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The Advantage in the Waste Industry
Figure 1 Stakeholder mapping: categorizing stakeholder groups by their level of interest and influence.
Figure courtesy of AEA.
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the role of Pr and stakeholder Partnerships in Driving sustainable Waste management
inevitable loss of individual authority control to the overall group. They can be difficult to establish and maintain and more than one has foundered due to internal rifts when it came to the crunch decisions, such as: Were having this particular technology and itll be built there! This has resulted in the public turning on the partnership and rescinding any support they may have offered for the partnership, the technology or the proposed sites in the past. That said, some partnerships are successful and this article looks at the crucial role of PR and stakeholder partnership in the success of these waste management projects.
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Sustained Awareness
You will need to undertake a sustained awareness and education program with other stakeholders (including residents in areas likely to be impacted by new facilities and associated transport routes) ranging from online information, printed newsletters, public meetings with different groups (as far as possible in their territory), as well as many one-toone meetings with key opinion formers and decision makers.
Perception of Risk
One of the most important issues is to contain the perception of risk envelopethe psychological area within which people feel directly threatened by any new development. Communities within this area need extra
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PercePtion in the Uk
of risk
Perceptions of risk, particularly by key stakeholders has been the undoing far too often for waste infrastructure projects in the UK over the last five years and is now threatening to undermine the UKs ability to meet European diversion targetsa situation which will lead to significant fines for the UK taxpayer. New waste infrastructure projects in The Advantage in the Waste Industry Bedfordshire, Cornwall, Shropshire, Warwickshire, Coventry and Guernsey (to name a few) have all been delayed or rejected as a result of local stakeholder pressure. This situation will become even more interesting as the new Conservative Government is actively promoting more local decision making on waste strategies and planning. This will undoubtedly lead to a greater emphasis being placed on stakeholder engagement, PR and communications planning for all future waste services and associated treatment infrastructure. Only time will tell if the extra effort in this area will work. However, done correctly, stakeholder engagement campaigns can help deliver projects successfully as this example from the east coast of England shows. Kingston upon Hull lies on the north side of the Humber estuary and is surrounded by the County of East Yorkshire. These two municipalities formed a partnership a number of years ago to develop a new waste-toenergy plant to treat their residual waste in order to meet the requirements of the EU Landfill Directive. Together with a UK waste management company they embarked on a stakeholder and community engagement program to build support for the proposed facility. The waste management company dealt with all public communications about the plan with media relations, newsletters, presentations to locals and community groups, and regular updates for local politicians. The two municipalities worked closely together to ensure that due legal processes were followed. Cross-departmental teams were set up to ensure key departments and individuals were kept informed at every step (in particular the local planning departments). The local community was given space to voice its concern and opposition and extra effort was taken to communicate the need for the project and the reasons why the final site had been selected. The local NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) campaign, HOTI (Hull Opposing The Incinerator), was vociferous in its opposition and ran a tough campaign that did cause rifts in the Councils. However, key to the projects successful passage through the planning process was the work undertaken during many meetings and discussions with key stakeholders and decision makers, in particular the Chair of the local Planning Committee who was brought on board early in the process and worked closely with council officers throughout the process to ensure that the final decision was made on planning criteria and not other factors. Also key to its success was the containment of the perception of risk envelopewhile locally there was a strong campaign taking place, elsewhere in the district and wider afield in the East Riding of Yorkshire, the public was less concerned because of the clarity of the information provided. The facilitys planning application was a success and the energy recovery plant is now operating with little local concern or ongoing negative press.
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attention as they will have legitimate concerns which need to be addressed usually associated with the negative impact of the facility on their house price, air quality or view. But this aspect of the campaign must not be given too much emphasis, and must be well planned at an early stage to avoid any local groundswell of public opposition that could rapidly build momentum and may ultimately break your partnership and ruin your plans (see Perception of Risk in the UK sidebar).
Planning Well
So, early and extensive communications with stakeholders is important to address their concerns and win their support or acceptance for new waste infrastructure. The media is a key influential stakeholder and needs its own engagement plan to win it over, as does any community living near the facility you intend to build. And remember, this has to be a genuine exercisepeople are too savvy (and possibly cynical) nowadays and will spot a box ticking process immediately and will let you know about it in no uncertain terms, to the possible detriment of your project, and your finances. | WA Gareth Morton is a principal consultant and communications specialist in AEAs Waste Management and Resource Efficiency Group. Gareth can be reached at +44 (0) 870 190 6062 or via e-mail at gareth.morton@aeat.co.uk. Dr. Adam Read is Practice Lead for AEAs Global Resource Efficiency and Waste Management Group. He can be reached at +44 (0) 870 190 2552 or via e-mail at adam.read@aeat.co.uk. AEA is one of the worlds leaders in energy and environmental consultancy and information management. The company operates in the UK, Europe, the U.S. and China advising the UK Government, the EU and major private sector organizations in energy and climate change, air and water quality, risk management, resources and waste management, sustainable transport and knowledge transfer. For more information, visit www.aeat.co.uk.
2010 Waste Advantage Magazine, All Rights Reserved. Reprinted from Waste Advantage Magazine. Contents cannot be reprinted without permission from the publisher.
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