Communication and Behaviour Change

THE INSIGHT Sustainability doesn’t fail because people don’t care. It fails because the way we communicate doesn’t shift behaviour.

Data shows that 73% of people say they care about sustainability, yet only 27% regularly act in ways aligned with that belief. (BBMG, GlobeScan, SustainAbility, 2017). This is what we call the Value-Action Gap.

In organisations, this gap shows up as well-meaning teams falling back on old habits — not because they’re unwilling, but because the system hasn’t shifted around them. Strategy alone doesn’t shift culture. Communication does — when done right.

3 PILLARS OF BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
Research from FUTERRA and CISL identifies three layers that influence behaviour:

1. Change minds — through clear, credible, consistent information

2. Change hearts — by creating emotional resonance and connection to values

3. Change context — by shaping the physical and social environment (norms, cues, processes)

CASE IN ACTION: WWF’s Sustainable Seafood Campaign In South Africa, WWF’s Pavitray Pillay worked to shift consumer habits around seafood. The campaign moved beyond facts and focused on story, visual cues (labeling), and retailer involvement. It changed hearts by connecting seafood choice to community wellbeing, and it changed context by making sustainable options more visible and accessible.

Result: increased consumer demand for certified sustainable fish, and measurable improvement in retailer policies.

PRACTICAL TOOL: DESIGNING YOUR COMMUNICATION STRATEGY When proposing a sustainability initiative, use this structure:

1. The Problem — Define the sustainability challenge in human terms (e.g. forced labour in supply chains, water usage inefficiencies).

2. Your Initiative — Present your action clearly and simply.

3. Key Actions — Outline how and with whom you will act.

4. Anticipated Impact — Define success (short- and long-term).

5. Value for Stakeholders — Explain why it matters for each stakeholder: cost saving, talent retention, customer trust, etc.

Tip: Include social proof (who else is doing this?) and friction removal (how are you making this easy?).

DATA THAT MATTERS

• 90% of consumers expect brands to help them live more sustainably — but only 28% believe companies are making it easy (Futerra, 2018)

• Teams exposed to emotionally resonant storytelling were 22x more likely to remember the information (Stanford Graduate School of Business)

• Behavioural campaigns that changed both messaging and context saw up to 60% more success than information-only efforts (Harvard Business Review, 2021)

WHY THIS MATTERS TO LEADERS As a leader, your influence doesn’t lie in how many presentations you give. It lies in how your communication moves people — how it makes them feel, how it changes what they do.

You’re not just delivering information. You’re setting norms. You’re shaping environments. You’re giving permission to act.

WHAT WE DO AT MORNING CHANGE At Morning Change, we help organisations and individuals:

• Translate sustainability goals into behaviour change strategy

• Run communication audits and workshops focused on trust, clarity, and resonance

• Build storytelling frameworks for ESG, DEI and culture change

Because change is never just intellectual. It’s emotional. It’s social. It’s human.

morningchange.org