Nine in ten PR leaders say tackling climate change is part of their professional duty. Yet IPRA’s latest survey suggests many are still fighting for the possibility and means to make that duty real.

The new IPRA climate communication survey of international PR professionals reveals a striking consensus: 90% believe the profession bears a clear shared and individual responsibility for addressing climate change. Most have seen the issue grow in relevance to their work over the past two years and expect it to become even more important in the next three.

This conviction mirrors the warnings of the IPCC and recent climate and extreme weather developments, which show how climate change is already reshaping economies - damaging assets, interrupting supply chains, diminishing workforce productivity, and hitting sectors such as energy, tourism, and agriculture particularly hard. Intensifying heatwaves, droughts, and storms drive up operating costs, magnify regulatory pressure, and expose companies to financial risks. The third‑warmest year on record has only underscored the urgency.

Climate urgency meets communication power

Climate has become a priority for strategic communication across agencies and in‑house teams alike. Most respondents expect its relevance to increase further, driven primarily by stakeholder and public expectations (82%), regulatory developments (71%), and corporate responsibility commitments (71%). Competitive advantage (51%) and brand values (46%) follow well behind—evidence that moral and social imperatives now tend to outweigh purely image‑driven motives.

Just as striking is the ethical near‑unanimity: 90% affirm that PR carries a duty to address climate change, seeing communicators not merely as messengers but as advocates for credible action. This stance echoes IPRA’s Climate Change Communication Guidelines, which interpret the IPRA Code of Conduct through the lens of SDG 13 and call for honest, evidence‑based communication.

The role of communication in climate action

Respondents identify three complementary roles for communications: connection and translation; awareness and behavioural change; and responsibility with systemic impact.

1. Communication as connection and translation
   Communicators translate complexity into meaning. They turn scientific data and policy detail into stories the public can understand and feel. Through clear narratives, vivid imagery, and local examples, they connect global risks with personal relevance—making climate action relatable rather than remote.
2. Driving awareness, engagement, and behavioural change
   Beyond informing, communication can inspire. Campaigns and community dialogue shape norms, influence attitudes, and show that change is possible. Persistence, consistency, and inclusivity—especially toward audiences outside mainstream media—are essential to sustaining engagement.
3. Enabling responsibility, authenticity, and systemic impact
   Authenticity is becoming the defining metric of effective climate communication. Transparent storytelling and resistance to greenwashing build trust and credibility. When communicators link sustainability to corporate identity and governance, they can help embed climate goals within core business strategy. PR thus moves from peripheral storytelling to central leadership in the transition to a livable future.

The reality inside PR practice

Survey data confirm that climate communication is now embedded in day‑to‑day work—from leadership messaging and stakeholder engagement to guiding clients on greenwashing risks. Many respondents see this expertise as fundamental, not optional. This aligns with IPRA’s call for communicators to cultivate internal cultures where climate concerns can be voiced freely and to collaborate with external actors promoting positive climate action.

Still, the survey exposes a significant capability gap. Fewer than 1% of respondents describe themselves as climate‑communication specialists, while 63% report only occasional or no direct experience. Half cite insufficient resources and lack of targeted training as critical barriers. Given the complexity of climate science and the difficulty of proving communication impact, this deficit is particularly acute. More than 80% identify misinformation as a major challenge.

Ethical guardrails against greenwashing

Encouragingly, PR professionals largely see themselves as part of the solution to climate misinformation. IPRA’s guidelines reinforce this self‑conception by requiring practitioners to ensure honesty, reference science‑based data, and translate science into accessible language.

In practice, that means communicators must be empowered to push back when asked to exaggerate achievements, obscure major emission sources, or rely on vague net‑zero narratives. Supported by IPRA’s standards and the UN SDGs, they can insist on verifiable targets, transparent reporting, and balanced framing that acknowledges tradeoffs as well as real progress.

With its UN consultative status, IPRA is uniquely positioned to transform these insights into professional guidance. The Climate Change Communication Guidelines operationalize seven articles of the IPRA Code of Conduct for climate‑related work, defining personal, organizational, and societal duties, ranging from avoiding greenwashing to challenging inaccurate public statements.

For practitioners, these principles form a shared language, providing a reference point in internal debate, client dialogue, and public discourse to defend ethical standards and resist short‑term pressure. IPRA will build on this foundation by sharing knowledge, best practice, seeking to initiate additional training and inviting members to help educate peers across the global profession.

A call to courageous communication

The survey’s headline numbers - 75% expecting rising relevance, 90% affirming responsibility - are more than statistics. They are a collective mandate. PR leaders are now called to transform awareness into practice: to demand credible data, embed climate commitments in corporate narratives, and ensure that every campaign and report advances the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

In this sense, climate has indeed become what IPRA long sees as consensus: a communications issue in the deepest meaning of the term. Our profession plays a key role. The honesty, coherence, and courage of our communication may well determine whether societies can still shape a livable future.

The author

Daniel Silberhorn is Senior Manager Sustainability at management consultancy plenum AG and Chair of the IPRA Climate Change Chapter, supporting businesses in ESG integration and sustainability transformation. He also teaches communication and sustainability at Erfurt University in Germany and is a guest speaker for sustainability transformation topics.

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