Archived
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Location
Lexington, Kentucky
Start Date
6-5-2026 2:00 PM
End Date
6-5-2026 2:30 PM
Description
As coal ash management and beneficial use practices continue to advance and regulatory frameworks evolve, the industry still faces a persistent challenge: sharing its story clearly, credibly, and proactively to audiences beyond engineers and regulators. Public perception, media narratives, and stakeholder understanding increasingly influence policy decisions, project timelines, and market opportunities. This session focuses on how strategic communications can serve as a critical tool to support responsible coal ash management and beneficial use. This presentation explores how utilities and industry partners can move from reactive communications to a more deliberate, strategic approach that strengthens trust, mitigates risk, and reinforces the industry’s environmental stewardship. Drawing on real-world examples, current media dynamics, and stakeholder trends, the session examines where coal ash narratives most often break down and how they can be reframed to better reflect reality. Attendees gain practical insights into developing clear, audience-specific messages that resonate with communities, policymakers, and the media. This session is designed to help industry professionals strengthen their voice, elevate their expertise, and ensure the full coal ash story is heard in an increasingly complex and fragmented policy and media environment.
Document Type
Presentation
Archival?
Archival
Included in
Energy Systems Commons, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Mining Engineering Commons, Oil, Gas, and Energy Commons, Structural Materials Commons, Sustainability Commons
Narrative Power: Strengthening Coal Ash Communications in a Shifting Policy and Media Environment
Lexington, Kentucky
As coal ash management and beneficial use practices continue to advance and regulatory frameworks evolve, the industry still faces a persistent challenge: sharing its story clearly, credibly, and proactively to audiences beyond engineers and regulators. Public perception, media narratives, and stakeholder understanding increasingly influence policy decisions, project timelines, and market opportunities. This session focuses on how strategic communications can serve as a critical tool to support responsible coal ash management and beneficial use. This presentation explores how utilities and industry partners can move from reactive communications to a more deliberate, strategic approach that strengthens trust, mitigates risk, and reinforces the industry’s environmental stewardship. Drawing on real-world examples, current media dynamics, and stakeholder trends, the session examines where coal ash narratives most often break down and how they can be reframed to better reflect reality. Attendees gain practical insights into developing clear, audience-specific messages that resonate with communities, policymakers, and the media. This session is designed to help industry professionals strengthen their voice, elevate their expertise, and ensure the full coal ash story is heard in an increasingly complex and fragmented policy and media environment.
