60% of people think that the amount of “climate jargon” is increasing, while 19% say they’d be more likely to do something to protect the environment if “simpler, less confusing language was used”.
McDonald’s has published the results of a survey it carried out, which found that over a third of people “switch off when they hear or read jargon used around sustainability and the environment”.
Most people – 91% – have heard of the term ‘zero carbon’, but 23% “don’t know what it means”, while just over half have “never heard of the term ‘climate resilience'”.
‘Confusion across the dinner table’
With the environment being a big focus in schools, 39% of parents say they are “often asked to explain words around sustainability and the environment that they’re not fully able to answer, while 60% said they wished they knew more about sustainability to be better able to educate their children”.
51% of people believe their family would “engage much more in the climate challenge if the language used was simpler to understand”.
75% of people would like to “understand more about issues around sustainability and the environment”.
Guide launched to help navigate ‘climate jargon’
McDonald’s has launched a new free guide that is “designed to help customers understand the most confusing climate change terminology”.
‘The Climate Clarity Guide’ was developed in partnership with experts, to “provide simple explanations for some of the most complicated language and misunderstood terms”.
It includes Ireland’s “top 15 most confusing terms – including biodiversity, decarbonisation, food sovereignty and regenerative agriculture”, McDonald’s said.
Beth Hart, VP for supply chain and brand trust at McDonald’s, said: “We all know that we need to do more to look after each other and our planet. Talking about climate change in simple terms might seem like something small, but it can make a big difference.
“Rightly, there is a lot of talk about the environment and sustainability – but with so much complicated language it’s easy for people to switch off.”