Major research grant for environmental communication

“We are so happy! Mistra’s research programme on environmental communication is a unique opportunity for us to make a difference in academia and society at large, and thus support Sweden’s transition to a sustainable society,” says Eva Friman, a researcher at the Sustainability Learning and Research Centre (SWEDESD) at Uppsala University.

She and Sofie Joosse, Docent in Environmental Communication at the Department of Urban and Rural Development at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), are the programme directors of the research programme. Its overall ambition is to integrate a broad and advanced understanding of environmental communication into research, policy and practice in order to strengthen Sweden’s transition to a more sustainable society.

“Sustainability involves a profound transformation of society and thus requires participation, acceptance and dialogue among a wide range of stakeholders. As sustainable development is a highly complex and contested issue, communication about what sustainability is and can mean, and how it can be promoted, is central to the transition process. Our view is that the programme can contribute significant knowledge in this regard,” explains Joosse.

Dialogues initiated by the state and municipalities

One of the projects of the Mistra Environmental Communication programme has been focusing on dialogues initiated by the state and municipalities. The aim has been to better understand their processes but also to develop tools for process leaders to create more inclusive, legitimate and democratic policy interventions. An example of such a tool is the reflection cycle, which helps the process leader reflect on their leadership and adapt it to the situation. These dialogues are important for creating sustainable social change.

Social media and the way in which environmental issues are discussed on different platforms is another area that has been examined. The researchers looked at what kind of information about environmental issues is displayed and what is not. A manual to support museums in their efforts to integrate climate and environmental issues into their exhibitions has also been developed.

“The first phase of Mistra Environmental Communication was very productive, both scientifically and in terms of the methods of co-creation and collaboration that were established. We now want to build on this and deepen our understanding of the role that environmental communication can play in sustainable development in practice. But we are also convinced that research must be responsive to changing social and political conditions,” continues Friman.

The first four years have focused on broadening the traditional approach to environmental communication. In the new phase of the programme, researchers will work with partners across society to explore how we communicate about sustainable development based on the concepts of information, meaning-making, knowledge, governance and change.

Åsa Malmberg