Something I’ve learned as a trained scientist and sustainability professional is that data alone is not enough to drive positive change. Inspired storytelling and effective communication – backed by good data – are largely responsible for our society’s growing awareness of the urgent sustainability challenges: of climate change, environmental degradation, and social equity.
I approach the challenges this way: the first step towards achieving our sustainability goals is to obtain and interpret the relevant data. The next step – not necessarily an easy one for academics trained in data analysis – is to turn statistics into stories, measurements into arguments.
It’s one thing to understand patterns and significant variability in the data; it’s another to turn data into meaning, and meaning into narrative that connects with an audience and is, at the same time, internally connected and coherent. A narrative, as we all know, needs a thread.
Data can tell us the why and the how, which in turn will allow us to make the right decisions and formulate the best policies, whether managing a marine pest, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, or the improvement of gender equality.
And what’s more, data tells us if things are going according to plan, giving us the chance to change course if needed. To measure is to know. In the words of British mathematician Lord Kelvin: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”
Climate change as a result of human activity has been a matter of serious concern since at least the middle of the 20th century. Yet it wasn’t taken seriously as a global threat until the 21st century.
The 2006 release of An Inconvenient Truth, the Academy Award-winning documentary by former US Vice President Al Gore, was a key moment in the evolution of climate change awareness. Having experienced Gore’s charismatic personality and engaging storytelling live at one of his Climate Reality training sessions, I’m convinced that people like him have made, and keep making, a big difference.
Did you know? The University of Tasmania was the first Australasian university to achieve a STARS Gold rating. The Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System is used by over 1,000 universities worldwide. It was developed by and for the higher education sector to define initiatives across a broad range of metrics, ensure transparency, and clarify action.
Data was at the very core of that film, presented in graphic and dramatic ways to convey the rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide and its indisputable link to human activity, the tangible and catastrophic consequences of climate change, and the human and economic cost of its impacts.
Importantly, the documentary emphasised the vital role of reliable data by stressing the danger of false assumptions and misinformation.
And it drove its point home powerfully by articulating what is at stake for all of us: to live on Earth; to have a future. In my experience, however, one-way communication is not the only - and not even the best – way to reach people. A charismatic, authoritative speaker can certainly deliver an effective message. But lasting change can happen only when people come together and act in unison.
It’s largely for this reason that I believe in the power of dialogue. As part of my role in sustainability reporting, I’ve been tasked with reaching out to staff in many areas of the University and listening to their initiatives. It’s been an invaluable chance to engage with the University community and to discuss the meaning and significance of sustainability in all its dimensions: environmental, social, cultural and economic.
This kind of engagement is more than storytelling, more than messaging.
It’s a genuine dialogue that helps to create an interconnected, diverse and resilient community; a community empowered to respond to the sustainability challenges that we all face.
Main image: Sustainability engagement at Orientation Week, Hobart.
This story features in the 2023 edition of It's in our nature - a collection of stories that celebrate and highlight the unique work being undertaken by our institution, and the people within it, to deliver a more fair, equitable and sustainable society.
Explore sustainability at the University of Tasmania and how you can get involved.
