A 5-Step Guide on Crafting Climate Change Narratives
As the net-zero transition dominates global discussions, sustainability and climate tech brands must figure out how to cut through the noise and stand out with compelling climate change narratives. A big part of this requires determining how to leverage climate data, expert takeaways, research-driven reports and articles, and sustainability best practices to communicate the relevant messages and information. A robust, data-driven content and communications strategy doesn’t just tell businesses and consumers what they want to hear — it’s based on solid research and in-depth findings to further help position your sustainability and climate tech brand as an industry resource and thought leader.
Building a narrative that communicates your brand’s unique value proposition, utilizes effective climate change storytelling, and resonates with your audience comes with a host of challenges. It’s also a delicate balancing act that requires the careful curation of messages, words, and images. That’s why it’s important for sustainability and climate tech brands to follow several key steps to maximize their impact, drive engagement, and inspire action.
Content challenges for sustainability and climate tech
There’s no shortage of hurdles for sustainability and climate tech brands looking to develop high-impact content and communications. This is because the market is flooded with solutions that are looking to make a difference and contribute to the low-carbon economy. According to data platform Statista, there were nearly 45,000 climate tech start-ups and scale-ups in both North America and Europe as of 2022. At the same time, the global climate tech market reached USD$20.34 billion in 2023 and is expected to experience a mean annual growth rate of 24.5% up until 2033.
While the rise of sustainable solutions is pivotal in the global transition to net zero, it means brands need to more clearly and creatively set themselves apart from the competition. This is essential when it comes to driving demand, as well as building credibility and authority as an industry resource and thought leader. Without the right messaging, highly-tailored and bespoke content, and the proper distribution channels, your sustainability or climate tech brand has the potential to fall short on scale and impact.
Crafting effective climate change narratives through content and communications can also be difficult because many sustainability and climate tech companies’ marketing and communications teams are often small and under-resourced. At the same time, sustainability and climate-related subject matter is complex and technical, requiring advanced writers and communicators who typically have some relevant experience and are able to stay on top of constantly evolving industry trends.
Tips for developing your brand’s climate change narratives
1) Be specific with your messaging
To cut through the noise and capture your audience’s attention, it’s important to be as specific as possible with your content marketing and messaging. High-impact climate change narratives for brands don’t just feature broad statements, like “creating a more sustainable world” or “helping to decarbonize the economy.” They highlight the specific problem your solution is going to address and outline a clear value proposition for how to fix it. For example, if your brand produces biodegradable packaging, it’s not enough to say that your product helps to reduce waste. Instead, a biodegradable packaging company should explain how its product breaks down in landfills and in what timeframe compared to traditional plastics. It should also highlight the environmental impacts of plastics and how biodegradable packaging helps to reduce them.
By incorporating precision into your brand’s climate change storytelling and content marketing, you help position your brand as a key resource and thought leader. This helps to build loyalty with your audience and ensures your brand is the first that buyers turn to when they need additional support. Leveraging specificity in your brand’s climate change narratives also makes your messaging more compelling and relatable, which encourages your audience to see the value of your offerings in the context of the larger sustainability and climate picture.
2) Write clearly and provide easy-to-read explanations
Clarity is key for sustainability and climate tech companies that want their brand messaging and climate change narratives to truly resonate with audiences. Complex jargon and dense scientific data can obscure your messaging and alienate readers and potential buyers — especially if they only have general climate knowledge and lack specific subject matter expertise.
To combat potential confusion, sustainability and climate tech brands should use straightforward language to break down complicated climate concepts into accessible and digestible insights. Using simple explanations and plain language helps to bolster audiences’ understanding of complex sustainability and climate issues, potentially making them more relatable. When businesses and consumers are able to develop a connection between your company and how it can help them address their own sustainability- or climate-related challenges, they’re more likely to view and support your brand as a thought leader.
3) Back up your claims with research and data
While too much research and data can repel your audience, today’s businesses and consumers are highly selective and more informed than ever, making them increasingly skeptical of unsubstantiated claims — especially when it comes to sustainability and climate change. To build credibility and trust, it’s essential that your brand’s narrative is supported by solid research and data — whether that’s through independent studies, certifications, or in-house research. Providing concrete evidence of your brand’s efficacy validates its message and demonstrates your commitment to transparency, which has the potential to boost brand credibility and audience loyalty. For example, a carbon management platform that identifies ways for companies to reduce their emissions and measures progress toward relevant targets should leverage messaging that highlights the total amount of emissions the platform has eliminated and the types of recommendations made to help achieve those reductions.
The prioritization of research and data isn’t just needed for your brand’s overall message — it should be extended to your content marketing and communications, too. By using authoritative research and data sources — such as subject matter experts, peer-reviewed academic papers, industry reports, and market analyses — audiences will be able to more thoroughly understand certain climate and sustainability issues, increasing familiarity with your brand. Leveraging accurate and authentic research-driven content will also empower your audience to make more clear connections between certain climate and sustainability issues and how your solution can help.
4) Focus on uplifting climate change narratives
Striking a balance between realism and optimism is essential when it comes to communicating your sustainability or climate tech brand. Content and communications that only focus on the negative impacts of climate change can quickly disengage your audience, causing them to feel disempowered and helpless. At the same time, content that purposely excludes important facts and information is misleading, ingenuine, and has the potential to misinform buyers.
While finding a middle ground is important, there’s evidence that shows the benefits of uplifting climate change messaging. For example, a recent study found that constructive climate change narratives effectively reduce audiences’ learned helplessness and indirectly motivate them to act. This reinforces the need for sustainability and climate tech brands to highlight the beneficial outcomes of adopting sustainable practices and technologies. By focusing on innovation, successful use cases, and the potential for positive change, sustainability and climate tech brands can more successfully engage their audiences and encourage action. This approach fosters hope among audiences and positions your brand as a solution-focused, innovative, and forward-thinking thought leader.
5) Show and tell with social proof
Using social proof is a powerful strategy when it comes to elevating your brand’s climate change narratives and involves leveraging customer testimonials, client use cases, and value-driven partnerships. By sharing high-impact customer and partner stories, your brand is able to showcase the real-world impacts of its sustainability or climate tech solution. Painting a vivid picture of these practical applications fosters further understanding of your product or service, helping to boost your brand’s credibility and build audience trust.
When businesses and consumers can more easily relate to a sustainability or climate brand, they’re more motivated to take action and support your solution. This is because the integration of social proof into brand content and communication supports your solution’s validity, which inspires buyers’ increased confidence and trust.
Leveraging external content and communications support
Many sustainable brands and climate tech companies know they need to maximize their online presence with engaging content and communications. The issue is that they often don’t know where to start, whether they need to hire someone full-time, and who has the relevant expertise to craft thoughtful content that speaks to their target audience and ideal customers. To solve this problem, many companies are engaging expert freelance and fractional sustainability and climate tech writers and content marketers. If you’d like to learn more about how I can help you build authority and drive demand as a freelance and fractional writer and content marketer, send me a note or book a free discovery call.
