Who speaks for the climate?

Media organisations face unique challenges in addressing sustainability and climate change issues.

Like all entities, media have day-to-day operations and carbon supply chains that impact the environment. In addition, they face a unique obligation to report on climate-related issues, shaping public discourse on climate change, and holding companies to account for the honesty and transparency of their carbon emissions.

As New Zealand companies begin to grasp the reputation-building opportunities presented by excellent standards of climate reporting, it will become even more vital that media are well-resourced to scrutinise the words and actions of boards and senior management teams.

The question is: how well are media responding to an increased focus on climate reporting?

Carolyn Mortland, Director at Service Foods Ltd, says when she acted as Fonterra’s Director of Sustainability, journalists took some time to understand the intricacies of climate reporting.

“When we were preparing to issue Fonterra’s first external sustainability report in 2017, we put in a lot of work to prepare for media enquiries and curly questions around our statements and commitments. This included rigorous preparation of key messages, countless rehearsals of potential Q&As and ensuring senior management knew the report inside out.

“However, in those first few years of reporting, journalists stuck to what they knew and asked us surface-level questions about what we had committed to, rather than actually questioning whether our commitments were going far enough.

“There were a few exceptions to this, of course. But these were the journalists who specialised in climate change and had clearly spent hours combing through the data and understanding the intricacies of climate reporting.”

In the years since leaving her role at Fonterra, and honing her expertise as a sustainability advisor, Carolyn has seen journalists better prepared to dive more deeply into sustainability reporting and ask the hard questions.

As a result, she says it’s even more important for senior management teams to take the time to build rapport with media and understand how they approach reporting.

“It’s not just the on-the-record conversations you need to be prepared for. At Fonterra, we spent a lot of time speaking with journalists off the record, providing background information and building relationships to help them gain a full understanding of the issues in a less time-sensitive window than a media interview presents.”

Understanding where a journalist is coming from will ensure you are well-prepared for any questions that come your way, says Carolyn.

“It’s crucial to understand that journalists are on the look-out for the news hook and will link what you say to what’s most topical with the public at the time.

“Before you approach media, make sure you have a solid understanding of the broader context in which your organisation is operating and ask yourself: Is Government taking any action in this space? What are our competitors doing? What issues are at the top of the public’s mind? What are the journalists reporting on and what issues do they care about most?”

These questions are not only asked by communications teams around the country but are shaping the issues and communities that media organisations are focused on.

Caren Rangi, Chair of the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa and Director, Pacific Cooperation Broadcasting Limited, explains that the impacts of climate change in the Pacific region are already shaping the responsibilities of New Zealand media.

“As one of the biggest countries in the APAC region, Aotearoa has a great deal of responsibility to support our Pacific neighbours who are already one of the most impacted regions in the world from the disastrous effects of climate change.”

This responsibility is echoed in our foreign policy, with a recent announcement from Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta on New Zealand’s $1.3 billion investment in the Pacific to deal with climate change mitigation and adaption.

This is part and parcel of ensuring we pay our fair share towards addressing global climate challenges. Caren says the media sector must also make its contribution.

“Communities across Aotearoa have strong connections to the Pacific Islands and as a result, our media sector has a responsibility to keep Kiwis informed on the issues they are facing and how we are helping to address them.”

New Zealand journalists reporting on foreign countries are limited in truly understanding from afar how communities are facing climate impacts. Caren believes that alongside reporting on news in the Pacific Islands, more should be done to help build a strong and independent media sector in the region.

“At Pacific Cooperation Broadcasting Limited (PCBL), we recognise how important it is for the Pacific Islands to tell our stories in our own way and explain the real-world impacts of climate change as they see it within the communities.”

PCBL has several initiatives underway to support the development of Pacific broadcasters and journalists to help build a strong media sector in the region.

“We have a New Zealand-based media internship programme where broadcasters get to work for some of our biggest media companies to develop their capabilities. For example, several interns visited New Zealand to cover the Commonwealth Games giving them the opportunity to work on a massive event that doesn’t often happen in a small island nation.

“We also supply field and production equipment so media teams can live broadcast and upskill their reporting capabilities.”

Efforts like these can build a vibrant and resilient media sector that helps people learn more about themselves, each other and the world around them, says Caren.

Join the upcoming webinar Communicating for climate on 23 September.