In the last General Policy debate in the Catalan Parliament, the president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonés, and the first secretary of PSC, Salvador Illa, disagreed on critical issues for their community’s development. But despite the Government’s outcome in those days, there were also agreements, such as the need to promote the energy transition. And on this issue, both leaders also reached another point of understanding, which was to highlight the management model based on social dialogue with the territory that they are implementing in Parc Tramuntana, one of the offshore wind projects whose promoters have shown interest in establishing a wind farm in Girona (Golf de Roses).
Illa and Aragonés praised their proactivity in promoting and bringing the project closer to local stakeholders and, above all and most importantly, the moment in which they were carrying out this communicative task: before and early in the public bidding process. A model and a strategy that contrasts with the way of proceeding in this type of project, where the informative process with the territory starts once the public concession has been resolved.
This event gives rise to an analysis of a situation that Spain will be experiencing in the coming years. Our country is currently immersed in the process of decarbonization and ecological transition., Furthermore, everything seems to indicate that offshore wind and its farms will become one of the main energy infrastructures once the framework regulating the implementation of this technology on maritime land is approved. The installation of large-scale projects near a municipality will cause (as has happened historically in our country and in others) possible disagreement between the company and the population due to the alleged environmental impact.
This experience calls us to reflect and change the strategic framework and actions in order to overcome the mistakes and avoid the social conflicts generated by large-scale projects in previous stages. It is worth asking why a project such as the one we are talking about, whose purpose is always an advance, be it labor, environmental, technological, or economic, generates so much debate in public opinion and, especially in the local ecosystem. In this reflection, there is always room for improvement. This has been the project’s communication strategy, in particular, the one that directly impacts the stakeholders close to the territory.
This is why a social dialogue model that is planned in advance and based on a strategy in which the territory is the focus would represent an opportunity to build the necessary legitimacy and generate trust. It would also help to reach a consensus and integrate the park with the territory, mitigate future conflicts with local stakeholders and avoid delays in construction or the paralyzation of the work.
Taking into account the diverse nature of the ecosystem of one of these projects – from fishermen, farmers, people in business, neighbors, mayors, or environmentalists to regional and national deputies, journalists, or even the regulator itself – the architecture of a solid social dialogue strategy should be based on a minimum of these nine key elements of incidence and links that are decisive with the environment:
- A communication framework and a strategy where the neighbor, the fisherman, or the entrepreneur of the area feels integrated in the process. Gaining the trust of part of these stakeholders is key to obtaining “approval” and later raising the strategy to other stakeholders in the regional and national sphere.
- An inverted communication strategy, from the bottom up, starting at the local level and progressively evolving towards the regional and national environment. A regulatory process adds a moderate and controlled climate in the territory in the configuration of the decision-maker’s opinion and legislator.
- A permanent and “surgical” intelligence and listening system to identify allies and opponents of the project, to know their relationships, interests, and concerns, as well as to anticipate potential crises, movements, or changes of position.
- A narrative based on vectors of proximity consistency and focused on the social, integrative, and environmental character of the project beyond its potential and energy coverage, which must be an inherent factor in any proposal.
- A discursive code declined to each public. The effectiveness of communication depends on the degree of attention, understanding, and conviction of the message. Therefore, the tone, language, or content must be adapted.
- An active and allied community must be formed with a two-way and conversational dialogue model, where the project is reported firsthand but, at the same time, doubts are solved, and observations about it are listened to.
- A group of accredited secondary voices (researchers, environmentalists, legislators from other countries…) to reinforce their own narrative, as well as international cases that can be used as “good practices.”
- A decisive, direct, and permanent communication stance in the face of more than possible self-interested comments against doubts or fake news.
- A diffusion strategy and the use of selective communication channels and formats to add value to the public debate and help build reputation and trust around the project.
We are facing an important paradigm shift in the way we do things, which is true. Though in a challenge such as the one we are facing in Spain as professionals, entrepreneurs and citizens -a new energy model to face the climate emergency-we must apply lessons learned from previous stages and other countries and be daring and innovative. After all, whether or not we generate this trust or legitimacy of the parks with the territory depends not only on the transition but also on leaving a legacy of well-being for future generations.
Alex Bonet, consulting director at ATREVIA
