Kommunikation av det kommunala hållbarhetsarbetet : en fallstudie av Växjö kommun

Abstract: To promote sustainable development is a vital aspect of ensuring a safe and enduring future for our world. In efforts to increase the global commitment he UN has set 17 goals for the sustainability work of its member states. In the Swedish public sector these goals have been incorporated at different levels of control. The municipalities have to a considerable extent been allowed to determine the level of their own commitment and thus the magnitude of their actions. Even though the municipalities are large organisations with a considerable amount of local influence, and the UN goals are of global interest, the compliance from the municipalities regarding the UN goals have become something that differentiate them from each other. The purpose of this study is to examine how a municipality's work with ecological sustainability can be used as a marketing tool, by displaying the superior level of commitment as opposed to other municipalities. The study examines the marketing as such, to generate an understanding of whom the recipient is and what the municipality wishes to convey. The study aims to answer its purpose and research questions from a theoretical framework based I theory of organisational (corporate) and place branding, internal marketing, green marketing, and rhetoric. The study raises the duality of the municipal phenomenon, the municipality is both a place and an organisation with responsibility towards that place. This phenomenon affects the municipal marketing in that the two parts are closely linked together, yet they are separate entities. The municipality wishes to market its own organisation to appear an attractive partner and a dedicated part of society. At the same time the municipality also wants to market the place as an attractive area to live or run a company in, or to visit. In the marketing of the municipality as a place to external stakeholders the municipal organisation have to cooperate with all other local stakeholders whom hold an interest in this work. This could for example be a company that wishes to promote its green profile by being associated with a green municipality. Which stakeholder that is the recipient of the municipality marketing will affect both how the information is conveyed and the nature of the information. This is due to if the recipient is an external or internal stakeholder, the latter are such stakeholders as the local inhabitants and employees of the municipality. The population of the municipality and the organisations employees are ambassadors for the municipality and aid in the strengthening of the municipal brands. The municipality thereby markets its sustainability work to: strengthen it organisational brand by promoting itself as an attractive partner for cooperation and a committed part of society, create a unified image of the municipality amongst its local stakeholders, and to convey this image to external stakeholders to attract new citizens, corporations, and visitors to the municipality.