Although inclusive sustainability communication has become increasingly important in climate-related policy and practice, the communicative mechanisms through which grassroots behavioural change occurs remain insufficiently understood. Therefore, this study aims to bridge this knowledge gap by conducting a qualitative comparative study on sustainability practices in Türkiye, Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, and Greece, comparing the real-world effects of social marketing with traditional green communication. Through primary data collection on a multinational EU-funded programme -including workshop transcripts, participant reflections, and local forum reports- this study reveals a functional divergence between traditional green communication and social marketing. Traditional green communication is primarily used to create environmental awareness, while social marketing shows greater promise in achieving behavioural change through storytelling, peer communication, and community dialogue. A significant finding is the increased women’s engagement in grassroots sustainability practices through community dialogue. Additionally, the study reveals that institutional frameworks, technological infrastructure, and civic culture play an important role in mediating the effectiveness of green communication and social marketing. Therefore, the study suggests that grassroots communication is more than an information-sharing tool; it can function as a mechanism of behavioural inclusion in socially equitable sustainability transitions.
Şehnaz Okkıran (Tue,) studied this question.