Whitewashers
| Whitewashers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Text passage | Category | Main category |
| the range of groups and people who have adopted sustainability as this sunny, positive “common future” frame has become incredibly wide | Adoption of the sunshine perspective | Characteristics of WW |
| […] the tendency to communicate only the so-called “sunshine perspective” of sustainability in the public sphere—i.e. to tell a story that focuses only on the positive aspects and impacts of sustainability, such as the creation of new green jobs, the (economic) benefits of renewable energies and the technological and economic progress coming with the turn towards sustainable development | Focus on sunshine perspective | |
| “rainy side” […] This perspective seems to be rather unappealing mainly on an individual level because it cuts down the narrative of individuality and personal freedom | Negative side of sustainability is unappealing | |
| […] stave off neoliberal delusions of “green recovery” currently bandied about by global North politicians | Propagators of “green recovery” | |
| […] emphasizing the positive aspect of crisis situations; that is, considering such occurrences […] as an opportunity for positive changes | Ignoring the negative side | |
| The rhetoric of renewal emphasizes on the future and recovery. […] communicating positive emotions such as relief, when the damage in some way remained contained | Focus on positive emotions | Limitations of existing approaches |
| Increased use of “crisis” to characterize climate change and/or increasing instances of climate change being mentioned in proximity to related crises […] | Climate change as “crisis” | |
| Stakeholders have no reason to be inspired by model behavior if they cannot see a positive outcome | Focus on positive outcome to engage stakeholder | |
| Highlighting the positive: […] messages are far more effective when you describe what you can do instead of what you can't do | Highlight the positive | |
| […] a return to “normal life” under financial capitalism and climate destabilization is not desirable nor represents just or viable future | Return to “normal” is not possible | |
| Among scientific papers, titles with positive, more interesting framing receive higher Altmetric scores | Positive bias in research | |
| […] climate anxiety was neither positively nor negatively correlated with behavior […] this reflects a state of tension between the motivating and paralyzing effects | Missing link to behavioral change | |
| breaking the bad news softly | Soften bad news | |
| […] communication strategies advised are determined by individual response and not decided unilaterally [by the communicator] | Individual response determines communication strategy | |
| What listeners hear depends not on what speakers say, but on listeners' subjective and social context on what has been said | Response is individual | |
| There is no empirical research on which type of communication (e.g. emotional or rational […]) is best suited for […] sustainability | Lack of empirical research | |
| Emotional responses tend to be restricted to situations when expertise is low | Limitation of emotional communication | |
| […] explicit messages state their conclusion, making it less likely for the message to be misunderstood. The advantage of explicit messages is that audiences who are unfamiliar with sustainability can also understand the message | Use explicit message | Suggested communication strategies |
| a denotative meaning expresses a definition of a word that is determined and agreed by a community and has limited room for misinterpretation | Use denotative messages to avoid misinterpretation | |
| the delivery of substantive messages (i.e. reasoned messages) […] encourages the recipients […] to mindfully consider the arguments and meaning of the message and to realign their beliefs and attitudes accordingly […] leading to desired changes in behavior | Use reasoned messages | |
| Although the importance of rational sustainability communication […] emotional elements are still more important | Use emotions | |
| […] prefer emotional sustainability messages that appeal to their feelings […] because the sense of relief from moral guilt by making an environmentally sound choice is greater | Use emotions to evoke relief | |
| The contextualization of messages, by making them personal, ensures perceived behavioral control, which improves […] recipients' response | Contextualization and personal link | |
| Whitewashers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Text passage | Category | Main category |
| the range of groups and people who have adopted sustainability as this sunny, positive “common future” frame has become incredibly wide | Adoption of the sunshine perspective | |
| […] the tendency to communicate only the so-called “sunshine perspective” of sustainability in the public sphere—i.e. to tell a story that focuses only on the positive aspects and impacts of sustainability, such as the creation of new green jobs, the (economic) benefits of renewable energies and the technological and economic progress coming with the turn towards sustainable development | Focus on sunshine perspective | |
| “rainy side” […] This perspective seems to be rather unappealing mainly on an individual level because it cuts down the narrative of individuality and personal freedom | Negative side of sustainability is unappealing | |
| […] stave off neoliberal delusions of “green recovery” currently bandied about by global North politicians | Propagators of “green recovery” | |
| […] emphasizing the positive aspect of crisis situations; that is, considering such occurrences […] as an opportunity for positive changes | Ignoring the negative side | |
| The rhetoric of renewal emphasizes on the future and recovery. […] communicating positive emotions such as relief, when the damage in some way remained contained | Focus on positive emotions | |
| Increased use of “crisis” to characterize climate change and/or increasing instances of climate change being mentioned in proximity to related crises […] | Climate change as “crisis” | |
| Stakeholders have no reason to be inspired by model behavior if they cannot see a positive outcome | Focus on positive outcome to engage stakeholder | |
| Highlighting the positive: […] messages are far more effective when you describe what you can do instead of what you can't do | Highlight the positive | |
| […] a return to “normal life” under financial capitalism and climate destabilization is not desirable nor represents just or viable future | Return to “normal” is not possible | |
| Among scientific papers, titles with positive, more interesting framing receive higher Altmetric scores | Positive bias in research | |
| […] climate anxiety was neither positively nor negatively correlated with behavior […] this reflects a state of tension between the motivating and paralyzing effects | Missing link to behavioral change | |
| breaking the bad news softly | Soften bad news | |
| […] communication strategies advised are determined by individual response and not decided unilaterally [by the communicator] | Individual response determines communication strategy | |
| What listeners hear depends not on what speakers say, but on listeners' subjective and social context on what has been said | Response is individual | |
| There is no empirical research on which type of communication (e.g. emotional or rational […]) is best suited for […] sustainability | Lack of empirical research | |
| Emotional responses tend to be restricted to situations when expertise is low | Limitation of emotional communication | |
| […] explicit messages state their conclusion, making it less likely for the message to be misunderstood. The advantage of explicit messages is that audiences who are unfamiliar with sustainability can also understand the message | Use explicit message | |
| a denotative meaning expresses a definition of a word that is determined and agreed by a community and has limited room for misinterpretation | Use denotative messages to avoid misinterpretation | |
| the delivery of substantive messages (i.e. reasoned messages) […] encourages the recipients […] to mindfully consider the arguments and meaning of the message and to realign their beliefs and attitudes accordingly […] leading to desired changes in behavior | Use reasoned messages | |
| Although the importance of rational sustainability communication […] emotional elements are still more important | Use emotions | |
| […] prefer emotional sustainability messages that appeal to their feelings […] because the sense of relief from moral guilt by making an environmentally sound choice is greater | Use emotions to evoke relief | |
| The contextualization of messages, by making them personal, ensures perceived behavioral control, which improves […] recipients' response | Contextualization and personal link | |
Source(s): Authors’ own creation
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