Putting faith at the heart of COP28

Faith Pavilion at COP28

The Interfaith Centre for Sustainable Development

In response to the growing climate crisis, faith communities came together to host the first-ever Faith Pavilion at COP28. It brought together a wide range of stakeholders to call for urgent action, inspire the world with solutions, and demonstrate the pivotal role of faith communities in tackling the climate crisis in support of people and the planet.

Results and impact:

Putting faith at the heart of COP28

Challenge: Paris Agreement goals cannot be met without faith communities

The climate crisis is a moral crisis. And while communities of faith are, like everyone, part of the problem, they also have important tools to bring to the table: spiritual resources, long-term vision, on-the-ground presence, and the trust of local communities. The Paris Agreement goals cannot be met without the active engagement of communities of faith, but the key role faith can and must play to tackle climate change is often overlooked.

Solution: collaborating with a coalition of global partners

Greenhouse partnered a diverse coalition of 50+ global partners including the Muslim Council of Elders, the COP28 Presidency, and the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development to plan and deliver the Faith Pavilion external communications package. This included brand strategy, messaging toolkit, media strategy, pre-briefing spokespeople and journalists on the role of faith at COP28, and digital engagement through a social media toolkit for partners alongside influencer engagement.

Results: over 4,000 pieces of coverage mentioning faith

Over 4,000 pieces of coverage mentioned faith before, during and after COP28 with standout coverage in top outlets such as New York Times, Reuters, AFP and France 24. Experts were also interviewed on the ground for features in EFE, The Times of India, The Irish Times, Politico and Euronews. More than 50 partners, local leaders and organisations engaged with Faith Pavilion content on social media, achieving 12M+ impressions for bespoke content throughout the campaign.

Impact: faith firmly a part of COP28

Faith was firmly a part of COP28 with 7% of all COP28 coverage related to faith, spirituality or religion. This marked a watershed moment in the position of faith in the context of COP. Substantial interest and support for the Pavilion by individuals, partners, media, other civil society groups and country delegations ensured it was a hub for fresh ideas and solutions on the role of faith in the climate crisis.

What we did

Branding and design

We created a new flexible brand identity and key messages to help the Faith Pavilion standout and to encourage climate action.

Flexibility in look and feel was important ​as different partners and stakeholders would use the identity to create their own content. The Faith Pavilion brand design would exist in several different locations, so we created 2 different styles, ‘Contemplation’ and ‘Action’ and a modular graphic system that would work across partners and platforms.

Social assets

Developed and distributed a communications toolkit including a full suite of social media assets.

Media coverage:

Top stories included:

• Reuters: Pope urges world religions to unite against environmental devastation.

• France24: Report from Dubai: climate change and religion united at COP28.

• The New York Times: Got Climate Angst? At the U.N. Summit, There’s a Quiet, Spiritual Place.

What our clients say:

“The dedicated work of Greenhouse enabled the reach of the Faith Pavilion to extend far beyond COP28. They helped faith communities to leverage their power to call on decision-makers to take urgent climate action. I very much enjoyed working with them, and found them to be committed to the cause and thoroughly professional.”

Rabbi Yonatan Neril – Founder and Director, Interfaith Centre for Sustainable Development