Lost in Translation: The Sustainability Language Gap and how to fix it
1 MINUTE READ
“What are you actually doing for the environment and people? And what does it mean for me?”
After years of woolly, purpose-adjacent messaging that didn’t appear to deliver much tangible impact, this is the question being asked of businesses.
Scepticism is high, trust is low, and the focus has turned from systems-level stories to individual impacts.
As this shift has been underway, an equal and opposing force has been growing in sustainability communications: messages that are dense with jargon and technical language serve to alienate all but specialist audiences, while crowding out the opportunity for anything approaching creativity or personality.
In our new paper, Lost in Translation: The Sustainability Language Gap and how to fix it, we share findings from quantitative and qualitative research that digs into how businesses frame sustainability, how the media filters it and how non-specialists think and talk about it – before offering practical guidance on how to bridge the gap between all three.
The paper also includes an appendix with concrete tips for sustainability teams and communicators on how to secure C-suite support. As one Head of Sustainability from an EU-based business said, “I used to think I could just let the work speak for itself – but I realised nobody was listening.”
Download the PDF
Complete the form below to get the download
Get in touch:
Senior Communications Director | SB+CO
Senior Communications Consultant | SB+CO