For the first time this year, GreenBiz convened for two whole days before the main event with an elusive bunch of sustainability–creatives. Dozens of climate tech communications experts gathered to talk shop, write, and learn at the Comms Summit. Each session was built around the principle that stories matter. One speaker even pointed out that research shows the human brain remembers stories over statistics. I realized just how right she was when my Uber driver from the Scottsdale hotel self-identified as a climate refugee, telling his Hurricane Katrina experience over jazz. Our collective climate story is full of heartbreaks like these, but it’s far from over.
Many of my climate conversations at GreenBiz left me with something others have not–optimism. Attendees of all ages and titles were eagerly focused on implementation, their ideas finally realized and put to use to decarbonize various sectors. Those in ESG platform services expressed bullishness; they can’t keep up with demand, despite what you may hear among the political discourse. Experts in wind, solar and hydropower didn’t show mockups of their technology, they showed me photos of generation at scale. These three renewable resources are experiencing tangible transformations not seen since they were first harnessed for energy by our ancestors. Bright and brilliant university students in attendance seemingly moved past climate grief toward supercharged innovation, researching how deployable solutions will change the future.
Remember, none of this technology was newly introduced or conceived of this year, but for the first time, it’s been realized and adopted. At Antenna Group, we’ve noticed this trend with our clients too; climate tech is now part of our everyday lives, and innovators are realizing the fruits of their labor. We like to call it, The Age of Adoption. This is that moment in the story when everything we’ve been working toward converges; the technology is finally scalable and deployable, no longer just conceptual; the government is on board with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act; and public opinion leans in the direction of favorability toward implementation.
The Age of Adoption brings with it not only climate benefits but economic benefits. Electric vehicles are nearly at cost parity, more affordable for families who want to save money on gas. Climate tech expansion is opening up jobs left and right, even as the rest of the tech industry struggles. Quality of life is improving for those who are able to experience efficient buildings and infrastructure. That’s the Age of Adoption at work and its positivity permeated the conference.
Of course our climate story is unfolding in real time, and it’s up to all of us to write a happy ending for the Age of Adoption. Antenna Group is doing all we can to prepare our partners for threats like greenhushing, anti-ESG rhetoric, and unnecessary red tape–all of which threaten momentum. I’m confident in the ability of my fellow communications experts, whom I met this week, to do the same.
Get in touch if you’d like to discuss how to tell your organization’s story in the Age of Adoption.