Consensus Building 101

Many of us have challenges in communicating with others, government agencies and large corporations sometimes face those same challenges in communicating with stakeholders and the public about the complexities and more importantly the successes of managing environmental issues or developing environmental protection programs. More often than not this leads to a community or maybe even a region that is unaware of an agency or company’s efforts to minimize negative impacts or its successful stewardship programs.

Proactive, honest and consistent communication and outreach with thorough and concise education programs offered to all stakeholders and the public about environmental issues and potential negative impacts is essential to building trust, credibility and collaborative partnerships. If we are honest with eachother about the negative things then when we highlight our accomplishments there is much more impact.

Consensus is achieved by collaboration throughout the process. This process could consist of a meeting or series of meetings to educate all stakeholders and solicit their input, setting clear goals and objectives, developing communication strategies and key messages then implementing the appropriate communication and outreach. Respect goes both ways and any successful partnership must be based upon mutual respect. If either party goes into a meeting with an adversarial attitude or the mindset that the other cannot be trusted then the process will not succeed.

The best way to prevent distrust on either side of a controversial issue is inclusion of all parties from the very beginning. Engaging all stakeholders gives everyone ownership of the outcome. Natural gas drilling is a great example of what is right and wrong with this process. The energy companies must be engaged from the beginning with all stakeholders including property owners, state, county and local elected officials, regulators, environmental protection groups, local business community, emergency services, and the general public if necessary. All of these groups have concerns about the operations involved in the extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale, all for a wide variety of reasons.

Communicating with a wide variety of audiences about these operations is not easy. Effective communication involves a thorough understanding of state and federal regulations, the complex technical issues associated with the process of natural gas drilling as well as local municipal issues. Effectively translating highly technical information into forms that are understandable to the layperson takes time, that is why collaboration must start early in the process. When the issues and decision-making process are shared openly with community members, they can better understand the issues of concern and they are affected.