Most people want to act on climate change but don’t - could savings be the secret to turning the silent majority into a climate force?

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69% of people say they would contribute 1% of their household income to tackle climate change. But in reality, very few actually do. That gap between what people say and what they do is huge - and it matters.

This is what we call the “silent majority.” Most people care, most people want change, but when it comes to acting, they freeze. They don’t know where to start, or they feel their contribution won’t make a difference. The result? Nothing happens.

At Glad, we believe the way forward is simple: savings. If people can save money while helping the planet, they’ve got a clear reason to get involved. It answers the question most people are really asking: What’s in it for me?

Why other approaches miss the majority

Different groups are pushing for climate action, but each tends to engage only a small slice of the population:

• Policy experts focus on government change. Vital, but slow.

• Activists raise awareness, but often turn the majority off.

• Degrowthers and shamers push restrictions, but negativity doesn’t motivate.

• Tech innovators are creating breakthrough solutions, but they don’t answer why everyday people should join in.

All of these are important. But none of them unlock the silent majority. To do that, we need incentives.

The carrot, not the stick

Change is driven by two forces: the stick (punishment) and the carrot (incentives). Policy and regulation are important sticks, but they’re slow, political, and often unpopular. Carrots - rewards that motivate people to act - are underused in climate. That’s where we focus with Glad.

Our carrot is simple: help you save money while you help save the planet. Positive reinforcement creates long-term change, and it makes climate action something people want to do, not something they feel forced into.

An example in action

This week, we welcomed Origin Coffee, a certified B Corp from Cornwall, as a Glad partner. They’re offering generous discounts to our community: 30% off your first three bags, 10% off subscriptions, or 15% off your first order. A chance to enjoy great coffee, support a sustainable business, and save money, all while contributing to a cleaner atmosphere.

That’s the carrot in action.

The silent majority doesn’t need more guilt or lectures. They need simple, positive reasons to act. At Glad, we’re building those reasons, one saving at a time. Because when climate action becomes worthwhile for everyone, real change can happen.

Transcript:

69 % of people say they would contribute 1 % of their household income to tackle climate change. But in reality, very few actually do. Just what is it that creates that big gap between what people say they will do and what they actually do? Why do we have a silent majority? And what's the reason? Why most people would like to do something but don't know where to start and end up doing nothing.

Hello and welcome to Glad Tidings. Your weekly update on the Glad community's progress towards cleaning up the atmosphere. I'm Ben Wynn and today we're looking at why Glad focuses on savings and why we believe they are the key to unlocking climate action.

At Glad our approach to the climate problem is really quite simple. We focus on providing incentives that make it worthwhile for people to act. So let's remind ourselves why savings matter when it comes to the climate. One of the key studies we looked at when we were planning Glad was a piece of research done by the journal Nature.

They interviewed 130,000 people across 125 countries worldwide and the results were clear.

89% of people said that they thought their governments should be doing more on climate

and

69% said that they would contribute 1 % of their household income every month.

But they don't.

We thought it would be useful to just explore our beliefs about why that's the case, about how we might change that. You see, until now, the fight against climate change just hasn't really focused on mobilizing, engaging the majority. That's why they're the silent majority. There's lots of action in lots of different areas. So you've got your personas out there, you've got your policy wonks. These are the people that are trying to get worldwide governmental change and policy change to help contribute towards tackling climate change. is ultimately, we think, the right path, but it's super hard and unfortunately super slow. You've got the activists. These are those that are going round, spraying everything orange, gluing themselves to the road. Good for awareness. Ultimately, for the majority, turns them off, it disrupts their day.

They become aware of it, but it doesn't enable them to do anything. And we think it's always going to be a minority that are going to be activists, of course. Then you get the de-growthers and the shamers. These are the people you'd be aware of who go around telling you that you shouldn't fly, that you should stop consuming things. It's a negative message, which again is meant well, but it doesn't engage and incentivize that majority.

And of course, you've got the techies. So new technological solutions, VCs pouring money into hardware, deep IP, new forms of renewable energy and battery technology and all sorts of different things. And all of these are absolutely vital. But if we're focused on mobilizing that majority, none of them are addressing the core question that gets asked. And that core question is

What's in it for me? Why should I contribute? And That's the fundamental question we're trying to answer with Glad. We want to give people a reason to get involved. And to do that, we really need to motivate their behaviors. And when it comes to motivations, the fundamental way in which you can motivate people, there are a few, but at that foundation level, there are two.

You get the stick and you get the carrot. So the stick, of course, represents policy, regulation, tightening up the regulations on businesses, for example, about their emissions and how they produce their goods. And the carrot represents the incentive. And that really hasn't had much attention within the world of climate today. The carrot is where we focus with Glad.

Bbecause we believe that that's the secret to mobilizing the majority. We know that positive reinforcement, which comes with a carrot, is the way to get long term change. And we know science tells us that the penalties and punishments, the stick, can be really effective at getting short term change. But the problem with the stick is it breeds negativity. And it turns people away. It's demotivating. And of course, it's only effective as a short-term change if you can implement it quickly. And because the regulations aren't being changed, for many different reasons, our current political climate tells me that I don't think those regulations are going to be tightened enough, quick enough. We need to focus elsewhere.

So we're focusing on the carrot. And that is a really simple piece. The Glad the idea is to help you save money. Help you save money whilst you're helping save the planet. And speaking of savings, we've got another one for you this week and one that I really quite like. It's Origin Coffee. So it's a coffee brewer. They're based in Cornwall. They're giving you two types of saving. You get 30 % off your first three bags of coffee and then after 10% off for any subscription that you take out as a Glad member. Or, if you're not yet ready to do a subscription, they'll give you 15% off your first order. So very generous from a certified B-Corp coffee brewer that's based down in Cornwall. And I love this because I happened to go to Cornwall on holiday this year. So it's only a few weeks ago. I was in Padstow and of course, Padstow in Cornwall, synonymous with Rick Stein, and I was in Stein's Cafe and had the most amazing coffee. I'd not heard of Origin Coffee before, but...that was a great coffee. And a few short weeks later, they're a member of Glad offering a generous saving on subscriptions and one time purchases. So really, really pleased with that. So go grab that yourselves. Remember, all you've got to do is punch in your email address on the website, you get access to the savings straight away. And I hope that helps you save money while you're saving the planet.

Okay, that's all we've got time for this week.

Thank you as always for listening. Thank you for being a member. And thank you for helping to clean up the planet.

Until next time, thanks guys.