TL;DR Seriously, what do you call a creator who integrates climate and environmental themes into their storytelling? No, this is not the start of a joke, but a niche with an identity crisis.
📲 Building in public - Project updates:
Just a few small updates this time, as we're gearing up for a new content season on our Creators For Climate channels.
Strategy and Focus
We are shifting our content pillars to focus more closely on the skills of storytelling, climate communication and content creation.
What to expect on Youtube
- A new season of the podcast after our first pilot test-drive last year. This time we're going all in on creators driving real impact in the fields of climate, sustainability and conservation. More in a later entry!
- New formats like creator breakdowns, content creation tutorials, science communication tips and our very own campaigns.
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But before we get there, we need to talk about something else. It's about the niche we're working in. Which sometimes gets a bit confusing 😵💫👇
🙋🏻♂️ A name, please?
How do we define this emerging space for climate storytelling? That’s the puzzle I’ve been sitting with lately. And if you work in climate communication, science communication or sustainable branding, you might be feeling this tension too.
Climate content doesn’t just live in climate bubbles anymore.
- There are more and more science creators (like Neil deGrasse Tyson, which we dedicated last entry on) that are making climate content within a broader niche.
- Lifestyle influencers are weaving sustainability into fashion and travel videos.
- Brands are collaborating with creators who touch on climate and sustainability topics, without making it their core niche.
This is bigger than climate communication. It’s climate storytelling, told across every niche, platform and creative format possible.
But herein lays the challenge... There’s no clear term for this emerging space, yet.
Do we call them eco creators? Seems too limiting. Greenfluencers? Sounds promising? But personally, I feel more like a creator than an influencer... Climate communicators? Doesn’t quite fit the lifestyle department. Impact creators? Broad, but a little too vague at the same time.
The reality is we’re building this space as we go 👇
🌍 A green creator economy
We’re shaping a new green creator economy, where:
🧑🔬 Scientists can learn about TikTok storytelling.
💼 Brands are rethinking how they partner with creators.
🤳 Creators from every niche (like travel, food, fashion and tech,...) are realizing they too have a role to play in shaping these climate narratives.
With Creators For Climate, we’ve come to embrace this ambiguity. Because let's be honest, there won’t be one perfect term. Instead, we need a flexible language framework that reflects the diversity of the space.
Here’s how we’re thinking about it:
- For climate-first creators: Climate Creators, Eco Creators, Sustainability Creators
- For science communication: Science Creators, (Public) Science Communicators
- For lifestyle & travel influencers: Conscious Creators, Impact Storytellers, Greenfluencers, Creators Who Care
- For brands & NGOs: Green Creator Economy, Climate Storytelling, Environmental Storytelling
📝 This isn’t just a branding exercise
Why all the fuss over a few niche terms (literally)?
Well, it's about how we can:
- Make climate storytelling inviting, especially for creators who don’t normally see themselves in the climate space (Mr. Beast for example, with #TeamTrees and #TeamSeas).
- Help sustainable brands find the right partners, without only looking at “green" influencers.
- Expand climate communication beyond the usual climate echo chambers. We've tried it, it doesn't work. We need to get into broader science, culture, fashion, food, tech and whatever else people watch online.
This is the opportunity in front of us
To build a climate storytelling movement that’s as diverse, creative and unexpected as the creators themselves.
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And yes, the terms we use will evolve over time. But if we get the positioning right, at this moment, we create space for every creator, scientist and brand to see themselves as part of this movement.
That's especially important in times when inclusion and empathy are under attack (like…tell me, how is it bad to care about other people??) 👇
⁉️ My question to you
If you work in climate communication, sustainability marketing or science storytelling, I’d love to hear from you:
Just reply back to this email or DM us at @creatorsforclimate and we'll pool all the results. And again, thanks for all your support and tagging along with our journey!
- Tom
📓 Get the Creators For Climate Resources
And that's it for today. Below is the updated list of resources you can access and where you can download all the documents for free. That includes:
✨ I'd love to hear from you
Where are all the Climate Creators?
Do you know a creator who is making a significant impact in the field of climate action / science communication?
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Ask questions, get answers
Have burning questions about creating content, storytelling, or any other aspect of climate communication?
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That’s it for now, until next time!
If you're reading this, I'm glad to have you on our journey. Thank you, you awesome human being!
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Written by Tom Janssen
Creators For Climate
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