July 2025 Newsletter
EMA was founded upon the belief that storytelling within film could have a real-world impact. Decades later, the organization has expanded into promoting sustainability within the actual production of those films. Yet, EMA has never stopped advocating for that overarching goal of inspiring the creation of a healthier world. Through their recent report, Sustainability at the Crossroads, Getty Images has provided data-backed insights on the influence of visuals, supporting our belief in the importance of visual storytelling (for example, film and television). By working with and learning from companies such as Getty Images, EMA can better understand the content that will be most efficacious for our mission.
EMA was grateful for the opportunity to speak with Tristen Norman, Director and Head of Creative for The Americas, about Getty Images’ new report. Tristen has extensive experience in the creation of compelling visual content, and she truly excels in environmental storytelling. Her interpretations of the report are incredibly valuable, as they highlight the necessary areas of improvement within environmental communications for sustainability to become widespread.
Getty Images’ content experts recently participated in a session at EMA’s IMPACT Summit providing insight into how businesses and brands can navigate the complex terrain of sustainability communication and create compelling visual narratives that inspire consumers and resonate across channels. What did the findings and insights in Getty Images’ new report reveals about sustainability storytelling?
Sustainability narratives are ever-present, but the way we convey them cycles through periods of cultural urgency and cultural withdrawal (or even opposition). We’re in one of those withdrawal phases now, which has brands and organizations wondering to what extent they should be telling sustainability stories. But audiences still want them. They want the reality of what’s happening now alongside hope for what is possible in the future, and they want it to come from a place of honesty and authenticity. In the new report from our global VisualGPS insights platform, Sustainability at the Crossroads, research shows most consumers are still highly skeptical of brands’ “green” claims, and that’s because overly aspirational, unrealistic portrayals don’t resonate.
People largely understand that it’s important to care about the environment so for sustainability storytelling to make an impact truly, the associated visuals should feel specific and urgent, illustrating what’s important now and how it shows up in people’s day-to-day lives. Once-provocative images of melting glaciers and droughted fields have become abstract and symbolic, estranged from people’s everyday lives. Instead, our data shows consumers want to see small moments of real impact – things they might witness on a walk through their neighborhood, instead of a nature documentary (or else, a disaster movie). According to our new report, 7 in 10 consumers say climate change affects their daily lives, making them deeply attuned to visuals that depict these issues honestly: You have to meet them where they are.
