Rethinking how we engage on sustainability – with empathy, shared values and better outcomes in mind.
Across much of the UK, farmers are facing some of the toughest conditions in years. Arable growers are counting the cost of a poor harvest. Livestock farmers are running out of grass. Farmers have seen water restrictions. Resilience is stretched.
None of this is hypothetical – it’s happening now.
Farmer Confidence hit by Climate Change
According to recent research from the Government’s Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit,
61% of UK farmers say their confidence is being hit by the impacts of climate change
while over half cite extreme weather as their biggest risk. But that doesn’t mean their priority each day is cutting carbon – it’s surviving the season. If we want to drive climate-positive action, we need to frame it through the lens that matters most to farmers: resilience, productivity and long-term security.
What this shows is a sharp reminder that climate change isn’t tomorrow’s problem. It’s a business-critical issue for today’s farm businesses. Yet look at much of the sustainability communication coming from across the supply chain, and you might think the biggest concern is reporting. Or carbon metrics. Or ticking the next box in a Scope 3 reduction plan.
Yes, we need to measure. Yes, we need to meet standards. But the way we talk about it matters. Because the language we’re using – the narrative we’re leaning into – is missing the mark.
And when it misses the mark, it risks missing the audience.
A sustainability narrative that asks too much, and gives too little
Too often, organisations approach farmers with a list of asks:
Submit your data. Adopt this standard. Meet this KPI.
The rationale is nearly always framed as a response to the climate crisis, the nature crisis, the food system crisis. These are real challenges. But if you’re a farmer in the middle of a drought, struggling to meet today’s production needs, being asked to solve someone else’s sustainability crisis doesn’t land well. It can feel tone deaf. It can even backfire.
At Twig, we’ve seen this pattern again and again. We’ve heard it directly from the farmers we work with and those we know. But our work shows us this: empathy is a non-negotiable foundation for effective communication.
That means we don’t start by telling farmers what the supply chain needs. We start by understanding what farmers need. And then framing shared solutions around that.
Climate resilience is sustainability
There’s a better way to communicate. When we shift the narrative from "What we need from farmers" to "How we can support farmers," the impact is transformational.
Farmers are already adapting. Many want to go further. But they need communication that recognises the real-world challenges – and connects sustainability actions with direct farm business benefits such as:
Better drought resilience
Improved soil health
Lower input costs
Stable long-term markets
More autonomy and security
The irony? These are the same outcomes that supply chain sustainability teams are aiming for. It's just a question of how we talk about it.
If your request for farm data is framed as another audit requirement, it’s a drain. If it’s positioned as a way to secure future access to water, or build resilience to market shocks, it becomes a business decision.
Same ask. Different framing. Radically different result.
Shared values build trust
Trust isn’t won with more metrics. It’s earned through consistent, human, values-based communication. That’s the central principle behind our Engage™ training programme and what underpins every successful relationship in the food system.
When farmers see that an organisation shares their values – fairness, security, stewardship – they’re far more likely to listen. Far more likely to act. Far more likely to stay in partnership for the long haul.
This is where farmer engagement isn’t just ‘nice to have’ – it’s the unlock. And it's how we’ll shift from fragmented efforts to collective progress.
It’s time to change the sustainability dialogue
Unlock farmer engagement and shift from fragmented efforts to collective progress
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