How weasel words infiltrated climate communications

When did aspirational climate messaging start sounding like corporate obscurity?

Today I’d like to talk about what happens when brands are too scared to tell the truth.

In corporate climate communications I believe that this happens for two reasons. First, most corporate climate action is not all that impressive, so the desire to embellish overwhelms the desire for truth. Second, the fear of being accused of greenwashing leads brands to choose abstract language over the clear and concrete.

Climate tech brands do better than their corporate clients on both of these points. But Meg and I strongly believe that the language and positioning climate tech marketers use have a powerful influence on their clients’ own climate communications. It’s essential that we get this right.

The best place to start with clear and truthful communication is by avoiding weasel words.

This article originally appeared in The Climate Hub newsletter. Sign up free here .

What are weasel words?

Weasel words range from grand abstractions to boring fillers; they’re any word you use when a clearer, plainer one will do. You can spot weasel words because they are virtually impossible to picture in any tangible way. How many times have you seen phrases like these?

• We are committed to carbon-neutral operations
• We are transforming supply chains for a better future
• We are harnessing the power of nature
• We are driving positive climate outcomes

In climate specifically, I recommend making as little use of the following as possible:

• Sustainable, eco-friendly, climate-friendly, planet-friendly
• Enhance, empower
• Impact, outcomes (depends on context, there’s usually a better alternative)
• Committed to, dedicated to, driven by
• ’People and planet’
• A better future
• Pivotal moment
• Driving climate action
• Groundbreaking, cutting-edge, state-of-the-art

This is not an exhaustive or strictly black-and-white list, but I bet you can sense a theme here. Notice how most of these are or contain adjectives, or are verbs with no tangible image.

For a dose of non-weasel inspiration, look outside your typical spheres. Listen to Trump speak if you can bear it. He waffles a lot, but is occasionally quite direct, and offensive language tends to be clear language. Or take a leaf out of BP’s book (this gave me a good laugh, and it’s quite the visual.) Or just listen to kids talk.

What happens when you remove weasel words?

The alternative to weasel words is clear, tangible, specific language. Nouns and verbs, mostly — the way language should be. It’s phrases like carbon credits over climate impact or wind and solar over green energy.

Ironically, clear language often leads us more towards features than benefits, something marketers have been told to avoid at all costs.

Many people are afraid that using ‘basic’ words makes them sound unintelligent or unexciting. Nothing could be further from the truth. Specificity — getting precise with your language — helps readers turn your words into pictures. And the human brain loves pictures.

In good news, specificity is the antidote to greenwashing. Eco-friendly is greenwashing; 15% less plastic than before is a fact. Sustainable is misleading; solar-powered needs no further explanation. Good for the planet is absurd (the planet will adapt — us, not so much); 1,000 hectares of land reforested is real.

Un-weaseling is not a process of swapping longer words for shorter words (as apps like The Hemingway Editor will lead you to believe). It’s about replacing vague concepts with specific ones.

How to un-weasel your brand messaging

The first step: do a full audit. Use the above list as a starting point, but don’t ignore your intuition. You probably already know what feels off.

The next step: look for better words to replace the weasels. One way to do this is to explain your business model to a five-year-old — great for clarity. Another way to do this is to steer clear of long-winded meetings with leadership teams, VCs, and big agencies and hire someone like Meg Kendall , who is grounded in scientific specifics and has a low tolerance for BS.

How to un-weasel your content

My favorite part! I love weasel-free content because it’s easy to read and highly shareable. Weasel-free content takes complicated topics and makes them simple. It is open and honest about things that companies often hesitate to share. It clarifies the obvious questions that customers are often confused about. And it educates the market in ways that go beyond simply benefiting the brand.

Some ideas for weasel-free content:

• Explain how your tech works so that virtually anyone can understand it, layering up and down for your different audiences
• Add product screenshots (or abstractions if the product team won’t let you)
• Catch your scientists on video or work from transcriptions to capture original language
• Connect with sales teams to find out customers’ biggest questions and misconceptions
• Interview customers for case studies (this only works if they’re willing to share specifics)
• Turn your own data into clear, compelling insights (don’t be a weasel with data and try to reach conclusions with weak evidence)

Wrapping up

Weasel words are everywhere, and not just in climate. They fall all too easily out of the mouths of politicians, business leaders, uninspired students, and, unsurprisingly, ChatGPT.

In our industry, weasel words are particularly harmful. They mislead real people about real environmental truths. And as climate tech brands, they do us a disservice, making us less noticeable in a landscape of buzzwords and clichés.

We can do better. As climate tech marketers and writers, we can plant the seeds for a weasel-free future in climate communications.

Let’s do it!

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