Subscribe to this blog's feedA colleague of the great man was at a conference about the water sector and climate change recently and discovered some interesting nuggets about dos and don'ts. According to consultancy Futerra Sustainability Communications, the public will only warm to the arguments if they are presented in the right way. Technical language is a bit of a turn-off. Focus groups, for instance, have found that many people think microgeneration is a mobile phone battery. And people don't like "efficiency" or "reduction" or "responsibility" when asked to consider climate change issues. Apparently, what the punters like are aspirational words such as "smart", "savvy" and "intelligent". Now here's a warning. Apparently, a utility company spent quite large sums on a campaign recently in a bid to persuade its customers to use less energy and water. The campaign was badged "A responsible summer - flex your power, save water, energy." The great man will spare the blushes of the Canadian utility that spent some $200 million on the campaign, to negligible effect. Oops.
