The Climate Funnel: a framework to ignite change through effective communication

We’ve known about climate change for decades. 97% of scientists agree on man-made global warming. Yet we are nowhere near where we should be in terms of actions. Greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow out of control. 

What we need is not more evidence (though tracking is necessary, of course). What we really need is a better narrative and framework that empowers people, organisations and countries to step up and take action, wherever they are in their sustainability journey. 

From a sales funnel to the Climate Funnel

In this article we will explore the Climate Funnel – a framework to ignite climate action through effective and intentional communication. The Climate Funnel is a concept I came up with in 2023, borrowing from a traditional sales or marketing funnel. 

In the traditional concept, we learn that we cannot communicate the same way with someone who has never heard about our brand, than with someone who just heard about it, and with someone who is very familiar with it and is already considering buying. 

The framework acknowledges that people go through a “journey” before making a purchase. They get to know the brand first. Then they become interested in it. Then they consider purchasing, and eventually purchase and come back to purchase more. 

In a similar way, people go through a journey when it comes to climate action. They first get to know more about climate change, its causes and consequences. As they learn more, they go on to become interested and motivated. With enough motivation, they can start taking what I call low-impact actions (more on this to follow), and then end up taking high-impact actions. 

Obviously, the Climate Funnel framework could be applied to any other issue we need to act on, being the biodiversity crisis, the circular economy, the degrowth model, social injustices, and so on. We will focus on climate action in this article, but feel free to adjust and tweak the framework to whatever issue you are trying to tackle. 

The 6 stages of the Climate Funnel

Now back to our sustainability journey. I believe that one of the keys to use the Climate Funnel effectively is to acknowledge that there is no one single journey. We all start our journey at different points in our life, go at different speeds and use different means. And it’s crucial that we stop comparing ourselves with others and, even more importantly, stop judging other people who may be at different stages of their journey. 

The main goal of the Climate Funnel is to inspire more people to take action by meeting them where they are in their journey. This framework will help us identify where people are on their journey and communicate more effectively and intentionally about climate action.

There are 6 main stages in the Climate Funnel:

1. Deniers

2. Unaware

3. Aware

4. Motivated

5. Low impact action

6. High impact action

And the desired outcome at the other side of the funnel is systems change.

Adapting our message to meet people where they are

The way we use this framework is also very simple, and follows 3 steps:

1. Identify where people are in their journey.

2. Adapt your message to meet them where they are.

3. Inspire them to move forward in the Climate Funnel.

We all have different life circumstances, backgrounds and stories.

Recognizing this and that we are all at different stages of our climate journeys is key.

We cannot communicate in the same way with someone who is outside the Climate Funnel (unaware) than with someone who is already taking low impact or high impact actions.

Try persuading someone outside the Climate Funnel to go vegan or sell their car or stop flying or go to protests and watch their reaction.

Or try telling someone who is leading a climate company to focus their time and money on ditching plastic straws, and see what they say.

Adapting our message is key.

Communicating effectively at each stage of the Climate Funnel

Here are some easy tips for you to communicate more effectively with people at each stage in the funnel:

1. Deniers 

According to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communications, they typically represent less than 10% of the population in most countries. What to do with them? Very easy. As climate scientist Catherine Hayhoe recommends, just ignore them and move on. It’s almost impossible to change a denier’s mind, so your energy will be better spent in the remaining 90% of the population

2. Unaware

They have probably heard about climate change but know very little about it and how it truly affects them. Research by the Potential Energy Coalition shows that the best way to get people onboard with the climate crisis is to talk like a human, avoiding jargon, numbers and statistics. Don’t talk about climate change, decarbonization or net zero. Instead, talk about pollution, overheating and extreme weather. Try to find out what they care about (their children, their local area, the river in their town, the decline in birds in their garden, etc.) and ask them more about it. Keep it super local and relevant to them. There’s nothing less relatable for someone outside the climate funnel than talking about polar bears not having ice or tropical islands going underwater

3. Aware 

They have developed a level of interest about the climate crisis but they may still have doubts and questions, see climate change as a distant issue, or it may be simply not high up in their priority list. Again, continue learning more about them and the issues that matter most to them. Try developing a genuine relationship with them - people will listen to you more if they trust you. If they have doubts and questions, help them clarify them, without bombarding them with figures and stats. If they see climate change as a distant issue, help them see how it’s happening today, in their local area

4. Motivated

They are ready to take action, but may lack the resources, time or a little push. Help them by joining forces. Suggest a few ideas of very easy actions that you can take together. Do they care about air pollution? Suggest car-sharing to go to work together. Is it biodiversity? Suggest putting bird food in your gardens. Or is it food waste? Maybe try doing compost together. Every action counts. Just keep it very easy for them so you can move them from motivation into low impact action.

5. Low impact action 

They have started taking what I refer to as low-impact actions: those related to their own lifestyle, such as driving less, eating less meat, getting a reusable water bottle, etc. First, acknowledge the impact they are making with those actions. I see a lot of people in this stage who stop taking action, because other people, further ahead in the funnel, tell them their actions are not making an impact. Isn’t that sad? We want to inspire people to move forward in the funnel, not backwards. After you acknowledge the impact of their actions, inspire them to start taking higher impact actions. Try not to go to the extreme so they don’t feel overwhelmed. Someone who just ditched plastic straws is very unlikely to go with you on a climate protest or switch jobs for a climate one. Meet them where they are

6. High impact action

They are already taking what I call high-impact actions: those that are directly aimed at systems change, educating, inspiring and mobilizing others. High impact actions are about multiplication and amplification, building a critical mass of active citizens. They go beyond the individual and focus on the collective, even if it’s still individuals taking actions, but this time in a coordinated way with others. The main challenge here is that people tend to remain in their echo chambers, only talking to other people who are also taking high impact actions. If you find yourself talking to someone who is here, remind them that one of the most impactful actions they can take is inspiring more people to get into the Climate Funnel and move through it. The more advanced in the funnel we are, the more opportunities we have to inspire others to get in and move through. Always adapting our message so we don’t scare anyone! 

Right now, our main challenge is that there are still too many people outside the Climate Funnel, or in the initial layers, even if we don’t get that impression because we are too inside our climate bubbles. 

We need to inspire more people to come into the funnel and move through it. We need a lot more people taking high impact actions to reach a critical mass and create big systems change.

What we need, in fact, is an inverted Climate Funnel, where lots of people have moved through the different layers and are taking high impact action. 

Now it’s time for you to take action and help invert the Climate Funnel: next time you are in a conversation with a friend, neighbour or colleague, remember the Climate Funnel. Use it to inspire them to take climate action by meeting them where they are in their journey.

illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability & Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.