How do you get more people involved in local climate action?

Getting more people involved in collective action for climate and nature is less about sounding the alarm than it is about highlighting the power we already have to make meaningful changes now. It’s showing how people can move together from the world as it is to the world as it should be.

An effective call-to-action that motivates people depends on four factors: Addressing Needs, Copying Success, Inviting Participation and Showing Benefits.

Get more people involved by: Addressing Needs

Start by understanding what people care most about and what needs doing locally. For some, protecting nature might be the thing they care most about; for others, it could be better health or financial security. Parents may care most about their children’s future whereas those who are lonely may care most about connecting with others.

People relate to issues around them that they can directly see. Perhaps there’s an issue with poor air quality locally or a lack of green space. There may be a need for cleaner streets or better protection from local flooding. The issues differ place by place and there are lots of potential options for work that needs doing.

One way to motivate more people is to find the overlap between what they care most about, what needs doing locally and what they are good at. Invariably, we enjoy doing something we’re good at and we can make a positive contribution by doing so. This overlap is powerful because it’s where people can apply their talents and passion to addressing concrete needs.

If you, specifically you, are interested in what this might look like personally, head over to Carbon Copy’s take action page.

Get more people involved by: Copying Success

One of the most effective ways of spreading change is to copy what’s working. As social creatures, copying is human nature. Copying saves time and effort, and can accelerate our collective impact at a time when action at speed and at scale is desperately needed.

Most of the solutions already exist and sharing climate action stories about how they are implemented provides inspiring, real world examples of people navigating out of our predicament and of where we are heading.

Copying success is much lower risk than figuring everything out through trial and error, and helps build stronger connections between different communities and organisations. These added connections are important too; addressing the climate and nature crisis is a collective challenge.

For inspiration and connection, see hundreds of climate action stories from across the UK, told by people from organisations of all sizes and sectors.

Get more people involved by: Inviting Participation

The idea of joining in something bigger is more inviting when the people asking are trusted local change makers; the activity builds social bonds not just awareness; and the initiative is set up for success.

Trusted local change makers could be the project owners themselves, looking to recruit more people or find more volunteers. Equally, they could be organisers who run sports clubs, tenants’ associations or parents groups, for example. They may be teachers, religious leaders or local artists; anyone who helps gather people together and is motivated to do more for climate and nature.

Collective action becomes sustainable (has staying power, not just an environmental benefit) when participation fosters friendships or is seen as a neighbourhood activity. Put simply, participating in a local climate project is more inviting when it generates a sense of belonging and the social activity builds community.

Setting up a collaborative project for success is also more inviting for potential participants. Carbon Copy’s useful action guide, From Footprint to Changeprint, was created to help change makers deliver collective action more effectively, identifying three core characteristics and the key factors that underpin successful initiatives.

If you would like to understand the role of collaboration in making a bigger impact, download our free research report.

Get more people involved by: Showing Benefits

Instilling hope is less important than producing evidence that action produces results. Hope comes from action. Focusing on visible impact helps create momentum as people can physically see the positive change: newly planted trees; a cleaned up riverbank or local park; the compost system installed at school;  a zero waste scheme launched at work.

Involving more people involves looking beyond reducing carbon emissions as the most important benefit. Collaborative local climate action creates broader benefits – such as healthier environments, stronger community ties, more jobs – which can have stronger appeal.

Changeprint is a way to talk about climate action in terms beyond emissions reductions that can address a wide range of pressing issues and highlight the benefits to more people. A Changeprint isn’t the project itself; it’s the sum of all the good it generates. Where a carbon footprint measures what we take away, a Changeprint shows what we build together.

Learn about Changeprint and how showing more benefits gets more people.

In sum, here’s the formula for getting more people involved in local climate action: address needs + copy success + social activity + visible impact