News article
ASAP Cheat Sheet: a guide to sustainability communications in the sport sector
Why is communication important for any sustainability programme or strategy? Simply put, it will make or break any sustainability programme. Well-designed and executed communications will help any sport organisation deliver on its objectives. On the other hand, not considering the importance of effective communications or handling them poorly can create a significant obstacle in the organisation’s path to sustainability.
For any person working on sustainability, whether talking about sustainability-related topics with board members or colleagues, convincing commercial partners and suppliers to get on board with the organisation’s sustainability programme, or nudging the participants of (sports) events towards more environmentally-friendly behaviour; the success of all these actions will be determined by the ability to address the right target groups with the right messages, through the right channels at the right time.
The ASAP Sustainability Communications Cheat Sheet, which hereby completes the ASAP Toolbox, has been designed to help anybody working on sustainability (in the sport sector) do just that. It is full of tips, tricks and concrete examples to help navigate one’s way through sustainability communications, tailor activities to individual target groups, and achieve the right balance between “bragging” and not communicating at all. In a nutshell, these can be summarised as follows:
DO
- Act first, then communicate.
- Choose the right message for the right audience.
- Use strong positive visuals.
- Think locally.
- Use multiple communications channels.
- Show, don’t (only) tell.
DON’T
- Lie or try to hide the truth.
- Pretend that one activity can save the world.
- Copy to the letter what someone else is doing.
- Overdo it.
- Speak like a scientist.
The Cheat Sheet was developed in cooperation with a number of sustainability communications experts, ASAP Project partners and other stakeholders. It reflects their respective experiences as well as established principles of sustainability communications.