Petrobras was the company the press mentioned the most in sustainability stories

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Petrobras was the company the Brazilian press mentioned the most in stories on sustainability. The survey was carried out by Databerje – the Research Institute of Aberje (the Brazilian Corporate Communications Association), from February 15 to May 15 2008, based on 10 newspapers from the cities of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Brasília, Minas Gerais, and Paraná, in addition to on weekly magazines. Ninety-one percent of the stories were positive.

“We were aware of the fact there had been an increase in the number of stories published by the press on this issue, but we hadn’t measured this trend yet,” said Suzel Figueiredo, director for Databerje. Petrobras ranked first among the companies that are featured in journalistic stories regarding the theme, with 17% of the mentions in the surveyed media outlets. Wal-Mart and Vale ranked second and third, respectively.

The sustainability issue was treated in an integrated manner based on the social, environmental and economic trinomial in 42% of the cases. Matters related to the environment represented 38% of the stories. Stories focused on the economy took-up 12% of the space, while those of social nature 8%. According to Suzel Figueiredo, the survey shows that “the concept of sustainability is being transmitted to the society, at times properly, other times not so well.”

The result of the survey was announced during the 1st International Communication and Sustainability Forum, which was wrapped-up yesterday, in Brasília. The Forum brought together executives, managers, specialists, and professionals who work for private and public corporations and representatives of the civil society, both of Brazil and of other countries. The event also welcomed more than a thousand university students and 200 professors to understand the concept of sustainability and to discuss the strategic and educational role communications hold in this process of cultural change in the political, economic, and social systems.