Mark Bernstein is an advisor for SMWLA and is presenting the panel “Sustainability 2.0: Harnessing the Power of Social Media to Promote Change“. He is also the first of our many advisors to answer our six questions about their topics! Below are his replies that help elaborate on his panel and why it’s important to social media.
1) Why did you choose to participate in this particular panel? How did you get involved with this topic specifically?
I designed the topic for this panel and have been involved in sustainability issues for more than 20 years. I have seen the ebbs and flows of public opinion on the issue of sustainability and the environment and over the years have worked to improve the type and quality of information about our environment.
2) How has social media influenced or informed the discussion surrounding your topic?
Social media is just beginning to have an impact on sustainability issues. It seems that many Americans are environmentally conscious , but many people have not taken action because of the lack of information. Social media can change this – it’s relevant to large numbers of people and it’s a message that people are willing to spread. It will be important for companies and institutions to demonstrate to their customers, their employees, elected officials, influencers and the general public that they’re taking steps to be more environmentally conscious. Social media needs to play a bigger role.
3) What social media websites are key players for your topic? (linkedin, foursquare, facebook)
Twitter, Meetup, and facebook are key players in terms of disseminating information and organizing networks. In addition, CSRwire has a huge following and is considered the leading source of information on corporate social responsibility and sustainability news, reports, and events.
4) How has your background in other fields shaped your approach to social media?
I have been a professor, I have worked in politics, and I have worked for large and small companies. Each of these has shown me how important social networks are and how important they can be. I believe that if people have better information, they will make more informed choices – and that those choices will lead to more sustainable actions. Making choices that are more sustainable can be difficult – they often require trying to have a vision of the future and figure out how your choice will impact that future. That is not easy – but the social media can help make it more transparent and impact choices. When I was a professor I have been able to use social media to connect better to students, in politics it helped me engage stakeholders, and in business it creates opportunities.
5) How can social media bring more awareness to your topic?
There is a lot of overlap between social media and sustainability. Both are built on the pillars of authenticity, transparency, and innovation. Social media is the ideal tool for socially conscious consumers to broadcast their message and engage their communities to promote change. Its very nature of active participation and engagement gives the public the voice to encourage companies and corporations to do better with their sustainability initiatives as well as become cheerleaders for companies that are doing it right.
Social media also puts the “public” back into public policy and allows us to become advocates for those in bureaucracies.
6) If you had to describe your panel with three adjectives, what would they words be?
Innovative, sustainable, future
