Climate change has a communications problem, but not because there is a shortage of information.
In fact, it’s quite the opposite. We now have an abundance of climate research, thousands of reports and increasingly sophisticated data visualisations. We also have a constant stream of headlines about extreme weather, emissions and net zero. Yet, for many audiences, climate change can still feel distant, technical or overwhelming.
So, does climate communications need a rethink? Yes, but not by making it trendy or less serious. Instead, climate comms should find more engaging ways to connect climate action with the issues people care about: careers, innovation, leadership, investment, competitiveness and the future of organisations.
Much climate communication has traditionally focused on risk. This has become increasingly prevalent with rising temperatures, extreme weather and the devastating wildfires across Europe this summer. As climate change becomes more present in our daily lives, the news cycle can feel relentlessly overwhelming. Of course, these realities matter, but a constant stream of bad news can create a sense of helplessness.
Despite the urgency of climate change, there is another story to tell: climate action is also creating opportunities. New industries are emerging. Existing businesses are being redesigned. Investment is shifting. Technologies are developing rapidly. As a result, organisations need people who understand sustainability alongside finance, marketing, operations, strategy and leadership.
That makes climate communication a career conversation as much as an environmental one.
A positive example of an initiative turning planet-positive ideas into action is beVisioneers, a global fellowship supporting young innovators aged 16 to 28. Its 12-month foundational programme combines entrepreneurial skills, challenge-based learning, expert support and resources, with Fellows developing projects that tackle environmental challenges. Rather than presenting young people simply as inheritors of the climate crisis, beVisioneers positions them as innovators capable of developing solutions.
Through its storytelling and media coverage, the fellowship demonstrates an important shift in the narrative: from what will climate change mean for us, to what can we do about it.
Rethinking climate communications also means changing who gets to tell the story.
Universities are full of students experimenting with podcasts, social media, newsletters, campaigns and start-ups. They understand how their generation communicates, what cuts through and what gets ignored.
By sharing student stories, debates, short-form videos and case studies, business schools can make climate issues feel more immediate and authentic. A student explaining why they built a sustainable business may resonate more strongly with their peers than another institutional statement about net zero.
That does not mean abandoning expertise. Scientists, academics and practitioners remain essential. But expertise becomes more powerful when it is translated into stories, experiences and practical choices.
It also means giving students opportunities to participate in solutions themselves. Programmes such as beVisioneers demonstrate how education, entrepreneurship and climate action can intersect, giving young people the skills, networks and resources to develop their own responses to environmental challenges.
Making climate communications more attractive is not the same as making them more credible. Slick branding cannot compensate for weak action. A beautifully designed sustainability campaign can quickly backfire if audiences discover that an organisation’s behaviour does not match its messaging.
This is where business schools have an important role to play, not only in teaching about the impact of sustainability, but in demonstrating what credible action looks like.
POLIMI Graduate School of Management offers one example. In May 2026, the School announced that it had retained its B Corp certification. The school has been on this journey since 2020, when it became the first business school in Europe to obtain B Corp certification.
The significance is not simply the certification itself. It is the principle that communication should be backed by measurement, accountability and continuous improvement. For business schools, this creates an important leadership lesson in that communication and action have to move together.
Ultimately, rethinking climate communications is about making it relevant and accessible.
It means moving beyond a narrative dominated by fear and finding ways to communicate possibility without losing sight of urgency. It means connecting climate change to the subjects students are studying, the careers they are considering and the decisions they will make as future leaders.
If we want people to engage, perhaps we need to change the conversation from a story about what we stand to lose, to one about what we can build.