Background

For Great Big Green Week 2024, we developed one unifying theme that ties together all the diverse activities that take place as part of Great Big Green Week. For 2024, ‘Let’s swap together for good’ is our hero theme and will be used across Great Big Green Week activities in local events, schools, partnerships, media, digital, content and more. Learn more on our dedicated swaps page.

You can find out more about the background to the swaps concept here, and see how it’s integrated into our communications strategy here.

What’s needed?

We need you to share your ‘swaps’ stories so that we can bring the concept and our key messaging to life across communications channels in the build up to, and during, Great Big Green Week.

We aim to collect authentic, real stories that showcase the swaps people and communities are making every day, and the impact these swaps are having on people’s lives, in order to demonstrate the undeniable mandate for action on climate and nature to UK politicians.

We are asking all TCC (The Climate Coalition) member organisations to:

1. Share examples of your ‘swaps’ stories on your own communications channels in April or May using the hashtag #SwapTogether
2. Share them with us so that we can use them on the Great Big Green
   Week website and in other communications.

What types of stories are you looking for?

Here are some examples of the types of swaps stories we’d love to see:

• An unused area of land swapped to being a biodiverse wildlife habitat now much loved and enjoyed by the local community.
• A local property that did a big insulation project, swapping from a draughty building to being well insulated and powered by renewable energy, making it warmer and cheaper to heat.
• A tree planting project that has improved air quality in a local area.
• A video of someone in the UK who talks about swapping to Fairtrade food, followed by the perspective of a Fairtrade farmer who explains how it makes a difference.
• A local church group that fundraised to install solar panels on the roof of the church, swapping out expensive and polluting fossil fuels, saving the church money as well as being better for the planet.
• A video of someone who has made a swap in their daily life – such as reducing heating use, adopting a plant-based diet or using their car less – sharing how it’s improved their life, wellbeing or finances.
• A flood planting project that has reduced flooding in a local area.
• A video of some school children shouting they’ve swapped to be an eco-school – what initiatives they’ve done and how it has had impact.
• A community group who ran a clothes swap for last Great Big Green Week, encouraging people to swap fast fashion for second hand – saving families money as well as the planet.
• A group of neighbours who set up a group to swap skills about repair and
  refurbishment of household items to reduce waste.

In your swap story, you could include:

• An summary overview of the ‘swap’, including any details on how it came about and how people made it happen
• Why it was successful and how it made a difference to peoples’ lives
• Any personal quotes of perspectives from those involved

How do I share?

When sharing on your social media, please:

• Use the hashtags #SwapTogether and #GreatBigGreenWeek and tag The Climate Coalition social accounts
• Link to the Great Big Green Week website – greatbiggreenweek.com
• Share in April or May, in the build up to Great Big Green Week

Suggested messaging

Your messaging will be tailored to your own story so we don’t have set suggested post copy. However, here is some general messaging that you can use to link your story to Great Big Green Week:

• As part of #GreatBigGreenWeek, we’re celebrating positive swaps that
  people and communities are making to help build a safer, greener future.
• This #GreatBigGreenWeek, let’s #SwapTogether for good.