UNDP, Global PR Body sign Pact to Tackle Climate Crisis
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO), the global membership body for PR agencies.
The MoU aims to take on the climate crisis and tackle persistent communications challenges.
UNDP is the largest United Nations agency leading the fight against climate change, with 6 000 projects across 170 countries.
ICCO is a federation of national and international PR membership bodies with over 3 000 agency members across 82 countries.
The UNDP’s partnership with ICCO is headlined by the creation of a special climate communications task force (CCT). The task force will be spearheaded by Chris Pratt, a member of the Climate Communication Group of the PRCA (the United Kingdom Public Relations and Communications Association) and Boaz Paldi, chief creative officer at UNDP.
The task force will seek to draw on some of the world’s best climate communicators and PR strategists to drive a series of campaigns and activations in the pursuit of mobilising action across several key global markets.
ICCO says that it will unveil new members of the task force in the coming weeks. The partnership is a significant signal of intent from the UNDP to draw on the skills and know-how of creative PR professionals to deliver impactful messages on climate change to communities around the world.
Grzegorz Szczepanski, ICCO’s president, says, “Climate change is one of the most critical global issues of our time, and we believe it’s an issue for our industry to solve. ICCO has long supported the Sustainable Development Goals and recognises the significance of their work. Their important messages need to influence people across a vast array of geographies and demographics.
“This partnership is a significant recognition from UNDP of the central role PR and communications expertise will play in achieving their goals. In turn, it is a recognition from ICCO members of the power we have to cause real change. We are proud to support this cause,” adds Szczepanski.
Boaz Paldi, UNDP’s chief creative officer, says, “PR is an integral component in the fight against climate change; this is recognised by scientists and global institutions like UNDP. The partnership with ICCO will help drive earned global media attention and engagement in our campaigns and delivering UNDP messages in local markets in a way that will be locally understood.”
“ICCO’s cross-agency, international strategic plan will be essential to the success of our work. This is a long-term relationship that can be nurtured for the betterment of the planet,” concludes Paldi
