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Oatly joins climate journalism campaign
Confirmed
In Short: Oatly, the world's largest oat milk producer, is partnering with Covering Climate Now, a global journalism nonprofit, to spread climate action messages on its milk cartons.
The campaign, called the '89 Percent Project,' is based on a survey of nearly 130,000 people across 125 countries, which found that 89% of people want intensified political action on climate change.
Caroline Reid, senior sustainability director at Oatly, said at an event during New York Climate Week, 'Companies should be taking much more responsibility, not only in reducing their own environmental footprint, but really working out how they can use their platform to drive a positive future.
The cartons, which will be on U.S. shelves by January, feature messaging from the '89 Percent Project,' which Covering Climate Now describes as a global collaborative journalism initiative.
Mark Hertsgaard, executive director of Covering Climate Now, said, 'Most people who want climate action don’t realize they are in the “silent majority.”
In April, Japanese TV stations also began airing announcements about how the majority of Japanese people want stronger climate action.
Numerous polls, surveys, and scientific studies in the U.S. have long found that a majority want the government to take more action on climate change.
A 2022 poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that nearly two-thirds of Americans thought the federal government was not doing enough to fight climate change.
A study published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature Communications found that most Americans underestimate the prevalence of support for major climate change mitigation policies and climate concern.
Oatly’s new cartons were first released in Sweden and have since been rolled out to other European nations, including Belgium and Germany.
In addition to producing stories on climate change, Covering Climate Now promotes reporting on the issue through journalism trainings, newsroom collaborations, and press awards.
What's confirmed
- NEW YORK (AP) — Oatly, the world’s largest producer of oat milk, is sending a new message to its consumers: Most people want their governments to take action on climate change.
- Splashed on the side of the Swedish company’s cartons is messaging from the “89 Percent Project,” a campaign launched by Covering Climate Now, a global journalism nonprofit.
What's still developing
- Newsrooms traditionally try not to associate with organized advocacy efforts, but the unorthodox campaign has been gaining traction.
- This narrative, which goes against years of science that has established that human-caused emissions are driving the climate to change, has pushed some organizations to take a stronger stand in rebutting the administration and go a step further to advocate for solutions.
- Participating news organizations have amplified research that 80% to 89% of people worldwide want their governments to confront climate change.