By Greg Hazley
Development and implementation of a strategic communications plan is one of seven building blocks the U.S. nuclear power industry has identified as part of its response plan to the meltdown this spring of the Fukushima nuclear facility in Japan, which has eroded support for nuke power among U.S. citizens.
In a joint report released June 8 (PDF) and titled "The Way Forward," the nuclear industry’s top players and monitors – the Nuclear Energy Institute, Institute of Nuclear Power Operations and Electric Power Research Institute -- laid the groundwork for ensuring safety and confidence in the sector.
"We must continue dedicated communications and outreach programs and make strengthening the public’s trust a high priority," said Marvin Fertel, CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute, in his state of the industry address May 10.
A global Ipsos/Reuters poll released Wednesday said global support for nuclear power has "plummeted" following the Japan disaster as 62 percent now say they are opposed to it, down 16 points. A majority still support it in the U.S. (52%), but 26% of the U.S. citizens who said they oppose nuclear power said that stance is because of the events in Japan, an alarming trend for the domestic industry.
In the report released this month, the nuclear sector cited a strategic communications plan as the fourth of seven pillars for moving forward after Fukushima. That includes a focus on sector outreach campaigns to "recover" policymaker and public support for nuclear energy. Reputation management, intra-industry communications, state and local outreach, as well as executive and Congressional interface were all highlighted as part of a planned temporary push.
In a list of key stakeholders included in the blueprint, the general public was at the top.
Other building blocks in the eight-page report included development of a regulatory response, a focus on lessons learned from the U.S. nuclear industry’s response to the disaster, and coordination with international organizations in the sector.
The three entities producing the report have formed a Fukushima response steering committee to implement the plan.
Anti-Nuke, Japan Benefit Planned
On the flip side, Pasadena’s Jensen Communications is whipping up a PR buzz for Musicians United for Safe Energy, or MUSE, a group of veteran rock stars planning a large Los Angeles benefit concert for Japan disaster victims with an anti-nuclear message.
Jensen is the 29-year-old firm of Michael Jensen, whose client roster has client included some of the headlining acts set to appear at Aug. 7 event, including Crosby, Stills & Nash and Jackson Brown.
Several of the acts took part in the fabled "No Nukes" concert in New York 30 years ago in the wake of the Three Mile Island disaster in Pennsylvania.
"The MUSE concert will not only be a great show, it will hopefully entice the public to become better informed of the tremendous dangers of nuclear power," Graham Nash said in a statement from Jensen. "We have to keep real and true information flowing so that people can act on it."
Other acts slated to appear include The Doobie Brothers and Bonnie Raitt, both of which played the "No Nukes" show in 1979 at Madison Square Garden, as well as Tom Morello and John Hall. VantagePoint Capital Partners, a venture capital fund that invests in the clean tech sector is the top sponsor of the concert.
Proceeds will go to Japanese disaster relief and "organizations worldwide working to promote safe, alternative, non-nuclear energy," according to Jensen.
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