The gap between knowledge and action continues to pose a particular challenge for sustainability communication. As numerous studies have shown, communicating knowledge alone is generally not enough to motivate people to act sustainably. Traditional sustainability journalism in particular is often still limited to communicating facts and factual contexts and offers little impetus to apply the knowledge gained in everyday life and to try out different options for action. However, in view of the increasing environmental and social challenges in our world today, it plays a decisive role in informing, educating and motivating broad sections of the population.
One of the main purposes of sustainability journalism is to inform the public about pressing environmental issues such as climate change, species extinction, pollution and resource scarcity. This information is crucial in order to recognize the extent of the problems, to understand the complexity and interrelationships and to understand the urgency of action. It also serves as a control mechanism for governments and companies. By exposing abuses and environmental impacts, it can hold those responsible to account and drive the adoption of more sustainable practices. Journalists therefore play a key role in monitoring and reporting on progress in the area of sustainability. This thematic cluster presents exemplary DBU projects dedicated to this topic.