In an effort to increase public awareness about the many environmentally beneficial activities underway at each state DOT, the Center for Environmental Excellence embarked on an exploration of the methods currently in place to communicate with the public about those activities. The result is a report that outlines strategies for reframing and increasing the reach of state DOTs’ messaging about all of the work that improves quality of life in their states.
A panel of state DOT communications and environmental staff guided this research effort. The research took place in three parts: first, through an anecdotal look at several state DOTs’ current environmental communications efforts; second, through an exploration of how former U.S. congressional communications staffers perceive transportation messaging; and third, through an analysis of how the public and the state DOTs discuss transportation activities with environmental considerations on social media.
This research yielded several high level recommendations for communications and environmental staff at state DOTs, as well as a number of “next steps” activities. The final report is provided below for download.