By Stephanie H. Blake, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of Colorado Colorado Springs
(This article appears in the June, 2011 issue of The ACUPCC Implementer)
As public relations practitioners and educators know, the only initiative more difficult than changing opinions is changing behavior. To add to the challenge, changing opinions does not necessarily result in changed behavior. So, we can hope, but not assume, that educating our students about the consequences of climate change will cause them be more aware and to turn off the lights when they leave a campus classroom, for example. Since ACUPCC signatories commit to not only educating their campuses, but also changing behaviors by way of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions, how do we talk to students about climate change in ways that will result in behavioral change? In other words, what messages are most likely to persuade, and what channels are most likely to effectively deliver the messages that lead to change?
During the spring and fall semesters of 2010, as a faculty member in the Communication Department of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS), I partnered with the campus’s Office of Sustainability, the unit tasked with educating about climate change and facilitating behavior change, to determine the messages and tactics that might be most effective in reaching the UCCS student body.
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