Still Green: why Net Zero communications need to grow up.

Written By Sam Freedman – Account Director

There’s been a lot of anti-Net Zero narrative in the news recently. Kemi Badenoch said it’s “impossible” to achieve by 2050, Nigel Farage claimed Net Zero policies are “lunacy”, and Tony Blair stated that strategies to phase out fossil fuels in the short term are “doomed to fail”. 

The pro-fossil fuel mantra of “drill, baby, drill” from across the pond and New Zealand reversing its ban on new oil and gas exploration is evidence that the anti-Net Zero narrative isn’t unique to the UK. 

Whether as a direct result or coincidental timing, some businesses have been scaling back their Net Zero ambitions. One of the more prominent examples of this is the very public fallout between BP and its shareholders following the company pivoting back to investing more in fossil fuels and shifting spending away from renewable energy. 

However, it’s important to remember that the party in Government won a whopping majority at the last General Election with a manifesto that was incredibly supportive of Net Zero. Indeed, Keir Starmer recently stated that Net Zero was in Labour’s DNA. 

This would suggest that it’s a no brainer to be a political party in favour of Net Zero – it wins you elections, or at least it doesn’t hamper your chances. But, if so, how do we balance the electoral successes of Net Zero critical parties like Reform against the majority of the public supporting Net Zero policies? 

Is Net Zero simply being used as a political wedge issue? Or, rather, is the backlash against Net Zero symptomatic of the concept being poorly communicated? 

Even though the majority of the public support Net Zero policies, Cavendish polling shows that 47% of people think Net Zero policies will have a negative impact on their household finances. Why do these policies enjoy such support if they’re seen to be so financially cumbersome? 

This suggests that poor communications are at the heart of the backlash against Net Zero. The fact that criticism is coming from across the political divide also indicates that it’s not solely a political wedge issue, but there’s something more fundamental behind the critical discourse. 

It’s perhaps telling that one of the most well-known terms related to sustainable communications is a negative one – ‘greenwashing’ – when companies aren’t being truthful when positioning themselves as a sustainable company. Some companies are so afraid of being accused of greenwashing that they now practice ‘greenhushing’ – pursuing sustainable goals but not shouting about doing so.  This comes after ‘green botching’ had entered the chat for a short while. 

Rather than shoehorning the word green in front of terms like ‘economy’ and ‘jobs’, perhaps we need to more clearly communicate the practical realities of Net Zero in simple, clear, and accessible language, focusing on what it delivers and how it will improve living standards, both in the pursuit of Net Zero and in achieving it. 

Net Zero Breakfast Event – 26th June

To explore the causes behind the growing anti-Net Zero narrative, we’ve arranged a panel event to discuss current perceptions of Net Zero, whether the concept has been poorly communicated and, if so, how we can improve communications. Our Account Director, Sam Freedman, is chairing the panel and will be joined by: 

• Luke Murphy MP, Energy Security and Net Zero Committee member 

• Megan Corton Scott, Deputy Director of Labour Climate and Environment Forum 

• Jillian Ambrose, Energy Correspondent at The Guardian 

• Roy Pinnock, Partner, Head of Planning at Dentons 

Register here for Breakfast Event.

The breakfast event will be held on Thursday 26^th June at Old Queen Street Cafe. We hope you can join us for what will be a fascinating discussion.  If you can’t make the 26th in person you can register for our LinkedIn Live event on 1st July.

Register here for LinkedIn Live.