Program on the Environment

Many social, psychological, and political complications hinder effective environmental communications, and these issues can be exacerbated when presented in business and professional environments. However, in a society that is largely driven by for-profit companies, it’s vital that effective environmental education comes at least in part from employers. The purpose of this study was to find crucial overlaps between established, effective environmental communication techniques and professional communication techniques. I partnered with Town & Country Markets ⁠— a local, sustainability-minded grocery chain that offers environmental trainings to its 1,000+ employees — to create a report and set of recommendations based on individual research on environmental communication techniques as they apply to environmental trainings in a corporate setting. Second, I implemented my findings into a redesigned multimedia presentation and training tool on environmental issues for Town & Country employees. My research on the overlap between successful environmental communication techniques and successful professional communication techniques shed light on the particular importance of three primary commonalities: 1) tailoring to specific interests of the group being communicated to, 2) using visual storytelling to craft a strong message, and 3) focusing on solutions rather than problems. These principles guide the success of general trainings in the workplace just as they do communication of environmental principles; with the proper consideration of these factors, it is possible to not only bring much-needed improvements to private-sector environmental performances, but to elicit widespread pro-environment behavior change on an individual level.