Talking about the climate problem might not be high on your list of conversation topics. Yet it is an important topic to get people moving, thinks Manu Busschots, sociologist, coach and founder of the Climate Talks Foundation. Only the way you talk about it matters a lot. What can we learn from this climate coach?
Climate talks: how you talk about it determines everything
Manu has a mission with his Klimaatgesprekken foundation: to make climate-friendly choices self-evident. Not by imposing sustainable choices on people, but by inspiring. Climate Conversations organises workshops nationwide to inspire a positive conversation with people. The workshops were developed in England (Carbon Conversations) and use insights from climate psychology. They teach you to recognise and change your climate-unfriendly behaviour. Manu attracts a large group with a different conversation about climate. Not surprisingly, the initiative has been in Trouw's Sustainable 100 for two years in a row. Thanks to initiatives like Manu's, a more sustainable society can suddenly move fast.
To be perfectly honest right off the bat, we don't know many people who enjoy talking about the big climate challenges of our time. What about you?
‘It's definitely an uncomfortable truth. Since childhood, I loved nature and when I got a bit older, I realised that nature is not just fun; there appeared to be things going on. From then on, I started looking at my own behaviour and asked myself the question: how can I make a difference?’
And?
‘I combined my love of nature with the knowledge and experience in the coaching profession and founded the Climate Talks Foundation on. We teach people in a practical, casual and fun way to make their lives more climate-friendly, and how to involve others in the process. Two hundred coaches have been trained across the country to lead such conversations.’
It does sound quaint: a climate conversation course...
‘I always say: you can take a course in yoga, painting, cooking or you can come to us for climate talks. There are quite a lot of people who are worried about climate change but are not sure what to do about it. Then it is quite nice to be able to talk to other people who feel the same and, moreover, turn it into something positive. I myself don't want to live out of fear, so I make an abstract feeling more concrete.’
A workshop at Climate Speaks.
As a sociologist and coach, you like to look at human behaviour. So what do you see?
‘That our behaviour is influenced by how we experience things. Climate is a big, difficult topic that we prefer not to think and talk about too much. Concrete actions, close to home, are much easier to look at. So you see that if in a street one or two people have solar panels, in that street the number of solar panels increases faster than in a street where nobody has them yet. Good behaviour is contagious and it doesn't even necessarily have to be directly about the climate. If I tell someone that I took the train to France because of the environment, it goes in one ear and out the other quicker. Whereas if I tell them how relaxing it was to have travelled by train and somewhere at the end drop ‘oh, and it's sustainable too’, it sticks much better, because it's a positive message.’
That is then another fun kind of contagiousness! So a kind of positive influencing via Climate Talks?
‘True! And climate-friendly choices should also bring benefits for yourself, otherwise it is harder to keep up. Going on holiday in the Netherlands more often is also just relaxing, you get to your destination quickly. Eating more veg and cycling is healthier and solar panels save energy costs.’
But does it really make a difference to do something yourself?
‘There is a big difference between nothing and a little bit. That one vote of yours in the elections won't make the difference either, but still we vote. After all, all the votes put together add up to a few million. So it is with sustainable behaviour. Add to that the contagiousness of behaviour and see that every little bit makes a very big difference.’
You yourself have three children. How do you talk to them about it?
‘In any case, I am not a pastor. But they do know about climate issues. They get that anyway: at school, from the Youth News. Depending on their age, they have different questions. The youngest of eight just wants to know if there are still forest fires, and the one of ten is already asking if it will happen more often. It has been shown that children are aware and concerned about climate change. It is therefore good to listen to them and talk about it. For myself, I also think it is important to be able to say later that we knew and did as much as we could about it.’
Also getting started with Climate Talks?
Did you get excited by Manu's story and also want to start living a sustainable life in a positive way? Then sign up for a workshop at Climate Talks or become a climate coach too and inspire groups of people just like Manu. Saskia, founder of thegreenlist.nl, is also one of over 200 climate coaches from Climate Talks.
Do you know a greener doer who deserves a stage?
Are you or do you know someone who is also engaging in some form of sustainable living in an inspiring way? And do you think he/she also deserves a stage on thegreenlist.nl? Feel free to send an e-mail!
More sustainable inspiration from thegreenlist.nl
- Also see: Interview with Elisah, founder of Zero Waste Netherlands, on a life without waste.
- Also see: Interview with Laura on creating a minimalist wardrobe.
- Also see: simple tips to save energy at home.
- Want to get started with a sustainable lifestyle on more levels? Then check out this list of free tests you can use to chart your behaviour.
Photo credits: Klimate talks.
