Image: Words that Work, Radley Yeldar
Morgan Mingle, Director of Sustainable Tourism for the Park City Chamber
I’ll be honest: I’ve spent more time than I’d like to admit writing sustainability content that was technically accurate and almost completely unengaging. Getting the facts right always felt like the priority, whether it actually connected with the reader was an afterthought. It took some outside perspective for me to realize that accuracy and engagement are not mutually exclusive, and that most of what makes sustainability content miss is fixable.
I’m still very much learning in this space, but here are some of the tips that have helped me think differently:
Write for your reader, not yourself. A lot of sustainability messaging is written from the organization’s perspective, packed with “we” language about what we’ve accomplished and what we hope to achieve. But it turns out it’s not actually about me, or what my organization achieved… it’s about the reader and what it means for them. Before writing a word, it’s worth asking: what does my audience actually care about, and what would make them act? That question has a way of rewriting your entire draft.
Polarizing language is a liability. Some sustainability terms have quietly become political friction points that lose readers before they even get to the point. Phrases like “save the planet” and “climate crisis” resonate with already alarmed audiences but can push others away. Language rooted in shared values like health, safety, conservation, and community tends to travel further. And wherever possible, swap mandate-and-ban framing for opportunity-and-solution framing. “Upgrade” lands better than “phase out.” “Set standards” lands better than “restrict.” Smart word choices make a real difference in reception.
Keep it local and specific. Global statistics are easy to write and hard to feel. “Food waste accounts for 8-10% of global human-caused greenhouse gas emissions” is accurate and completely forgettable. “We’ve kept two dump trucks’ worth of food out of Summit County’s landfill” is something a reader can actually picture. Working in Park City, I’ve found that the closer you can get to something a reader recognizes, a street, a trail, a business they drove past this morning, the more your message registers. Specific is almost always more powerful than sweeping.
Root out jargon, and words that have stopped meaning anything. If your copy includes phrases like “decarbonization roadmap” or “circular economy principles,” try reading it out loud to someone outside your field. If they glaze over, you have your answer. But technical jargon isn’t the only culprit, overused words are just as big a problem. What does “green” actually mean in your sentence? In what specific way is something “sustainable?” These words get used so loosely that they’ve lost their edges. Replacing them with something concrete almost always makes the writing sharper and more trustworthy.
Find the human story. Readers don’t bond with announcements; they bond with people. Who is affected by this work? Who is doing it? What did it take? Take trail stewardship as an example. You could publish a list of reasons why cutting switchbacks damages the trail system, or you could follow a trail manager through a morning spent hauling rock and rerouting drainage to repair an eroded hillside. The message is the same, but one makes you connect with the consequences of an action.
If you want to work through these ideas hands-on, Park City Chamber & Visitors Bureau and Right On are hosting a mid-day workshop on June 10, “Beyond Buzzwords: Writing Sustainability Content People Care About,” at Hotel Thaynes in Park City. Grab a ticket here.
