Ahead of the Great Bit Green Week, just around the corner starting 6th June, in this episode of Can Marketing Save the Planet, we are joined by Helen Meech, Executive Director of the Climate Coalition, for an inspiring conversation which we hope urges every marketer, business, and community to get involved. Helen has been working in the nature and climate space for nearly 25 years, building movements that start with a single belief: people are powerful, especially when we come together. Great Big Green Week is proof of that belief as it is now the UK's largest celebration of community action on climate and nature. It has grown from just 50 events in 2021 to nearly 6,000 events last year (2025), engaging 1.2 MILLION people. And what’s super interesting is the fact that about a third of attendees have never engaged with climate or nature before. They come because it's organised by someone in their local community, school, sports club, or place of worship. "It's a really powerful on-ramp for the movement," Helen explains. "Over 80% of people leave wanting to do more." Joy and celebration really matter when it comes to nature and climate. Helen points to research from Climate Outreach. “Life is hard for many people right now. To then have another thing that is layered over can make that difficult to engage with," she says. By rooting action in communities pride of place, making life better directly, reducing bills through community energy, or repairing stuff together, it makes it directly relevant to people's lives. The strongest motivator of action though, is love.” As well as Great Big Green Week, The Climate Coalition also drives direct political action. 2025’s mass lobby, ‘Act Now Change Forever’, brought 5,000 people to Westminster on a hot Wednesday in July. Unlike previous lobbies where conversations happened outside, security changes meant constituents sat down with their MPs for 45 minutes indoors. "It allowed them to get into really deep conversations," 37% of those who attended the lobby were actually first-time campaigners, and the central hub where talks, poetry, and singing took place, became one of the most impactful elements of the day. When it comes to marketers who may be feeling frustrated about how to bring people together and build communities, Helen explains, "The skills of marketers is absolutely crucial for the moment that we're in. Marketing can help choices feel normal, desirable, and just part of everyday life." Helen left us with a final message on Great Big Green Week (an invitation to all), “join an event, organise an event, or just start a conversation. Because the vast majority of people do care, we just don't talk about it enough.” Tune in as we talk to Helen about: How Great Big Green Week grew from 50 to nearly 6,000 events, engaging 1.2 million people and bringing in a third who are brand new to climate action. Why joy, creativity, and love are more effective motivators than doom and fear. Act Now Change Forever, how 5,000 people came together, met with their MPs, talked to each other, all under a common goal. Government, business, and communities and how we can flip it from a race to the bottom to a virtuous cycle of action. How marketers can get involved in raising awareness, supporting different choices and being part of the solution. For more information and to learn more about Great Big Green Week and the work The Climate Coalition are championing - useful links below: https://www.greatbiggreenweek.com/ https://www.instagram.com/theclimatecoalition https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-climate-coalition/ https://www.facebook.com/theclimatecoalition We’d love to hear how you’re getting involved. So do keep us posted. ________________________________________________________________________ About us… We help Marketers save the planet. 🌍 Join the Marketers and organisations who have signed our manifesto, engage with our newsletter and training and, work with us to communicate sustainability more effectively. Sign our Sustainable Marketer Manifesto, and join us on our mission. Get in touch to chat. You’ll find the Podcast on all the usual pod platforms - and also on The Global Player. If you love it, do share it and spread the word. Talking about climate change and the role we play is one of the most important things we can do. So join the conversation. We’re all in this together. Our podcasts are recorded purely via online conferencing platforms, we apologise for any minor sound quality issues.
