12.01.2026
The Energy Club training course “Communications and Interaction in Energy: Strategies for PR, Marketing, GR, and Lobbying in Ukraine (2.0)” is launching soon. It is designed to enhance the professional competence of companies and boost their competitiveness.
This online course is tailored for PR, marketing, GR, and lobbying specialists working in Energy Club member companies. Following a successful pilot launch and high ratings from the 2025 graduates, Energy Club announces the start of the second stream in January 2026. We are not just repeating the program—we have improved it. Based on real feedback from industry professionals, the course structure has become even more applied. The updated program addresses the freshest challenges: deepening European integration, decentralization of generation, and communication amidst security risks.
Renata Iaresko is the founder and director of the consulting and communications agency CommsTrue; a business consultant on strategic communications, risk management, and sustainable development; a PhD in Economics; a member of the ESG Liga expert council; and an expert with 9 years of experience in PR, communications, and personal brand development. She was a lecturer in previous courses and received numerous positive reviews from students.
What should be done when complex energy decisions become the subject of public emotion? How do you communicate tariffs, infrastructure projects, and ESG without losing stakeholder trust? And why are communications in energy doomed to crisis without a deep understanding of the industry? Participants of the Energy Club course “Communications and Interaction in Energy (2.0)” will receive answers to these questions. Renata Iaresko spoke about the practical accents of the course and real tools for working with public opinion in an interview with the Energy Club media department.
– Ms. Renata, you have already conducted lectures in previous Energy Club courses. From your experience, what interests PR, GR, and marketing specialists in the energy sector most when it comes to stakeholder maps and crisis communications?
– Yes, I have already had the positive experience of lecturing within the previous Energy Club course, and I want to separately note the important role of the Club as the initiator and organizer of such programs. This allows us not just to transfer knowledge, but to share practical experience directly with PR, GR, and marketing specialists in the energy sector.
The Ukrainian PR, GR, and marketing market is generally quite mature and professional. At the same time, we clearly see a growing demand for narrowly specialized experts and agencies that work specifically with energy. This is due to the specifics of the industry, where effective communication is impossible without a deep understanding of the sectoral context.
It is not just about classical communication or marketing skills, but about mastering the conceptual framework, knowledge of legislation and regulatory acts, as well as a basic understanding of technical processes. These factors directly influence the quality of work with the stakeholder map—correctly defining roles, expectations, levels of influence, and interdependencies—and, as a result, the ability to effectively manage crisis communications in the complex and sensitive energy environment.
– ESG communications and sustainable development are becoming key topics for energy companies today. In your opinion, what practical tools and approaches help effectively convey these messages to society and stakeholders?
– Today, ESG and sustainable development are not just becoming key topics for energy companies; they increasingly determine the logic of their operational activities and strategic development. This is driven both by international obligations and recommendations—specifically the Paris Climate Agreement, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and European CSRD/ESRS requirements—and by national strategic planning documents, such as the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), which sets the framework for the transformation of Ukraine’s energy sector.
Energy companies have a direct and massive impact on the environment, the social sphere, and the economy; consequently, the requirements for managing ESG risks are an order of magnitude higher for them. That is why a declarative approach is not enough; systematic management of these risks and the integration of sustainable development principles into management, investment, and operational processes are key. In this context, communications play an important, albeit more supportive, role—as a tool for transparently explaining decisions and results, not as a tool for creating an “artificial image.”
In my view, it is impossible to talk about effective ESG messages or communication formats if a sustainable development policy is not “embedded” in the enterprise’s management and backed by practical results. Otherwise, there is a risk of manipulating public opinion and “greenwashing,” which can ultimately lead to reputational crises and a loss of trust from stakeholders.
Therefore, the key issue is not so much how to effectively convey ESG messages, but what exactly the company can confirm in practice: progress in decarbonization, increased energy efficiency, improved working conditions, responsible interaction with communities, etc. Only at this stage do communicators select appropriate tools—such as infographics, dashboards, reporting, or explanatory public formats—for a high-quality dialogue with society and stakeholders.
– Public opinion in energy is a sensitive topic: tariffs, ecology, infrastructure projects. How can companies communicate complex issues in a way that minimizes risks to their reputation?
– Public opinion in the energy sector forms around topics that directly affect people’s daily lives: tariffs, ecology, and infrastructure projects. That is why communication in this sphere requires special precision, responsibility, and a deep understanding of the context.
First and foremost, this is a question of the professional level of the communicator or communication agency working with the company. As I mentioned earlier, specialists must be deeply immersed in industry specifics: if they cannot explain the logic of tariff formation, environmental impacts, or the principles of electricity production and distribution to themselves, they will not be able to correctly communicate these complex topics externally.
From a risk management perspective, the most effective strategy for minimizing reputational risks is preemption. This requires a comprehensive approach starting with a communication strategy integrated with the business strategy. Such a strategy allows for building step-by-step and logical communication with stakeholders in every direction of the company’s activity.
A communication strategy covers goals and tasks, forecasting stakeholder expectations, key messages, channels, formats, communication regularity, and a map of potential reputational risks. With such a balanced approach, it is much easier for a company to handle negative information injections and waves of public outrage without shifting into a mode of constant crisis response.
I will explain in more detail how public opinion is formed in the energy sector in general, and how to work with it, during my lecture on Course 2.0.
– Course 2.0 envisions an even more applied approach. What concrete results, skills, or tools will participants be able to gain after your lectures to apply in real projects and company communication strategies?
– My approach is and always will be about the possibility of practical application. I remember my teaching experience at NTUU “KPI” well, when I dreamed of becoming a practitioner-lecturer, because students always have a much higher demand for applied cases than for theory. We live in a world of real cases and real decisions, not theoretical models.
That is why in my lectures I will provide real examples and share tools that I have been using in practice for years. At the same time, we will pay attention to theoretical aspects to expand, and in some places update or refresh, the listeners’ knowledge and conceptual framework.
In the previous Energy Club training course, I delivered a lecture on ESG communications, after which students gained a general understanding of sustainable development and the principles upon which such communication should be built. This time, I will share applied cases, as well as my own developments from the “Sustainable Communications Guide,” which we developed together with sustainable development and CSR expert Kateryna Davydova.
I plan to make the lecture on public opinion particularly lively and substantive, as it will touch upon psychology, emotional intelligence, PSYOPs (IPSO), and a comparison of old and new paradigms of public opinion formation. In my opinion, this block should help listeners look differently at the processes of shaping public sentiment and their own role in them.
The lecture dedicated to communication strategy will answer a basic but often underestimated question: why start with strategy, and why communications are a strategic level, not an operational or administrative function. Listeners will understand what systemic communication planning is and how business goals interact with communication tasks.
I hope that my lecture materials will be practically useful for Course 2.0 participants and help them work more confidently with communications in real projects and professional challenges.
