I’ll make an educated guess that what you care about is related to something that you notice, a lot.
It’s likely become a core brand value – something that you act upon, and an important aspect of your brand purpose – why you do what you do.
Because, when you start noticing something, its constantly on your radar.
You look out for it.
Care about it.
And naturally what you innately care for, you want to protect.
Personal connection
I was recently asked during my Carbon Literacy training ‘what’s your personal experience of climate change?’
– it was a profound and unexpected question. And a connection I think it would be really beneficial to hear being talked about more often.
For me, I’m noticing changes in our garden; vegetable plants and herbs bolting, our hawthorn tree experiencing early leaf fall in July; dry cracked clay soil; our nesting starlings had just two fledglings.
In our local parks and area; the ‘helicopter seeds’ which usually whirl down in the autumn are already on the ground in July in huge bunches, some still green, others crisp brown.
In my health; in the last five years I’ve personally experienced respiratory issues, developing an ongoing tendency for asthma.
How about for you? What changes are you noticing in your local surroundings?
Cause and affect, a storm of change
Things are certainly changing, and the affects of climate change are being felt here and now, in our communities, our country and across our planet with scale and pace, in varying degrees and challenges; unpredictable weather and storms, wild fires, flooding, drought, diseases, conflict, biodiversity loss, hunger… to list just a few. The affects can heighten and highlight vulnerability, inequity, inequality, keeping us trapped in a destructive, suffocating loop.
These challenges are all interconnected within the climate and environmental crises, with human activity at it’s core.
Action = the antidote to despair
When we talk about the topic of ‘climate change’, it can feel absolutely huge, incomprehensible, and leave us feeling a mixture of emotions. From shock, anger, outrage, injustice, despair, grief and often simply feeling too small to make a difference.
Yet, if we start to talk and share about our personal, human connection and experiences, we start to search for answers, share ideas and identify climate actions that we can take, where we can, which will ripple out to inspire more actions.
The actions and choices we make daily, make a significant difference.
We can break the current destructive loops and reverse them into a sustainable, thriving ecosystem with co-benefits for all.
An ecosystem that breaths life; provides clean air, water, food, working and living in balance with nature, its resources and natural cycles.
But it needs our action now – on our doorsteps where we live and work, and in our local communities. We also have the power to impact nationally and globally through different councils, government, partners and charities.
There is hope.
If you’d love to explore ways your brand can show what you care about – let’s start a conversation.
p.s. I highly recommend attending some Carbon Literacy training. The 2 day course brought together a group of great people from a variety of backgrounds and provided context, knowledge, updates, ideas, thought-provoking discussions and insights. It was challenging but I certainly left feeling empowered, encouraged and with a renewed hope. I hope you’re feeling those through these reflections too.
If you’ve not experienced Carbon Literacy yet or if you’d like a refresher, there are a variety of hosts. I studied with The Better Business Network – keep a look out on their events page for upcoming Carbon Literacy training opportunities.
