The target audience category “decision-makers” includes state and federal legislators, directors and managers at state and federal agencies, and other leaders (both public and private sector) in the position to influence policy or the allocation of funds to address microplastics. When creating material for decision-makers:
- keep messaging brief
- explain the issue
- state why they should care
- convey how they should act/respond (what should they do?)
When presenting information on an issue to decision-makers, make sure to include the reasons why the issue is important and actions that can be taken to mitigate the issue. Actions to be taken may include providing information, encouraging further research, providing support or funding, etc.
First and foremost, follow your organization’s policies and procedures for legislative contacts! Whether you work for a governmental agency or represent a volunteer organization, your agency likely has a policy or process in place for contact with legislators. Please follow your agency’s guidance.
Fact Sheets
Fact sheets for decision-makers should be focused and short (maximum of one double-sided page). Use color appropriately, and make sure to include figures and graphics to illustrate your points. Additional information can be provided in a background document that answers further questions. Below is a fact sheet for decision-makers and a background document/focus sheet. A list of microplastics outreach materials prepared for all audiences can be found in the index.
Social Media Materials
Social media posts geared toward a general audience may provide useful information for decision-makers, as well as for their constituents.
Presentations
In some, but definitely not all cases, a slide presentation may be an effective way to provide information to decision-makers. A short (5–10 slide) slide presentation containing concise, bulleted text and interesting images can be used to provide information to decision-makers on an issue, why they should care, and what they can do. The ITRC Microplastics Team created a short presentation to provide a high-level overview on the topic of microplastics and current regulatory actions aimed at addressing this important topic. Users may modify the slide deck as appropriate for their audience. We ask that you acknowledge the products of ITRC in your presentation.
Microplastics Presentation
(PDF)
(PPT)
Elevator Speeches
Elevator speeches can be used in situations where there is a brief time allowed to present information. Elevator speeches should be concise and present key messages effectively and efficiently. An example of an elevator speech on microplastics is:
Plastic pollution isn’t just single-use plastics, like water bottles and straws. A big problem is their breakdown into micro- and nanoplastics. These microplastics can then get into the food web, wreaking havoc on the environment and human health. Microplastics also include particles from the wear of tires. We now have concerns related to tire additives called antiozonants that are toxic to fish. More research is needed to determine which plastic additives are detrimental..
Tips for Communication and Engaging with Legislators
Working with legislators is a unique experience. Legislators represent a diverse cross section of society where decisions must consider broad, and sometimes conflicting, societal demands. Legislators are often called upon to be knowledgeable in many diverse topics, while having limited time to learn about the nuances of any one topic. The following are some tips for working with legislators.
First and foremost, follow your organization’s policies and procedures for legislative contacts! Whether you work for a governmental agency or represent a volunteer organization, your agency likely has a policy or process in place for contact with legislators. Please follow your agency’s guidance.
Strategize your campaign:
Timing is important. When reaching out to legislative groups, consider the legislative session calendar and time communication with legislators and their staff accordingly during their less busy times. The following timeframes apply to a federal legislative calendar. For state calendars, timeframes should be adjusted accordingly to align with their legislative calendars.
- The best time to reach out to federal legislative groups is March to June, as that’s after the president’s budget is released and before the legislative break in August and the end of the fiscal year on September 30th.
- In August, Congress/House staff return to their home states, so it could be effective to try to reach out to members at events while they are at home.
Meeting with Legislators:
Meeting with staff members can be beneficial even if a specific “action” has not yet been identified, because it establishes a relationship and provides education for them to be better prepared to support the issue. Congressional staff teams will have a subject matter expert to research and follow up on ideas and material brought to them.
- Typically, 30 minutes are allotted for meetings with a legislative aid, so use your time wisely. Do at most a 10-minute presentation to share the issue, why they should care, and action requested (don’t use the whole time on introducing and framing the issue), and use the rest of the time for Q&A.
- Don’t just talk at the staffer—have a conversation.
- Tell a story effectively by using statistics/facts, verbally giving high points, and providing a handout with more details. A printed handout of a PowerPoint presentation showing statistics/graphs can be provided when technology is not available for an actual PowerPoint presentation.
- Choose one person in the group to tell the story and hold off on introducing the whole group until the end, if you have time.
- Make connections between microplastics and other issues/chemicals, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) or climate change.
- Follow your agency’s or company’s process for reaching out to legislative representatives.
- Research your representatives and “Committee of Jurisdictions” chairs by visiting Congress.gov
Provide Handouts:
- Use colorful, 1–2 page fact sheets that contain succinct information which is general and not too technical.
- Follow up with an email of a digital copy of the handout (easier to access later and easier to email to a committee).
- Graphs with statistics can serve as good visuals.
Tips for Communication and Engaging with Business Leaders and Industry Groups (Private Sector Decision-Makers)
In general, the same stepwise approach to communicating and engaging with legislators applies to communicating and engaging with business leaders and industry groups. One key distinction is that legislators work for the people, and business leaders and, by proxy, industry groups, work for owners/investors whose primary interest is profit. Although decisions that affect profit are a keen consideration for business leaders and industry groups, they also astutely understand the benefits and impacts that their products and services can have on society and the planet, often much more than they are given credit for. This is evidenced in the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) movement, which has propelled dramatic changes in sustainability by publicly held corporations around the world. You will be in a much better position when approaching business leaders and industry groups (and legislators) by understanding that any major business decision made will consider factors such as reputation, liability, profitability, and access to capital (a key reason why ESG ratings carry so much weight in the business world).
