5 fundamentals of effective sustainability writing
Writing for about social and environmental challenges isn’t easy. Here are some practical tips for improving your sustainability writing skills.
This is a reprint of the ENGAGE newsletter that ran on October 10, 2023. Sign up for the newsletter here.
Writing is a lost art for many sustainability professionals.
In an era of endless email, social media, visual content and iterative AI, some might say that purpose-driven prose has perished. But the ability to write well continues to be critical for communicating social and environmental challenges effectively — from contributed articles in news publications and blog posts on corporate websites to investor letters and consumer-facing communication.
Strong writing skills allows sustainability professionals to achieve a number of objectives — including moving stakeholders into action, improving their personal brands and more. And for communication professionals, understanding the nuances of sustainability writing allows them to develop more compelling and effective content — while avoiding the dangers of greenwashing.
After more than a decade as a journalist and sustainability-focused writer and editor, I’ve encountered my fair share of the good, the bad and the ugly. From covering the complexities of the climate crisis to sharing strategies for advancing social impact, I’ve learned a thing or two about what does and doesn’t work.
Nobody is born with the innate ability to write — everyone can improve if they put in the work. To help improve your skills, here are five fundamentals of effective sustainability writing:
1. Seek ‘word efficiency’
When writing about sustainability, less is more. Yet over my career so far, I’ve come across countless articles where the author wastes words needlessly. Just as a sustainability professional might work to reduce the number of transports needed to get a business’ goods to market, the fewer words used to get your point across, the better. Good writing is clear and concise.
“Don’t bury the lede,” as all new journalists are taught. Get to the point and only include the words necessary for backing up your argument. If writing about circularity and your company’s approach, you don’t need to spend several paragraphs explaining the history of plastic waste. Typically, you have about 10-20 seconds to capture the attention of a reader before they lose interest. Don’t dilly dally, or your writing may go unread.
But also know that it’s tough to achieve word efficiency in earlier drafts. Feel free to let out all of your thoughts onto your screen or piece of paper, and edit to improve word efficiency later.
2. Embrace originality
Using clichés is the quickest way to tell a reader that your writing lacks original thought or insight. Yet clichés run rampant in sustainability communication. Think about how many times you’ve read the words “empowering communities”, “building a better future” or “going green.”
A cliché is a phrase, expression, idea or element of writing that has been overused to the point where it has lost its originality, impact or effectiveness. Clichés often become trite and predictable because they’ve been used so frequently that they no longer convey any freshness or creativity. In corporate sustainability, cliché use in communication is a strong indicator of possible greenwashing.
Avoid cliché by focusing on the substance of your story. Rather than saying that your company is “going green” you might write that it’s “embedding social and environmental factors into its business strategy.” While sometimes this means using more words — which may seem at odds with #1 — achieving word efficiency through cliché is a shortcut that betrays good sustainability writing.
3. Be humble while avoiding hyperbole
Some might be surprised to learn that we hadn’t already solved the climate crisis and every other social and environmental problem after reading much of the sustainability communication put out there in ESG reports, blog posts, op-eds and on LinkedIn. Much of this is due to the old-school public relations ethos of “protecting the brand” by emphasizing the positive while downplaying the negative.
Embracing the spirit of sustainability means having the courage to talk about the entire journey — and that means setbacks as well as successes. Few are interested in stories without struggle, and embracing humility makes your writing much more effective and engaging.
Hyperbole also is a popular shortcut used to convey urgency and importance in sustainability writing. But while the climate crisis is indeed a big deal and an existential threat to humanity’s future, overemphasizing this in your prose undermines its effectiveness. Given the complexities of the climate crisis, it’s unlikely that anything your organization is doing will decide the fate of humanity. Putting the problems you’re writing about into context helps avoid hyperbole and allows you to tell a more authentic and relatable story. Accept the fact that few things your company does actually are “game changers” — this will go a long way in improving your sustainability writing. A good policy is to show and not simply tell your readers about the positive impact your business is having. Avoiding hyperbole also will help you steer clear of greenwashing.
4. Know why you’re writing and for whom
Complex sustainability issues impact a wide variety of stakeholders in different ways. Having a clear understanding of who you’re trying to reach and why makes the writing process much smoother. An article about supply chain sustainability aimed at consumers should look different than one written for procurement professionals.
Starting with the end in mind also saves time while improving your sustainability writing overall. Think about why you are writing in the first place — is it to educate, persuade or just make a ruckus? Of course, writing is an act of creation and often will take you where you least expect it to. But having a clear understanding of what sparked the idea for writing in the first place will help you better serve your audience.
5. Make it personal
Blending the best parts of your personal and professional personas yields better, more compelling writing.
Your unique voice and perspective is what makes your sustainability writing interesting and memorable. The best writers know how to weave in elements of their personality into the prose they create to better connect and engage with the reader. Dare to be vulnerable. Bring to bear the totality of your ideas, emotions and experiences — and translate them into words on the page.
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These five fundamentals aren’t an exhaustive list of best practices in sustainability writing. But keeping them in mind as you put the proverbial pen to paper will help improve your writing skills. And remember that rules are meant to be broken once they’ve been mastered — when your skills advance far enough you’ll have the freedom to pick and choose what works for you.
Writing is one of the most effective tools for educating, persuading and engaging audiences of all types on sustainability issues. While mastering this is a lifelong endeavor, it’s something all sustainability professionals can and must pursue.
If you’re interested in working on improving your sustainability writing skills, join the Writing for Impact Masterclass I’m teaching in November. We’ll dive deeper into the fundamentals of effective sustainability writing and more through hands-on workshopping. Space is limited, so register today!
