NZBusiness Magazine talked to experts about communicating sustainability and the top tips were: 

• Keep it clear, concise and credible
• Balance data with emotion
• Harness the power of storytelling
• Be positive, pragmatic & transparent

As Rewiring Aotearoa's Mike Casey says, it's important to frame sustainability as an opportunity rather than a sacrifice. Focus on the benefits for business alongside environmental impact.

“Unlike a lot of environmental NGOs, we like to talk about substitution rather than sacrifice and we tend to put the economics ahead of the emissions, because when it comes down to it, that’s what most people care about. We are positive, pragmatic and transparent and we try to communicate our data in ways that everyday New Zealanders will understand by using analogies, comparisons and infographics.

“We don’t like to demonise fossil fuels as they have been central to human progress and instead we talk about the arrival of a better, cheaper, cleaner energy source that is now taking over. We prefer to focus on how the future could be better; we show that individuals have more agency than they might think; and we use personal stories of those who have already electrified to speed up the ‘neighbourhood effect’.”

The Sustainable Business Network's Communicating Sustainability Masterclass is on 25 March at AUT. Get your tickets here!

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