Mistra Environmental Communication

Short summary

Mistra Environmental Communication is an eight-year research programme dedicated to investigating how communication shapes sustainability transformations. Our work is critical and change-oriented: we advance a scientifically grounded understanding of how communication practices can contribute to efforts towards a sustainable future. The programme is a close collaboration between researchers from diverse disciplines, authorities, civil society organisations, and companies. SLU is the programme host and leads the work together with Uppsala University.

Research programme website

Visit the Mistra Environmental Communication programme website at www.environmental-communication.org. There you can find news and information about the programme's research, focus areas and upcoming events.

Why environmental communication?

Environmental communication is any communication about the environment – spoken, written and visual. It takes place all the time and everywhere, from casual conversations at the kitchen table to high-stake negotiations at COP meetings. The way we express ourselves and interact with each other shapes our understanding of nature and environmental challenges. Ultimately, these understandings influence how we act upon these issues. This places environmental communication at the center of sustainability efforts.

To address complex and controversial crises such as climate change and biodiversity loss, we need to identify harmful communication patterns and develop ways of communicating that encourage constructive dialogue and drive action toward sustainability.

CHS Role

Centre for Health and Sustainability (CHS) is together with SLU hosting the researchprogram Mistra Environmental Communication where Eva Friman, researcher at CHS, is program director together with Sofie Joosse at SLU. Maria Nyström, coordinator at CHS is also coodinating the program.

CHS is part of the workpackages:

• Governance, collaboration and resistance in environmental communication, and
• Co-creating transformations through environmental communication