Ten principles for good sustainability and climate communication

Petter Fløttum-Angeltveit

The climate crisis and sustainability are not just about resources, energy, emissions and other concrete quantities. It's just as much about communication.

You can have all the good intentions and solutions you want. If you don't get people on board, it won't help much. But what's the best and most effective way to talk about climate and sustainability?

Here's what research and best practice says:

Emotions before facts

We humans are emotional creatures, we react more strongly when our emotions are activated. Facts, veracity and honesty are crucial for credibility, but emotions come first.

Storytelling activates our emotions to a much greater degree than numbers, graphs and tables do.

Hope over fear

Some people respond "well" to fear, but there is a risk that many will resign themselves to it. Positive solutions, measures and role models are more likely to inspire action than negative emotions such as fear and shame.

...but don't forget anger and fear altogether

Negative emotions, especially anger, can be effective in gaining support for specific policies. However, positive emotions are more effective than negative ones in changing behavior and getting people to act.

Solutions, not just consequences

Showing the consequences of the environmental and climate crisis can create strong emotions, but can also be overwhelming. The effect also varies according to the recipients' political standpoint. Communicating the solutions, and the effect of the solutions, often has a much broader and better impact.

Here and now rather than distant and future

"A lot of climate communication is about the future and about big things happening far away. This has contributed to us largely thinking of climate change as something that will happen far in the future and far away from us. On the other hand, things that are close in terms of time, distance and relevance are easier to relate to and make a greater impression.

This applies to both consequences and solutions.

If you want to win support for specific climate measures, it is often more effective to show how the measures can make the city better to live in, food cheaper and healthier, bus services better and electricity cheaper, rather than saying that they are good for future generations or talking about the vague and big words "climate" and "environment".

Avoid greenwashing, but don't overdo it

Greenwashing is when you highlight individual green initiatives, while the sum of what you do does not contribute in a positive direction. It not only undermines trust in individual actors, but in all sustainability, climate and environmental communication.

Not sure if you're greenwashing? Check out the greenwashing poster's ten commandments.

At the same time, it's important that the fear of greenwashing doesn't deter you from talking about goals and ambitions. In fact, you don't have to be perfect to talk loudly about sustainability, the environment and climate. Talking can in itself also contribute to change. The most important thing is that you are honest and credible. And don't be afraid of complexity and doubt. People will trust you more if you're open about uncertainty.

Know who you're talking to

We think differently about climate change, the environment and sustainability. About the severity, causes, consequences and solutions. For example, men tend to point to causes and solutions outside themselves, such as social systems, business, politicians and international cooperation. While women more often point to things close to home that they themselves can do something about.

This is elementary communication, but it's so important that I'd like to repeat it: If communication is to be effective and create the desired effect, the message and tools must be adapted to the target group.

Show people they matter and remember praise

Many people have, to a greater or lesser extent, made lifestyle changes to live more sustainably, and many are willing to do so.

It would be foolish to follow the example of Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap): Blaming people's unwillingness for Norway being too slow to adapt. This quickly contributes to reluctance and resignation, and thus reinforces the most common excuse that we are not willing to do anything: The "little me" argument. Essentially, this means that the efforts of "little me", "little us" or "little Norway" mean nothing in the big picture.

If we're going to make changes in our lives, it's very important to show us what we and our efforts mean. And it's important to give us praise for what we actually do.

Be clear, concrete and understandable

Tribal language and technical terms cause people to fall off. Write simply and understandably and use words people understand. Don't say "this is good for the climate", but say why and how it's good.

The same principles apply to visual climate communication. Use images of real people in real situations. The closer they feel to you, the stronger the impression they make.

Dare to entertain

If you're boring, you're more likely to be overlooked and overheard, and people simply won't care about you. Play and create humor and fun, even if the topic is serious.

If you want to dive deeper into what is good and effective climate communication, and why, the resource page is Climate Communications Resources HUB from SmallWorldStories and the research from the UiB-led project LINGCLIM: The language and interpretations of the climate debate are two good places to start.

Otherwise, just dive into the source list here for more inspiration and knowledge:

AlfGundersen