By Enock Bii
JULY 10 – We’ve been speaking about sustainability all fallacious.
From NGO campaigns to authorities initiatives and company ESG experiences, the dominant tone has been one in all ethical attraction: “Do it for the planet.” “Protect future generations.” “Reduce your carbon footprint.” But if we’re being trustworthy, these messages usually fall flat.
Because folks don’t change their habits primarily based on advantage. They change primarily based on worth. They don’t act as a result of it’s proper. They act as a result of it’s rewarding.
And that’s the uncomfortable fact sustainability communicators must embrace: if the message doesn’t attraction to somebody’s self-interest, it received’t stick.
In Kenya, the place the price of dwelling is biting and the hustle is actual, few folks have the luxurious of summary environmental beliefs. A youth in Githurai is extra involved with fare costs than fossil fuels. A mom in Bungoma desires to know the best way to feed her household, not the best way to offset emissions. The message should meet them the place they’re: within the pressing wants of the now.
That’s the place communication should pivot—from preaching duty to promoting relevance.
We must reframe sustainability as one thing that advantages you, the person. Not in ten years. Not in idea. But now.
Tell a matatu proprietor that clear vitality reduces gasoline prices. Show a landlord that inexperienced buildings fetch larger lease. Appeal to the city youth that strolling or biking isn’t simply eco-friendly, it’s stylish, and cheaper. Tell dad and mom that planting bushes close to their properties lowers temperatures and retains children more healthy. Make the profit direct, private, and speedy.
This isn’t manipulation, it’s good messaging.
In reality, we’ve already seen this work. Plastic waste assortment packages in Kibra thrive not as a result of folks need a cleaner Earth, however as a result of recyclers pay per kilo. Families set up rainwater tanks not for water conservation, however as a result of it cuts their payments. Businesses go inexperienced when the numbers make sense, not as a result of the surroundings asks properly.
The motivator isn’t guilt. It’s acquire.
For communicators, this requires a mindset shift. Stop assuming folks ought to care. Start exhibiting them why it issues to them. Replace summary jargon like “sustainable consumption” with on a regular basis examples: how utilizing much less charcoal stretches a family funds. Drop the buzzwords and converse in advantages.
Even the platforms we use matter. Long press releases received’t attain youth—however a well-cut TikTook will. Sheng memes, road murals, music movies usually are not distractions; they’re strategic channels. To talk successfully, we should go the place folks already are, not the place we want they have been.
Corporates and establishments should additionally drop the halo. Communicate much less about impression scores and extra about how your inexperienced product saves clients time, cash, or vitality. Consumers need to know: What’s in it for me? If you may reply that, you win each enterprise and behavior change.
This is particularly pressing as we glance towards COP30. If we’re to rally actual, impactful motion, we should cease counting on guilt journeys and world targets. We want grounded, regionally related, benefit-driven communication. We must promote sustainability the identical method we promote smartphones or soda, with relevance, readability, and emotional pull.
Because right here’s the factor: sustainability is just not an ethical contest. It’s a survival technique. And survival, by nature, is egocentric.
So let’s cease pretending that interesting to self-interest is fallacious. Let’s use it. Leverage it. Turn it right into a pressure for good.
If selfishness can get folks to make use of clear vitality, preserve water, or scale back waste, then let’s speak about advantages, not burdens. Let’s persuade, not preach.
Because in the long run, the planet doesn’t care why we modify, solely that we do.
Mr Enock Bii is the founder and CEO of ClimaVox Consult, a Nairobi-based Pan-African sustainability and strategic communications agency.
Email: [email protected]
