Further reading and references

Readings

The readings include a concise summary of the Schwartz Theory of Basic Values, which we reviewed during the course, and research articles by members of the authoring team that examine particular issues in more detail. (Note: some readings are supplied as ‘pre-prints’ for journal copyright reasons; this means that they are not typeset and may contain a few minor typographical errors.)

Schwartz, S. H. (2012) ‘An Overview of the Schwartz Theory of Basic Values’, Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, vol. 2, no. 1 [Online]. Available at https://doi.org/ 10.9707/ 2307-0919.1116 (Accessed 5 September 2018).

• This article presents an overview of the Schwartz Theory of Basic Human Values. It discusses the nature of values and spells out the features that are common to all values and what distinguishes one value from another. The theory identifies ten basic personal values that are recognised across cultures and explains where they come from.

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Hampton, S. (2018) ‘“It’s the soft stuff that’s hard”: investigating the role played by low carbon small- and medium-sized enterprise advisors in sustainability transitions’, Local Economy, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 384–404 [Online]. Available at https://doi.org/ 10.1177/ 0269094218778526.

• Significant public funds are invested in low carbon advisors to support small- and medium-sized enterprises to reduce carbon emissions on a regional basis. Little research has been conducted on their experiences and practices, or their place within the context of local business support policy. Findings draw on interviews with 19 advisors in the UK as well as the author’s four years’ experience as an environmentally focused business support practitioner. The paper argues that face-to-face meetings could be better utilised if ‘softer’ skills were deployed alongside technical expertise. It discusses the limitations of growth-focused support in the context of environmental objectives, and calls for a shift in the culture of advice-giving, supported by social scientifically informed policy.

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Schaefer, A., Williams, S. and Blundel, R. K. (2018) ‘Individual Values and SME Environmental Engagement’, Business & Society (Online First).

• We study the values on which managers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) draw when constructing their personal and organisational-level engagement with environmental issues, particularly climate change. Values play an important mediating role in business environmental engagement, but relatively little research has been conducted on individual values in smaller organisations. Using the Schwartz Value System (SVS) [M1] as a framework for a qualitative analysis, we identify four ‘ideal-types’ of SME managers and provide rich descriptions of the ways in which values shape their constructions of environmental engagement

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Shaw, C. and Corner, A. (2017) ‘Using narrative workshops to socialise the climate debate: lessons from two case studies – centre-right audiences and the Scottish public’, Energy Research & Social Science, vol. 31, pp. 273–283.

• Climate Outreach work at the interface of research and practice. This paper explains how Climate Outreach have used a Narrative Workshop methodology to test and develop narratives around energy transitions and climate policy with a diverse range of UK citizens. The first case study uses examples from a number of workshops held with centre-right public audiences to demonstrate how the methodology has been applied to identify climate change narratives and vocabulary which reflect conservative values. The second case study illustrates how the methodology was used to create a template for a national climate change conversation in Scotland. The paper concludes with a reflection on the strengths and limits of using the Narrative Workshop methodology to build a broader social consensus on the need for ambitious climate change policies.

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Step-by-step engagement guide

A practical interactive guide that focuses on face-to-face visits with SMEs, either for a site tour, an energy audit, or a face-to-face meeting. It condenses key insights on values-based engagement that can be applied ‘before’, ‘during’ and ‘after’ a visit.

• Step-by-step engagement guide

• Step-by-step engagement guide (PDF)

   

Effective communication guide

Practical, evidence-based advice from communication specialists, Climate Outreach outline ways of communicating effectively with SMEs and of using appropriate language and images to reinforce your message.

• Effective communication guide

Useful links

Climate Outreach was set up in 2004, with a mission to help people understand climate change in their own voice, and has since become Europe’s leading climate communication organisation. They produce world-leading advice and practical tools for engagement by combining scientific research methods with years of hands-on experience. Their services support governments, businesses, NGOs and grass-roots organisations. They specialise in how to engage hard-to-reach audiences – developing climate connection programmes with communities such as youth, the centre-right, faith and migrant groups:

• Climate Outreach website