Communicating about environmental indicators

The challenge of designing risk or sustainability indicators that communicate effectively to non-technical audiences may be even greater than described by Gray and Wiedemann (1999) in this journal. To meet the objectives of the international community, which includes involving stakeholders in policy discussions, indicators will need to fulfill communicative criteria articulated by Gray and Wiedemann. Yet our exploratory research of New Jersey indicators suggests that without substantial pre-testing and revision of indicators, efforts to communicate with stakeholders and members of the public may be frustrated.