Building a unified global narrative for forests through the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership

Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership

Sector and focus area

Nature, forests and climate diplomacy

Context and challenge

The Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership brings together governments and partners committed to halting and reversing forest loss while advancing climate goals. The partnership operates across multiple geographies and political contexts, each with distinct priorities, sensitivities and policy pressures.

In a pivotal year for forests on the international agenda, including high-profile global moments such as Climate Week NYC and COP30, FCLP needed a clear, shared narrative. As governments face increasing economic and geopolitical pressures that fragment attention and create competing priorities, the need for a clear, shared narrative on forests has never been greater. A strong, coherent narrative builds the clarity policymakers need to champion forests within complex and contested policy environments.

The challenge was to unite more than 30 governments behind a single, compelling story for forests that respected political diversity while positioning FCLP as a coherent and influential force amongst media and stakeholders.

Approach and strategy

Greenhouse developed an integrated narrative strategy designed to balance complexity with clarity.

The approach combined research and stakeholder insight to understand differing national priorities, alongside editorial discipline to translate complex issues such as forest finance and policy alignment into clear, accessible stories.

The strategy focused on:

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  • Building credibility and momentum quickly during a landmark year for forests.
• • Creating a narrative framework that governments and partners could recognise themselves in.
• • Ensuring consistency across digital, media and brand channels during major international moments.

Work delivered

Greenhouse delivered a coordinated communications programme that included:

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  • A unifying narrative developed through research, stakeholder interviews and workshops.
• • A new website and refreshed brand presence to establish authority and coherence.
• • Integrated media, digital and public affairs activity aligned to key moments, including Climate Week NYC and COP30.
• • Ongoing communications support to adapt messaging as political priorities evolved.

This work enabled FCLP to communicate complex forest and climate issues in a way that was credible to policymakers while remaining accessible to wider audiences.

Outcomes and impact

The programme significantly expanded FCLP’s reach and visibility:

FCLP was positioned as a key strategic partner to the COP Presidency, with high-level engagements directly referencing the partnership’s narrative.Forests sit at the intersection of climate mitigation, biodiversity and livelihoods. Effective action depends not only on policy commitments, but on shared understanding and political alignment.

By uniting diverse governments behind a clear narrative, this work helped strengthen FCLP’s influence at a critical moment. It demonstrates how strategic communications can support international collaboration, increase credibility and enable complex climate initiatives to be understood, supported and acted upon.

Why this work matters

As cities take on an increasingly central role in responding to the climate crisis, the ability to communicate leadership, legitimacy and collective impact is essential. This work supported C40 in marking a significant milestone while strengthening its positioning within the global climate architecture.

By bringing coherence to a complex network story and aligning communications across moments and audiences, the campaign helped reinforce the influence of city-led climate action at a time when it matters most.