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Clarifying Complex Ideas, LLC

Content vs Communications | Sustainable Content #42

Published 4 days ago • 2 min read

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How do we communicate?

Next Tuesday, 16 September, I'll be discussing sustainable content with Tim Frick and Jenny Morgan in a free Zoom webinar: Climate Conundrums: Bridging the Gap Between Cancel Culture and Sustainable Communications.

Jenny has written a book that's fundamentally about how we communicate to overcome fear, division, and the general frustration that comes with discussing climate change. And of course, you're aware that I focus on how to make our actual content more sustainable, regardless of the underlying subject matter. I think this provides a nice balance of coverage for anyone who has capital-O Opinions about what we communicate in this world, and how.

This also provides an interesting opportunity for me to reflect prior to the start of Climate Week in New York City later this month. It's been absolutely fascinating — and probably more than a little disheartening — to see how quickly the focus of NYCW has shifted from science-based, technical climate solutions to things that have some real "we asked ChatGPT what to do about climate, and the business model it created for us hits all the VC buzzwords" energy.

Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to learning what I can that week. I'm booked for a wide range of topics, from biodiversity walks in Central Park to discussions of mitigating the environmental costs of AI datacenters. There are financial discussions of how to invest in decarbonization, and sessions on building strong communities in resilient cities. It's an amazing way to get a finger on the pulse of what's happening in the broader climate space.

"If we want to take sustainable content to the next level of sustainability communications, we need to understand why these are urgent and polarizing topics, what underpins the human struggle with big-picture thinking, and how to overcome these difficulties to truly communicate and engage.
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There are psychological factors at play when we behave contrary to our own self-interest. If the facts are all there, why are these conversations so hard? Precisely because the underlying problems are simply too big for us to wrap our brains around. We’re dealing with crises at a scope and pace that humanity has never seen before."

 

Alisa Bonsignore
​Sustainable Content: How to Measure and Mitigate the Carbon Footprint of Digital Data ​
​Now available​

What I've been reading

There's such a disconnect between public awareness and concern about plastics, and policies to limit plastic pollution. The push for a Global Plastics Treaty has faltered, which leaves it up to businesses to fill the gap in momentum.

​European wildfire season is officially the worst on record. The numbers are just staggering. This is our new normal.

On the bright side, sustainable funds outperformed standard investments in the first half of 202​5. Nearly $4 trillion has been invested in sustainable funds to date.

Yet another reason to love libraries: with a Library of Things, you can rent items that you only use periodically. Why buy (and build, and ship, and store) items that you hardly ever use? It's more efficient to have a shared resource.

Shameless and unsolicited self-promotion!

Did you sign up for the webinar I discussed above? You really should. Tim and Jenny are awesome.
Be there. 16 September 2025.

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People are saying good things about Sustainable Content

One of the best moments was when someone approached me at the Green IO conference in New York to show me their heavily annotated and sticky-noted copy of my book. There's no better feeling than to know that something has truly resonated with its audience.

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Alisa Bonsignore

Founder, Strategist, and Author

Clarifying Complex Ideas, LLC

Talking about sustainable content: how to measure and mitigate the carbon footprint of digital data.

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