integrating sustainability themes into media - Collaborating Centre ...

www.scp-centre.org
2 Introducing Sustainability Media
2.1 Developments in current practice
In recent years, networking and collaboration initiatives are being increasingly
common between various political actors and media professionals. In addition
many business activities focussing on sustainability in the media have emerged
and much can be learned from the experience of political actors in their collaboration
with the media. Important current developments include:
Business agents and media professionals are beginning to proactively apply
different media formats to disseminate sustainability information and reach new
markets (e.g. the Utopia platform, the Bravo campaign “Bravo Goes Green” or the
ProSieben “Green7” campaign).
Government support for research activities that measure the effects of sustainability
messages on media users (examples include the “balance (f)” media research
project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research
and the Double Impact project undertaken by the Potsdam Institute for Climate
Impact Research and co-funded by the European Climate Forum and the Federal
Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety).
Government support for the provision of education materials for media organisations
(e.g. in the case of the children’s TV program “Graslöwen TV” supported
by the Bundesstiftung Umwelt or in the detective story episode of “Tatort:
Manila” supported by the Federal Ministry on Economic Cooperation and Development).
Legislative debates and proposals (regionally, nationally and at the EU-level) on
new forms of social idea-placement/topic-placement in media aimed at for-profit
business, NGOs/associations and other stakeholders (see discussion and examples
mentioned above). In this context, government organisations are also asked to
meet demands and to develop transparent principles for their strategies to promote
sustainability issues in the media. An example might be the terms by which government
might collaborate with a daily soap through providing appropriate information
on topics such as how to save energy or the accurate depiction of an energy
consultation within a storyline.
12