216
framed and considered as a ‘legitimate’ stakeholder. However, HELCOM also uses
other forms of communication that can better reach the interested citizen or
consumer . These include information brochures, videos and television and radio
series,
3 all with the potential to raise the awareness of those who have as yet not
taken an interest in the issues so far (Dreyer et al. 2011 ).
A signifi cant amount of documentation and information related to environmental
issues at national and EU levels is made available to the public through the websites
of responsible authorities. Some websites also provide more specifi c information.
Take for example actors dealing with chemicals like the Swedish Chemicals Agency
(KEMI) that has an established and widely used website with a large number of
databases and up-to-date information. In the area of fi sheries, industry representatives have designed a website ( www.portal-fi scherei-portal.de ) that aims to deliver
information to the public. This is, according to the interviewees, mainly a response
to the media framing of overfi shing (Sellke et al. 2010 ). A wealth of information –
from general to highly detailed, much of this related to risk assessment matters – is
made available on the website of the International Council for the Exploration of the
Sea (ICES) . The case studies in our project do not provide examples of any websites
of responsible authorities that attempt to respond to the particular concerns of the
general citizen . This is different from risk communication related to, for example,
food safety issues (cf. Dreyer et al. 2011 ).
WWF employs a traffi c light system as a popularised way of informing the public (or in this case the consumers ) about the sustainability practices related to particular fi shes sold in the supermarket. Also green marketing, certifi cation and
labelling are used as tools for bringing simple and concise types of information to
the public. A special form of communication, which is mainly used in business-tobusiness relations or business-to-authority relations used in the case of hazardous
chemicals , is the so-called MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets).
Actors such as industries and NGOs (with enough resources) also engage in lobbying activities in the EU and national forums for decision-making. NGOs can
themselves work as communicative brokers between other actors. There are a number of research projects concerning governance of risks in BSR. To the extent that
these projects include researchers and other stakeholders, they can be seen as communicative platforms for deliberation and a meeting point for different actors.
4
However, these activities seldom include the ordinary citizen .
3 See, for example, the HELCOM radio series ‘The Baltic – a sea of change’ and the TV series ‘The
Baltic – sea of surprises’, available at the HELCOM interactive webpage ( http://agripollute.nstl.
gov.cn/MirrorResources/10221/index.html ).
4 The RISKGOV project, for example, organised three round tables where researchers met with
policy-makers, NGO representatives and scientists (reports from these round tables can be found
in the RISKGOV project homepage www.sh.se/riskgov ).
A.M. Jönsson et al.
framed and considered as a ‘legitimate’ stakeholder. However, HELCOM also uses
other forms of communication that can better reach the interested citizen or
consumer . These include information brochures, videos and television and radio
series,
3 all with the potential to raise the awareness of those who have as yet not
taken an interest in the issues so far (Dreyer et al. 2011 ).
A signifi cant amount of documentation and information related to environmental
issues at national and EU levels is made available to the public through the websites
of responsible authorities. Some websites also provide more specifi c information.
Take for example actors dealing with chemicals like the Swedish Chemicals Agency
(KEMI) that has an established and widely used website with a large number of
databases and up-to-date information. In the area of fi sheries, industry representatives have designed a website ( www.portal-fi scherei-portal.de ) that aims to deliver
information to the public. This is, according to the interviewees, mainly a response
to the media framing of overfi shing (Sellke et al. 2010 ). A wealth of information –
from general to highly detailed, much of this related to risk assessment matters – is
made available on the website of the International Council for the Exploration of the
Sea (ICES) . The case studies in our project do not provide examples of any websites
of responsible authorities that attempt to respond to the particular concerns of the
general citizen . This is different from risk communication related to, for example,
food safety issues (cf. Dreyer et al. 2011 ).
WWF employs a traffi c light system as a popularised way of informing the public (or in this case the consumers ) about the sustainability practices related to particular fi shes sold in the supermarket. Also green marketing, certifi cation and
labelling are used as tools for bringing simple and concise types of information to
the public. A special form of communication, which is mainly used in business-tobusiness relations or business-to-authority relations used in the case of hazardous
chemicals , is the so-called MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets).
Actors such as industries and NGOs (with enough resources) also engage in lobbying activities in the EU and national forums for decision-making. NGOs can
themselves work as communicative brokers between other actors. There are a number of research projects concerning governance of risks in BSR. To the extent that
these projects include researchers and other stakeholders, they can be seen as communicative platforms for deliberation and a meeting point for different actors.
4
However, these activities seldom include the ordinary citizen .
3 See, for example, the HELCOM radio series ‘The Baltic – a sea of change’ and the TV series ‘The
Baltic – sea of surprises’, available at the HELCOM interactive webpage ( http://agripollute.nstl.
gov.cn/MirrorResources/10221/index.html ).
4 The RISKGOV project, for example, organised three round tables where researchers met with
policy-makers, NGO representatives and scientists (reports from these round tables can be found
in the RISKGOV project homepage www.sh.se/riskgov ).
A.M. Jönsson et al.