Becoming an Early Adapter: Picking a Partner for the Sustainable Evolution

In this article, Kurian poses the idea that "corporate social responsibility (CSR) may be an invention of PR."  With the widespread use of the four Rs, (reduce, reuse, recycle and re-think) as well as the emergence of sustainable projects, one can note that the two ideas were publicized and may be even created by the practitioners of public relations.

This leads me to ask this question: If public relations practitioners can make up corporate social responsibility and actually have companies adopt to it, can we somehow make environmental concern a norm on the campus of Florida A&M while making students adapt to it? Maybe corporate social responsibility is taking a step. Maybe it is moving, or evolving, from the corporate world and heading to the world of public institutions like schools. This leads me to think about the survey data my group collected. Many students weren't concerned at all. This may be because the environmental movement is early in its evolution. The movement may be turning a new leaf that they just aren't familiar with yet.

We need to make the Student Green Energy Fund a part of FAMU. Kurian mentions that now it is normal to see a CSR tab or community outreach section on a corporate website. Maybe in the future this will be a norm for universities too! In relation to the green energy fund, our job is to make FAMU a part of that early adapter group.

One way we have suggested to achieve the SGEF is to partner with a larger organization on campus that is more prominent. Kurian poses the idea that this may not work because of the perception of the masses. The masses know that corporations donate money to worthy causes. The problem is that the masses also know that they can receive tax deductions and refunds because of these donations. This makes the public question the sincerity in these actions. Similarly, as Kurian says, "The corporation lies, steals and kills without hesitation... Corporate social responsibility is impossible except in so far as it is insincere."

This makes me wonder if partenring with SGA is a good idea. Students feel that they take advantage of their power and often have negative attitudes towards them. This is also the reason many students, more than 60 percent, do not participate in campus elections. The FAMU Green Coalition should keep its crisp image as a clean student organization. Its brand might be ruined if it partners with the wrong group. With these ideas in mind, I think we can come up with a fantastic way to encourage support.

Kurian, P (2005). Imperializing Spin Cycles: A postcolonial look at public relations, greenwashing and the separation of publics Science Direct, 19(3), 513-520. doi: S0749-3797(00)00195-1

Environmental Awareness: Crafting a Message that Matters to the Audience

Benjamin Preston, Rueben Warren and Peter Stewart conducted a study that focused on the environmental awareness of 768 low-income families in the Mississippi Delta. During this study, the three found that certain factors affected the level of environmental awareness in participants.  “Significant associations existed between both education and race/ethnicity and the responses of survey participants.” (Preston, Stewart & Warren, 2000, p.174)

In this study, all the participants were women who were the heads of their households. The researchers wanted to find out if they were aware of the “environmental issues and daily behaviors that may affect the health of their families.” (Preston, Stewart & Warren, 2000, p.175)

In regards to the campaign at Florida A&M, we have to follow the example of these three researchers. We have to identify a problem that we know students will be interested in. The researchers focused on women because they identified a problem that would affect their children. The researchers knew that this issue would be important to the audience they chose. Had they chosen adults with no children, the message would have been irrelevant.

   

As we organize this campaign, we need to understand what is important to our target audience. What do students care about? What will affect students on a daily basis? Once we answer these questions, we can pinpoint a specific issue that matters to the students and craft a message that tells them how the green energy fund will solve it.

In the study of families in the Mississippi Delta, the researchers knew their audience. The surveys were only sent to “female-headed households with children (aged 2 to 5) participating in the Head Start programs” in 20 specific counties. (Preston, Stewart & Warren, 2000, p.175) We have already broken down our audience by their place of residence. With this step already complete, we need to make sure we ask the right questions so that we can narrow down our data and analyze it correctly. It’s important that we know the sex of our participants and their classification. This may affect how receptive they are to our message and how concerned they are with our cause.

Preston, B. L., Stewart, P., & Warren, R. C. (2000). Factors affecting environmental awareness among head start families in mississippi. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 19(3), 174-179. doi: S0749-3797(00)00195-1

Environmental Injustices: From Mere Issues to a Movement

This article addresses the issue of environmental injustices that are faced by African Americans. The author, Robert Williams, states that environmental issues were not always an issue. Organizations and individuals have transformed mere issues into a movement. Within this article, Williams discusses the methods in which organizations and individuals called attention to the problem.

Williams begins by informing the reader that the environmental justice movement began with grassroots organizations and word of mouth. In 1982, protestors from Warren County wanted a toxic landfill out of their community. (Williams,1999, p.4) From there, studies were conducted analyzing communities of color and the health risks associated with them. This brought a lot of attention to various injustices that communities faced.

When scientists investigated other communities, they stumbled upon more issues in more places. In relation to the Green Energy Fund, we can cause the student body to stumble upon issues in our own environment. If we study how other universities are using their funds, this will let us know where we may be lacking as a university.

For example, one university may have used their fund to implement a feature that makes their air cleaner. This will cause us, as well as the student body, to analyze the air in our environment. This can easily result in all of us taking action. We can not expect students to take action against an issue that they are not aware of. The scientists made the issues known. In our situation, we have to be the scientists and make the issues at Florida A&M known to gain support for our campaign.

Another way that environmental injustice issues were brought to the forefront was by alliances. Since the grassroots organizations were small, they partnered with organizations like the National Resources Defense Council and Greenpeace. (Williams, 1999, p.58) This led to strong partnerships that put a lot of pressure on local and state governments around the country.

If the Green Coalition partners with big and influential organizations on campus, this will familiarize the student body with the issue. Not only that, but the university administration and the student government association will have to become concerned with the issue. This will put a lot of pressure on the people with power. Just like a real government, our senators and representatives must be re-elected. If they aren’t concerned with the issues the students are, they will not remain in office.

Williams even mentions that petitions were utilized all over the country by organizations both small and large. In general, the issues were brought to attention by activism and investigation. If we as researchers do the investigating, all we have to do is relay that information to the student body so they can take action.

Williams, R.W. (1999) . Environmental injustice in America and its politics of scale. Political Geography, 18 (1) , 49-73 . 10.1016/S0962-6298(98)00076-6