The project 

ACT Climate Labs is a project set up to supercharge the effectiveness of climate communications. Members from all kinds of industries can access audience insights and advertising techniques which allow them to talk to new audiences about climate change.  

The problem 

In short, the problem is the end of the world. But there’s more to it than that.  

People aren’t hearing enough positive stories around climate action. Misinformation is shaping their views - making it harder and harder to reach them. 

The challenge facing everyone in climate comms is: how do we talk with people to make the issue more relevant to them, and increase support?  

The audience 

Research shows that 69% of Brits are neither climate activists, nor climate deniers (Source: Britain Talks Climate). They believe climate change is real, but they don't often engage with the topic. Also, climate comms usually targets the young, middle class, white and left-leaning. It often ignores older, working class, rural, multi-ethnic and politically moderate people. For our planet’s future to change, this has to change too.  

We call this group the ‘Persuadables’. They are important for good reason. They’re open to persuasion by both pro and anti-climate groups. Gain their attention and influence them, and we’ll increase their support and engagement to make climate change a priority. This is the audience the ACT project is created around.  

The work 

Misinformation has viral power, and a very real impact. So to win, climate communicators need to reach their audience with positive messages first.  

We provide member organisations with tools to overcome this challenge. To do this, ACT has three unique intertwined units – Network, Intelligence, and Advertising.   

ACT Intelligence is shared in fortnightly newsletters providing audience insights on Persudables, the latest misinformation narratives garnering traction, and advertising best practice. If you’re interested, you can sign up at www.actclimatelabs.org 

ACT Advertising takes the audience insights from ACT Intelligence and turns them into creative campaigns that test the effectiveness of advertising in reaching, and influencing Persudables. We’ve already worked with Friends of the Earth and the European Climate Foundation, and there are three other creative campaigns in progress that will inform our future work.  

ACT Network is a space where people from different organisations can learn from each other. We have a private Slack group with over 50 members, and run regular events and webinars about relevant challenges. For example, how to counter harmful narratives around the COP conferences, or how to use paid media effectively. 

Organisations can become a member via the website, and can become part of the Network once they’ve joined an orientation session with the team.  

The results 

Put simply, the project is working: 

• We have over 150 members from climate and non-climate organisations 
• Over 120 climate communicators have attended our events and webinars 
• Our resources are used on a weekly basis by 80% of members  
• Email newsletters have an average open rate of 49% - over double the industry standard. 
• ACT Advertising campaigns have reached over 2 million Persuadables 

Beyond the numbers, ACT has helped members to reach their audiences in new ways and with improved messaging. We’ll leave the final word to ACT member Louise Brown from Friends of the Earth…