Case studies > Getting peak oil onto the public policy and media agenda
The project at a glance
The UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security (ITPOES) launched its second report, titled The Oil Crunch - a wake-up call for the UK economy in February 2010. The PR objective was to communicate the report’s core message – that oil shortages, insecurity of supply and price volatility could destabilise economic, political and social activity within five years – and to ensure that the message reached government, industry and public audiences.
Objectives
- Build awareness about the impending danger of peak oil amongst politicians, businesses and consumers, reaching a mainstream business/consumer audience, not just specialists
- Move beyond recognition of the problem to an understanding about what government and industry action can be taken to reduce the UK’s dependency on cheap oil
- Increase the quality of coverage from year one by securing a greater balance between comment and analysis pieces, rather than just news articles
Results
- 82 pieces of international, national, business and broadcast coverage in just two days
- Media highlights include Radio 4 Today, Wall Street Journal Europe, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Times, The Independent, The Guardian, CNN, BBC and Forbes
- Over 120 delegates including policy-makers, industry leaders and media attended the launch of the report at the Royal Society
- 91 social media mentions across industry blogs, twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube
- Formal request to respond to the report made by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)