Abstract

As part of their climate protection efforts, local governments generally implement a range of emissions reduction measures, leading to lower energy use and reduced energy costs. However, local government action has symbolic value that extends beyond the magnitude of emissions reduced. Government action demonstrates the savings potential, ease of implementation, and social value of energy saving measures to the community atlarge. When awareness of the issue is raised via targeted and well-publicized efforts, the experience gained by the local government can inform and inspire individual action, leading to substantial community-wide reductions in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, few comprehensive resources exist to assist local governments in communicating and reaching out to their communities on this complex issue. And, without effective engagement of the community, it is unlikely that local governments will be able to reach their climate protection goals. Recognizing this need, ICLEI has created the ICLEI Outreach and Communications Guide.

The ICLEI Outreach and Communications Guide brings together important information on how to utilize effective communication avenues to reach out to predetermined target audiences, and highlights some of the best local government communication practices from across the nation. Given that communications are greatly affected by the cultural context, this Guide does not provide universal conclusions; rather, it shares good practices and provides inspiration for future communications and outreach efforts.