Planning and organising an environmental dialogue
5 How to choose your means of communication
Once you have decided with whom the company must enter into an environmental dialogue and
the objectives, you can choose the means. You can choose between four groups of means, all
of which are suitable for environmental dialogue. They are: distribution of environmental
information; personal environmental dialogue; offer of environmental information; and
collection of environmental information. Each group consists of a number of means that are
presented below in the form of lists.
The best way of achieving the most effective dialogue is to combine means from all four groups. You will find a more detailed description of the various means in "Katalog over midler til miljødialog" (Catalogue of Means for Environmental Dialogue), which is issued in the same series as this manual.
You have to consider two factors when choosing means:
 | How actively will the company and the stakeholder enter into the dialogue? If you have prepared a dialogue map and described the stakeholders, you will know the level of activity. |
| What forms of communication do the company's dialogue objectives suggest: communication of environmental information, discussions concerning environmental issues, greater knowledge of each other, or supply of information so that the stakeholders can choose for themselves? |
As you will see from the example on this page, you must use the dialogue objectives you have formulated when choosing the means. Beside each objective that you transfer to the schedule note the means that are suitable for achieving it. If you use the lists of means in 5.1. 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4, you will avoid overlooking relevant ones.
Stakeholders |
Dialogue objectives |
Communication means |
Selected customers |
We must inform these customers between March 1 and July 1 about the advantages of our packaging return scheme and about a trial period and the price. |
Direct mail |
Suppliers of key products |
We must inform these suppliers before November 1 about our meetings with the customers. |
Telephone calls |
Suppliers that meet our environmental requirements |
We must inform these suppliers before September 1 about our environmental policy and invite them to a meeting to discuss how they can live up to it. |
Direct mail |
Neighbours |
We must inform our neighbours before March 1 that we are changing our transport system but that this may take up to six months. |
Article in local news- paper |
5.1 Distribute your environmental
information
If your company is more active in the dialogue than the stakeholders, you need to present a variety of environmental information so that the company's information, attitudes and proposals appear clearly and precisely. You can choose from among the following communication means, all of which are suitable for distributing environmental information:
| advertisements |
| daily papers |
| direct mail |
| packaging |
| labels |
| trade journals |
| folders and brochures |
| local newspapers |
| magazines |
| manual for joint marketing |
| instructions for eco-friendly use |
| environmental management certificates |
| eco-labels |
| environmental information in the financial accounts |
| environmental report |
| environmental product declaration |
| newsletters |
| personal letters |
| point-of-sale material |
| postcards |
| press conference |
| radio |
| TV |
| TV advertisements |
| video |
Since the competition for the recipients' attention is immense, the company must make its message interesting and convincing. There is always a risk of the recipients not reading the information they receive from the company, and even if they do read it, it is not certain that they will interpret it as you would like them to. You will therefore probably have to combine written and electronic environmental communication with other means that make it possible for the stakeholders to express their views.
When you choose written and electronic environmental communication you must consider whether it is enough to use means of communication prepared by the company itself – e.g. letters and printed matter – or whether the information should also go out through the press.
If you decide to use the press, you must weigh up the advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that the information appears more credible and reaches many recipients at one and the same time. One of the disadvantages is that you cannot be certain that the press mentions the company's environmental aspects in the way you want them mentioned. If you want to communicate about environment through the press, you will find some good advice in another of the manuals in this series: "Miljødialog gennem pressen" (Environmental dialogue through the press).
5.2 Use personal environmental dialogue to discuss proposals
If the dialogue objective is a proposal for them to act in a specific way you will often need to talk to the stakeholders. Personal contact is normally necessary if you are to agree. There are two reasons for this: talking to people is the best way of getting speedy and detailed answers to questions, and most people prefer to enter into agreements face to face or on the phone.
Compared with other means, personal dialogue is the most binding form of communication because both parties have already decided to spend time on each other – and almost always with specific results in mind.
You can choose between the following forms of personal dialogue to discuss environmental issues:
| fairs |
| visits to the company |
| meetings. |
If you choose personal dialogue as your means, you should be aware that that makes demands on the colleagues who are going to conduct the dialogue. You must therefore ensure that they receive regular training in relevant environmental matters.
You will also have to combine the personal dialogue with different forms of written and electronic environmental communication to prepare meetings and arrangements.
5.3 Make the company's environmental information accessible
If the stakeholders are active and interested in receiving information about the company's environmental work, you can make environmental information available on a website for them to select when needed. With information technology you can store and present large quantities of information about your environmental aspects.
If you choose to use a website, you must make certain that you have the necessary resources to update the information. Environmental information on a website is suitable for anyone who wants to find it, but that is rarely enough. People have to know that the information is available before they seek it for themselves.
Besides the website you can make your environmental information available to the stakeholders by means of:
| intranet and extranet for selected stakeholders |
| the company's switchboard |
| a hotline for environmental questions. |
5.4 Gather information about the stakeholders
A thorough knowledge of each other's wishes and possibilities in the environmental area is an important part of the dialogue. Gathering information about stakeholders before and during the dialogue with them will improve your possibility of planning your environmental work for the benefit of both parties. Regular updating of the information about the stakeholders' needs is necessary because knowledge and attitudes change rapidly in the environment area.
You gather information to find out the stakeholders' attitude to different proposals and in what areas the company must improve its environmental performance and service in order to meet the stakeholders' wishes and requirements.
If you need to know more about the company's stakeholders you can choose between the following methods to obtain the information:
| questionnaire-based survey |
| group interviews |
| individual interviews. |