Corporate sustainability communication to promote pro-environmental behaviour: lessons learned from Balinese women in Indonesia
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to (1) examine corporate sustainability communication that promotes pro-environmental behaviour and (2) explore women’s experiences and expectations in relation to sustainability communication. Based on the findings, the study proposes a sustainability communication model that can facilitate the needs of both companies and women.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study was conducted to examine sustainability communication within the support waste management project of one company in Bali, Indonesia. Following the appreciative inquiry method, focus group discussions involving Balinese women and in-depth interviews were conducted to discover the best experiences and most appropriate ways to participate in waste management initiatives.
Findings
The findings show a gap between women’s understanding of sustainability issues and the information provided by the company. The company and women construct their own understandings of sustainability issues, and each has different capacities, needs, interests and values. This study contends sustainability communication as a process for co-creating meaning. It should begin by using the livelihoods and tangible impacts on women groups as the entry point.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed framework suggests communication intervention that acknowledges the importance of community participation and empowerment as well as three levels of impact: for themselves, their environment, and their communities. This study also recommends further studies in different contexts, as this study was conducted in collectivist rural communities.
Originality/value
The proposed framework accentuates the value of communication processes and management as well as sustainability outcomes, and considers women as actors, rather than as objects.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This project was supported by a Page Legacy Scholar Grant from the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at The Pennsylvania State University. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Penn State.
Citation
Yudarwati, G.A. (2024), "Corporate sustainability communication to promote pro-environmental behaviour: lessons learned from Balinese women in Indonesia", Journal of Communication Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCOM-11-2023-0122
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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