STEAMhouse

12th February 2025

STEAMhouse Stand Up at The Public Relations Network Member Meeting: Shaping the Future of PR and Sustainability

STEAMhouse Stand Up at The Public Relations Network Member Meeting: Shaping the Future of PR and Sustainability 

In a lively and thought-provoking session, David Mellor (Head of Growth at STEAMhouse) and Vita Woods (Innovation Manager at STEAMhouse) visited the first Public Relations Network (PRN) Member Meeting to discuss the evolving role of public relations (PR) in sustainability. David and Vita spoke to the power of collaboration and how practising open innovation can help push forward the conversation on sustainability. The event sparked some great discussions on how communication can drive meaningful change and help shape a more eco-friendly future. 

The Power of Good Story-telling 

David and Vita revealed how STEAMhouse, as conveners of collaboration for planet centred discovery, experimentation and development tell stories to develop the conversation around sustainability and to create connection. There was acknowledgement that the big issues effecting people and our planet can’t be solved in silos and recognition that we might not know everything so it’s important to bring people to the conversation who can collaborate to fill in the gaps. At STEAMhouse we recognise that people are driving the negative impact we have had on the planet, and as a result solutions can only be found with a people-centred story which engages and encourages small and large-scale steps towards change. 

Creating the Conditions for Story-telling for Good: The 5 Magic Ingredients 

Vita and David took the international group through our story-telling drivers, and the 5 magic ingredients that help sustainability-focussed innovation: 

  1. Create Voices for all: Our ethos at STEAMhouse is predicated on the ideas that a diversity of perspectives is critical for solving some of the huge problems we all face. So, we try to create collaborative environments, methods and processes where new products, brands, services, ideas and opportunities will emerge. 
  2. Question Constraints: An ordered system is fully loaded with constraints. But what happens when we consider and question, those constraints? Can we break open the order in the system and imagine new possibilities? 
  3. Embrace Complexity: There needs to be an acceptance of complexity and an appreciation of the system to which a problem exists. We can’t always fix the system, but we can make it better. In embracing these complexities and interdependencies we can liberate ourselves from the responsibility of having to fix the whole, but instead find the levers which we can pull for the most impact.  
  4. Enable Serendipity: Most of our job at STEAMhouse is about finding ways to create networks and connections between people – if we do it well, inevitably a little bit of luck will fall out of the networks and relationships created that otherwise would have gone untapped.
  5. Play like an artist: Do not be bound by the idea of one singular approach or opportunity.  Artists don’t work well in an ordered system – the structure of the system can often fight with their imagination. The artistic process is flexible, open-ended, and non-linear – artists invite in uncertainty and embrace accidents. Open innovation is a catalyst for play, breaking down the barriers and inviting in ideas and perspectives which get from A to Z by stopping at T, C, G, P back to T and so on. 

A Call to Action for PR Professionals 

David and Vita’s session encouraged PR professionals to think beyond traditional communication methods and embrace collaborative innovation. By engaging with experts, communities, and businesses, PR can drive sustainable behaviour change, and build trust in this change. 

As the discussions at PRN showed, PR is not just about telling stories—it’s about creating impact. Through strategic, transparent, and engaging communication, PR professionals have the power to shape a more sustainable world. 

Final Thoughts 

The collaboration between STEAMhouse and PRN highlights the increasing importance public relations and communications play in tackling today’s most pressing challenges. If we can use collaboration, innovation and most importantly communication, to nudge change, we can make the world a more sustainable place.