MPs got emissions information straight into their postbox

Finland is on its way towards carbon neutrality. In order to achieve this ambitious goal, information is needed on whether or not emissions are being reduced at the desired rate. We condensed emission data into impactful text and images. This way, we could stimulate debate in both parliament and social media.

 

Client: The Ministry of the Environment

Date: 2020

Why was the work done?

Finland’s emissions development is reported annually in the annual climate report. It helps assess whether emissions have been successfully reduced as planned outside emissions trading: what measures have worked and what should be tightened? The Ministry of the Environment compiles the annual climate report every year. The ministry wanted to have a summary alongside the extensive report, which would concisely and interestingly explain whether we are on the road to carbon neutrality by 2035, as the government has outlined. The desire was for the summary to help MPs utilise the information in decision making. 

What did we do?

At the very beginning of the work, we decided with the ministry that both the summary and the communication about it should be as conversational and visually interesting as possible.

We identified issues in the annual report that would be good for public discussion and made a summary of each of them. The summary presented the development of emissions and summed up the actions taken in one infographic. The summaries’ visual look was built based on the ministry’s new look. It was complemented by cartoon-like illustrations.

For each summary, we talked with two interesting people and wrote their dialogue in the form of a story. The dialogues highlighted what the reality behind the numbers is and what kind of actions a carbon neutral future requires. Among those speaking were an agricultural producer, city mayor, transport professor, a house owner who had switched to renewable energy from oil heating, and a minister.

The planned live meetings were held on social media due to the coronavirus pandemic. During the month, the ministry’s Twitter account made posts that stimulated discussion and invited people to share their thoughts and ideas. 

Before the Finnish Parliament’s Environment Committee discussed the annual climate report, MPs received mail: a printed summary of Finland’s emissions information. By then at the latest, those who didn’t follow the discussion on social media also got their hands on emissions data. 

 How did it go?

During the social media campaign, some very lively discussion on climate issues took place. There were almost 15,000 mentions in total on Twitter. The annual climate report wasn’t discussed before the campaign, but during it it was tweeted an average of 6 times a day for five weeks.  

The gradual release of emissions data was worth it: the topic remained in the forefront for a long time and it was linked to current discussions about the state budget, for example. People invited to the conversation actively commented on the posts. At its best, a single post was retweeted almost 40 times.

The summary received praise from the work’s main target group, the MPs. They expressed a wish for similar summaries in the future. 

Find out more about the climate annual report summaries.

 

The visual summary provided alongside the annual climate report is illustrative and answers many of the aforementioned wishes. The committee considers it a success and believes it would be permanently a necessary part of the annual report.

Finnish Parliament’s Environment Committee 2020 report

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Visualisation of complex information is at the heart of Kaskas’ work and interest. The annual climate report’s images combined information from many different sources. It’s hard to predict the future sometimes, but the direction seems clear.

Aapo Mattila, art director, Kaskas