approach would further embrace the economic, social and environmental
elements of Sustainable Development, which classic forms of environmental
management approaches never incorporated. Additionally, whilst
issues of "greening the supply chain" due to ISO14001
and other schemes can certainly be used in encouraging businesses
to embark on sustainable development practices, research by the
ESD—Forum, Groundwork and others would suggest that for
many SMEs, community-based approaches [a more locally acceptable
form of corporate social responsibility] would be far more appropriate
and persuasive.
5.2.3.3 Market researchers and leading sustainable
development consultants state that for sustainable development
to become more embedded in our consumerist society, sustainability
ideas and services need to be attractive to more people. Labeling
products and promoting brands enable people to opt for goods,
services and the associated lifestyle concept. Whilst marketing
particular products may not be an appropriate approach for independent
bodies such as Sustainability West Midlands, identifying lifestyle
behaviours—which are linked to the benefits and rewards
of opting for more sustainable choices over lesser ones—certainly
could be.
6.1 Potential approach for SWM's Communications
and Marketing Strategy
Learning from the experiences and advice contained
within this paper leads us to form a reasonable approach to developing
a communication and marketing of sustainable development strategy.
6.2 Collate a map of sustainable development
communication activities and deliverers in the West Midlands
Embark on meaningful dialogue with the stakeholders
identified in such a mapping exercise in order to:
— decide which "communities of
interest" SWM is wanting to target in the West Midlands;
— decide what SWM in particular is
wanting to say;
— decide what does SWM want to achieve
with these target groups;
— decide how SWM are going to measure
successes;
— engage appropriately with your target
audience by accessing them where they live, work and play;
— generate an action plan for each
of the target audiences chosen which include elements of innovation,
inspiration, opportunities for practical involvement and enjoyment
and can be observed and duplicated by others;
— reflect and revise the Communications
and Marketing strategy.
January 2003
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