Category Archives: Social Responsibility

How Can We Communicators Address the Environmental Crisis?

Leave a reply

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how we — as communicators — can bring our skills, insights, and understandings into the service of our fragile planet. How can we help move beyond the “doom and gloom” so often seen and heard whenever anyone talks or writes about the environmental crises we face? Can we contribute to creating an effective space of empowerment and motivation?

I recently came across a relatively new academic term: “environmental communication”. The International Environmental Communication Association, the scholarly association for the field, only launched in 2011. Their Executive Director, Mark Meisner, wrote a piece on their One-Planet Talking Blog that I excerpt here because it really speaks to me:

“Better policies, cleaner energy sources, new technologies, carbon taxes and all of the other innovative approaches to dealing with environmental issues will only take us so far. In order to achieve lasting ecological sustainability, human culture (especially in wasteful Western societies) is going to have to change as well. This will require some significant shifts in our views and values towards the natural world, ourselves, and each other. So, how well we communicate about nature and environmental affairs will affect how quickly and thoroughly we can transform our cultures and ultimately how well we address the ecological crisis.”

Wow. I guess we actually do have a role to play!

Just the other day, my 7-year-old cousin and I were reading a book that referred to “global warming” and I was at a loss to explain it without scaring her. I know there are many educators working on this very front for learners of all ages (including us grown-ups). An example is an aptly named Initiative called “Beyond Doom and Gloom: Climate Solutions”.

O.k. This is obviously a huge topic, and I am just beginning to explore it. If you would like to chime in, please do so by leaving a reply.

 

Green Scene: All About Recycled Paper

Leave a reply

We have learned how using the right language can engage readers and potential collaborators as well as influence other changemakers to take action.  But some of the more tangible aspects of our organizations can also reflect just how committed we are to making a difference.

There’s one often-overlooked tool that we use to fundraise, market, and grow our organizations: paper. Unless you are entirely digital and never print anything, you will have to use some dead trees at some point.

My friend Carolina Miranda, founder of Cultivating Capital, has generously allowed us to share much of her article, Making Good Purchasing Decisions for Recycled Paper. The article includes useful tips and information on how we can become more environmentally responsible, while still getting our messages across. Please see below:

The key when buying your paper is to make sure that it clearly specifies that it has ‘post-consumer waste.’

Let’s start with some basics. Here’s a quick rundown of the terms that you might find on a package of copy paper:

  • Recycled – this is an easy one: When paper is recycled and turned back into paper, we refer to that as recycled paper. This is in contrast to virgin paper that is made exclusively from trees and has no recycled content.
  • Post-consumer waste (PCW) – this refers to paper that has reached the end consumers (all of us who are using paper and then tossing it in our recycle bins) and then been turned back into paper.  Paper that contains post-consumer waste (PCW) will clearly state it.
  • Recyclable – this is the sneakiest of the paper industry’s marketing ploys. They label their paper as either being recyclable or made from recyclable materials in order to intentionally mislead consumers into thinking that they’re buying a product made from recycled content. Basically, they’re just telling you that paper is recyclable – that it can be recycled – but we already know that!
  • Processed chlorine-free/unbleached – this means that bleach was not used to make the paper white. The ubiquitous white copy paper that we find in every office has traditionally required bleach in order to give it its white appearance. However, using bleach is not good for the environment, and now there are papers that are processed without bleach.

Continue reading →

The 7 Banned Words – Um, Remember Freedom of Speech?

Leave a reply

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services made it clear last month that to ensure their funding stream, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is best advised to avoid 7 words in their vocabulary: “fetus,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “vulnerable,” “evidence-based,” and “science-based.”

Really? Come on now, folks. There is simply no excuse for asking anyone to “tone down” their documents by erasing parts of the English language. Some call this a “ban”, while others term it a “recommendation”. Either way, it’s simply “very problematic.”

Of course, none of us can tolerate censorship of our work. And those of us dealing with critical social issues — such as healthcare or human rights or the environmental crisis or poverty — need every word at our disposal to help us make the world a better place.  Even in business writing, which is often thought of as dry and painful, we writers have the right to express ourselves fully (creatively, even).

I was heartened to read about The Human Rights Campaign’s response to the Trump Administration’s dictate; the organization projected all 7 words onto the entrance to the Trump International Hotel in Washington, along with the words “we will not be erased.”

As writers, let’s instead use our erasers (or delete buttons) to make sure our words are clear, concise, and meaningful: to say whatever needs to be said, no matter what.

The Green Scene: Reframing “Climate Change” Messages

Leave a reply

In recent months and years, climate change has been making an increasingly deeper impact on every one of our lives — across the country and around the world. But the term “climate change” doesn’t seem sufficient to describe the enormous challenges we are facing today: historic fires, droughts, hurricanes, and the sinking of some coastal cities.

As we already know, using the right language can mean a huge difference in successfully winning a grant, engaging a website visitor, or accomplishing a myriad of other essential tasks in our organizations. Just as important, the language we use to define our environmental problems can influence how others see the situation and take action (or not).

How can the right language help? Perhaps renaming “climate change” is a start. “Climate change” doesn’t identify the depth of the challenge, describe why things are happening as they are, or inspire us to address the situation. Susan Strong, Founder and Executive Director of The Metaphor Project (and a former editing client of mine for her book, Move Our Message: How to Get America’s Ear), mentions three steps we can take to use our language more decisively.

Read about her three steps in her blog article, Reframe “climate change,” in 3 Steps!.

 

 

New Case study for Conscious Capitalism Bay Area: Lifelong Journey

Leave a reply

I recently interviewed James White, a lifelong “conscious capitalist,” even before that term was invented.

For decades, he has been on the forefront of focusing on the Triple Bottom Line: people, planet, and profits. And because I am a writer and editor involved with the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Conscious Capitalism movement, I have started blogging for the group.

Yes, I have worked with and for nonprofits since childhood, because they focus on social change and making the world a better place for all.

But in the past few decades we have seen the phenomenal growth of for-profit entities that also seek the Triple Bottom Line: social mission businesses, social enterprises, green businesses, purpose-driven business, etc. In fact, I just attended Sustainatopia, a large international conference along those same lines.

I am thrilled to see the vast shift in today’s businesses world, as it adapts to the demands of people like you and me. We’re insisting on doing business as UNusual — that is, for the benefit of humanity and the environment. No longer is the nonprofit world the only place to participate in this work.

My first blog post for the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Conscious Capitalism movement is a good place to begin to explore this world.

The article starts out like this: Continue reading →