What is Threads and do I need it? Community in a climate crisis, and all the sustainability news from this week
Welcome to our 13th Sustainability Bulletin. This week we unravel the concept of community - what it means, why we need one, and how building one for your business can help both your product and the planet. We’re also going to be breaking down Threads, the new social media app, to see how it can help sustainability startups to grow.
Finally, we end with the news of the week - breakthroughs in climate tech, the latest investments, top environmental stories, and more. We’ve decided to break up the news, moving any stories that seem terrifying to the bottom - so if you’re feeling like you just don’t have the capacity for the reality of the climate crisis, you can skip it.
Community - resilience, adaptation, and purpose.
We hear the buzzword community so much these days. Perhaps it comes from a place of wanting to fit in somewhere, to have a purpose, to connect with people that find similar interests and passions, and wanting to grow in the right direction with support from familiar people. In a climate crisis, a community is everything.
As we try our hardest to mitigate and stop further environmental and social harm, we’re also already adapting to the changes that are already happening all around us. Moving homes, finding new jobs, adapting to new lifestyles, hotter days and new diets, and welcoming new people forced to leave areas faced with food shortages and wildfires.
Communities help to find solutions, they support the most vulnerable and champion those doing their best to fight for more. They make people feel less alone in the change, and understand the intricate needs of a particular culture or area. Some communities are in the forefront of pushing for change in business, much like our readers here. Others are at the forefront of tackling the real-life changes to a city devastated by floods, heatwaves or food shortages. Community really is everything, and we need it more than ever now.
Building a Community in a business context
Building a community seems to be a huge priority for sustainability startups, and businesses in general. It helps create conversations, understand your customer, increase revenue, meet like-minded people, and grow as a business.
Online communities are still communities - they still make new connections that add value to people’s lives. If you’re yet to consolidate your community, focus on sharing regular content that speaks to your readers, host online or in-person events, personalise your products, and tell stories about your business in a way that starts conversations about the issues you are tackling.
Threads - what is it and do I need it?
Threads was launched on Wednesday and it’s caused quite a stir amongst social media and marketing professionals.
What is it: An app linked to Instagram to post short updates on, much like Twitter.
Why is it different: Threads has a feed that shows posts from accounts you follow as well as similar accounts based on their algorithm, so your posts could potentially be seen by thousands of people on the outskirts of your community. There is no way to direct message, instead users can start conversations on posts by replying to them with videos, photos or 500 characters.
Why get it: It’s always good to stay ahead of trends, so if you have the budget and the time, it’s worth setting up an account whilst it’s at its peak. It’s also a good way to start conversations, so would really help to grow your community. If you’re Instagram has a strong following, this will give you an advantage as you can move your followers over to your Threads account.
Don’t bother: If your community isn’t the type to try new trends, and prefers sticking to other forms of communication like newsletters and Instagram, then don’t waste your time on it and stick to what you know. Furthermore, if you have nothing to add to the content you’re creating, then don’t get it for the sake of being “on it” with trends, it will just distract and take time away from other important areas of work.
If you do get it: You can’t delete it unless you delete your Instagram, but you can temporarily pause it. Make sure to post things relevant to your product, community, and goals. Start conversations and keep within your brand guidelines. It may seem like a relaxed place for people to chat, but it’s still a public representation of your company and values.
Photo from Evening Standard.
News and articles from this week
Disruptive protest helps rather than hinders activists’ cause, experts say »»
Countries adopt new shipping greenhouse gas emissions target »»
‘Revolutionary’ solar power cell innovations break key energy threshold »»
Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon drops 34% in first half 2023 »»
The climate change-denying TikTok post that won't go away »»
Grey whales seen seeking human help to remove parasites »»
Greta Thunberg charged with disobeying Swedish police during oil protest »»
Biden's green hydrogen plan hits climate obstacle: Water shortage »»
Climate crisis & environment:
UN says climate change ‘out of control’ after likely hottest week on record »»
Are wildfires in the US getting worse? »»
At least 50 dead in Pakistan monsoon floods since end of June »»
World records hottest day for third time in a week »»
Sweltering weather has left swaths of the US baking. A ‘heat tsar’ in charge could help »»
Startups and sustainability
A Path to Change: The Benefits and Problems of Sustainable Fashion Startups
£2 million programme to tackle sustainability challenges in the UK manufacturing industry
Disrupting the food industry: 10 promising German foodtech startups you should keep an eye on
Nestlé launch a program for sustainable startups
European startup Refurbed notch up €1 billion worth of refurbished technology sales
Action vs measurement: Why startups need concrete solutions to address new ESG laws
That’s all for this week! Thanks for reading.
Discussions:
How do you build and grow your community as a sustainability startup or purpose founder?
Do you think climate protests are beneficial for action?
Will you be using Threads?
Comment below 👇