Risk Communication

Effective risk communication is a critical component of successful risk assessment. It is a vital step towards establishing and maintaining productive relationships between industrial entities, regulatory agencies and communities.

MWH believes in taking a proactive approach to communicating hazards and risk. We know that early identification and resolution of environmental and health concerns are fundamentally important for obtaining public support and acceptance.

MWH's risk communication programs:

• Improve the control and quality of disseminated information to ensure accuracy, and prevent misleading or inaccurate information from being distributed.
• Reduce adverse public response by legitimizing public concerns and addressing them in an open and honest manner.
• Provide a framework for understanding, anticipating and mitigating public reactions to proposed activities.
• Contribute to ongoing positive communication between our clients and the community.

Enhanced Public Confidence

MWH works closely with clients to encourage positive interaction between the public, stakeholders and program managers. Our community outreach programs address specific concerns early in the process to enhance public confidence and encourage productive community involvement.

This approach allows local leaders to respond accurately and responsibly to constituents' questions — and avoids premature public issuance of statements that may be later difficult to retract without a loss in credibility.

Our experts also train client representatives in effective risk communication. This helps prevent negative employee interactions with the community and media, especially in cases where specific preparation isn't possible.