"You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it.
But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder."
Unknown

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• About us
• Painting the Town Green
  • Where we are starting from
  • What we are up against
  • Where we might be falling down
  • How we might do things better
• What Are People Like?!
• Short reports
• External resources
• Contact us

About us

Green-Engage Communications seeks ways to engage people in respecting, protecting and enhancing the environment for the benefit of society as a whole. Our vision is of a society in which taking care of the environment is second nature and something that everyone wants to participate in.

We believe that…

• People do care about the environment but often don't act on it.
• The barriers people face in going green are both external and internal, real and imagined.
• Some people reject green ideas on principle because they don't chime with their own entrenched values and 'gut feelings'.
• Not enough people have adopted 'green' behaviours to enable society as a whole to meet its sustainability challenges.
• Existing communications campaigns aimed at persuading the public to go green are not effective enough.
• The green movement needs to adopt a new approach in communicating with the public, based on positive marketing and an understanding of how people think and act. This will involve different approaches for different people.

In our work we aim to be...

• Accurate
• Inclusive and relevant
• Innovative and visionary
• Positive and inspiring
• Provocative and bold
• Passionate

Green-Engage Communications is led by Stephen Hounsham. He was Communications Manager at Transport 2000 from 1999 until 2006 and helped to cement its role as the most respected and influential campaign and research organisation on transport and the environment. In 2006 he researched and wrote Painting the Town Green: How to Persuade People to be Environmentally Friendly, a fresh look at how campaign organisations, local authorities and central government could change public attitudes and behaviours.

From 1986 to 1999 Stephen Hounsham handled a broad spectrum of communications projects at Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, prior to which he worked on the founding editorial team of the national farming journal Crops. He has a BA in Agricultural and Forest Science, has attended countless communications courses, has worked with and within a number of activist and conservation groups, and supports a wide range of environmental interests, charities and campaigns.

Green-Engage Communications draws on the skills, knowledge and experience of its Associates...

Sian Berry is a leading figure in green politics and campaigning. She was the Green Party's candidate for London Mayor in May 2008 and has also been Principal Speaker and National Campaigns Co-ordinator for the party. Sian was one of the founders of the highly effective Alliance Against Urban 4x4s, which began in London in 2003, and has now evolved into We Are Futureproof, which has helped change car advertising rules and pushes for progress in personal transport. Seen as a moderniser, a pragmatist and a media-wise communicator, she has also written four readable books (the 50 Ways to... series) on how to reduce your impact on the environment through personal behaviour change. Her latest book is called Mend It: 400 Easy Repairs for Everyday Items.

George Marshall founded and is Director of Projects for Climate Outreach Information Network, which engages with the public on climate change. During 20 years as an environmental and indigenous rights campaigner, he has worked at all levels of the green movement. He has been a Director of the Rainforest Information Centre in Australia, a senior campaigner at both Greenpeace and the Rainforest Foundation, and a consultant to the German and Papua New Guinean governments. He has authored 15 major reports and won nine awards for his video documentary work. His latest book, Carbon Detox: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Real about Climate Change, was published in October 2007.

Martin Parkinson is interested in the psychology of sustainability. He has a BA in Experimental Psychology and Philosophy, together with qualifications in law and music and experience in information technology. He has contributed to communications work at environmental organisations and is known for his thought-provoking, sideways analysis of environmental issues, for ruffling feathers and for leading campaigners and communicators to question what they are doing.

Green-Engage Communications has always drawn on the skills, knowledge and experience of volunteer contributors and task-workers. We are firm believers in the ethos of voluntary work as a means of both enriching projects and providing pathways for personal and professional development.

 

Environment is important in many ways. Our personal well being is closely linked to the quality of our environment and how we interact with it. The Smarter Cat programme is looking at how we can maximise our well being while minimising our impact on the environment and bringing our use of its resources into natural balance.

Smarter Cat is part of Green-Engage Communications. For more information visit the Smarter Cat website.

 

© Green-Engage Communications 2007-2009