The Audience

• Emphasize a pollution-prevention practice.
• Tell audience a little about how to prevent pollution.
• Tell audience where they can obtain information about prevention.

Emphasize “place”, by creating a local Board for example, has potential for broad impacts on locally identified environmental problems.

Message content

Focus the content for outreach materials on cost savings, such as when and where pollution prevention is as cheap as or cheaper than traditional techniques. Include facts and figures.

Emphasize how easy it is to do the right thing and the impacts of not engaging in pollution prevention.

Stress benefits such as efficiency or better relations with government, for businesses not primarily concerned with public image.

Message delivery vehicle

Provide outreach through external relationships chosen by the business, such as suppliers, trade shows, other companies, and publications to which businesses subscribe.

Encourage businesses to take advantage of external relationships such as those offered by trade associations and courses.

Reduce emphasis on information from the government except for information about tax deductions and other incentives.

Generate ongoing environmental change by initiating and coordinating pollution prevention activities through regional networks or consortia.

Outreach strategy

Emphasize company commitment to pollution prevention activities and investment of adequate time and money. Self-assessment has produced measures of superior quality to those produced by quick-scan methods completed by a consultant. When companies invest more time in the pollution prevention project, the options produced are better tailored to the company and likely to have a more profound impact.

Be patient in your efforts to reach small businesses; small businesses are a difficult audience to reach – limited staff, busy schedules, financial constraints; many will not take the time to return phone calls that are considered non-essential and many do not read mailed solicitations.

For auto repair shops, provide a direct visit from an educator who provides an audit activity and information materials.

Provide staff training, and/or provide access to environmental experts for businesses not already engaged in pollution prevention activities. Aim to increase concern about liability.

Public participation

Supporting and motivating professionals

Evaluation

The Individual

• Demonstrating its similarity to a current behavior or skill
• Demonstrating ease of adoption in terms of time, effort and money

The Class or Group

Is designed to focus on a targeted audience and is built on an understanding of audience skills and interests.

Incorporates methods for assessing the value of the experience, especially as it relates to desired outcomes.

Web-Based Learning

The Community

Evolves from work with a coalition or group.

Supports a person who takes responsibility for managing or leading the process.

Generates and makes use of data about the local condition.

Provides training to increase skills needed to accomplish goals identified by the group.

Is flexible in response to both process and conditions.

Builds effectiveness through linkages to other communities, partners, and resources.

Beyond the Community