Climate Tech Messaging for Founders: Balancing Impact and ROI

How you tell your story determines whether your value proposition resonates

Founders often underestimate one of the toughest marketing challenges: messaging your climate tech innovation effectively. It’s not just about explaining what your product does, it’s about convincing multiple stakeholders that your team and company are worth investing in or buying.

Messaging shapes adoption, attracts investors, builds internal momentum and ultimately decides whether your technology reaches the real world. The challenge? You have to communicate both climate impact and tangible business benefits to different audiences.

Great tech doesn't sell itself, despite climate impacts

Many founders assume that great tech sells itself. In practice, even the most innovative climate solutions stall if your messaging doesn’t translate into tangible decision-making signals:

• Investors evaluating scalability, defensibility and impact

• Customers weighing cost, operational fit and competitive advantage

• Internal champions navigating procurement, finance and executive approvals

The core tension is clear: impact-led messaging inspires, ROI-led messaging convinces. Mastering both and knowing when to lead with each is what separates the grain from the chaff.

The Messaging Dilemma: Climate Impact vs. ROI

Leading with Climate Impact

Messaging that emphasizes environmental benefit resonates with sustainability teams and mission-driven stakeholders:

“Our platform can reduce or remove net 10 million tonnes of CO₂ annually at scale.”

This signals urgency and purpose as well as environmental impact. Quantification of environmental impact is important as some investors are only interested in high impact companies/breakthroughs. Visual methods can help, for example, Climate-i’s comparative greenhouse gas diagrams.

But in B2B contexts, impact is rarely enough. CFOs, operations leaders and executives will still ask: “How does this affect my P&L?”

Economic relevance and a clear understanding of what motivates your audience is crucial.

Leading with ROI

ROI-driven messaging starts with metrics that decision-makers care about: cost savings, revenue growth, risk mitigation and compliance.

For example:

“Reduce energy costs by 15–25% through operational optimisation, while also cutting X tonnes of CO₂ annually.”

This approach accelerates approvals, drives adoption, and aligns with investor expectations. But beware: overstating financial impact, promises need backing up and explaining how they can be achieved.

Things have changed in recent years and leading with ROI is highly advisable. The messaging topic was discussed by a panel at Innovation Zero 2025. The panel highlighted the importance of ROI messaging.

Multiple-Value Messaging

Most founders struggle here. Some leave out important value benefits of their innovations and don't think enough about ROI and business drivers.

A practical structure is:

Primary Value Proposition (Decision Driver)

• “Save $2.4M annually by reducing energy consumption.”

• “Increase operational efficiency while lowering carbon intensity by 20%.”

  
  

Supporting Value Proposition (Reinforcement)

• “Achieve science-based decarbonisation targets.”

• “Reduce emissions by 10,000 tonnes annually and strengthen ESG reporting.”

The difficult question isn’t the structure — it’s which value leads, for which stakeholder, at which stage of the journey. Getting that wrong can stall adoption or slow investment. That’s where founder judgment and external guidance are critical.

Tailoring Messaging for Different Audiences

Sustainability Champions

Often internal advocates in ESG or innovation teams who:

• Care deeply about climate impact and long-term strategy.

• Are concerned about adaptation and resilience.

Messaging should lead with outcomes, e.g., “Achieve measurable emissions reductions”

Financial Approvers & Executives

Focus on budgets, risk, and strategic alignment:

Messaging should quantify cost, revenue, or operational advantage. An example is “Reduce operational costs by 20%, improve ESG performance, and demonstrate compliance with TNFD disclosure frameworks”

Balancing these perspectives without fragmenting your story is a key founder-level challenge.

Learning from Real Companies

Companies that execute the balance between impact and ROI well include:

• Octopus Energy - blends emotional storytelling with clear action pathways, translating climate urgency into customer growth.

• Yayzy - links carbon tracking to new revenue opportunities, connecting impact to finance.

• Greenly - integrates carbon reporting with operational efficiency, cutting reporting time by 80%.

The takeaway: these companies don’t just communicate impact — they communicate decision-critical insight.

Credibility and Authenticity: Non-Negotiable

Investors and customers are increasingly sceptical. Value propositions that adhere to specific standards are more credible.

Founders need to:

• Tie impact claims to independent standards (GHG Protocol, SBTi).

• Acknowledge limitations honestly.

• Demonstrate evidence-based decision-making.

  
  

Messaging isn’t marketing fluff, it’s a signal of rigor and it directly affects funding, adoption, and long-term reputation. Messaging also needs to be comprehensive and take into account all the functional benefits of a company's innovation.

The Founder’s Challenge

However, messaging is not a checklist, it needs to communicate competitive advantage. Marketing orientated founders understand:

• Environmental impact matters, but ROI drives decisions.

• Stakeholders have competing priorities.

• Execution requires judgment and iteration.

  
  

The question is not whether you should communicate impact or ROI. It’s how, when, and to whom. Getting this right can accelerate adoption, investment, and ultimately, the scale of your climate impact.

And that’s the part where most founders need expert guidance, not just ideas, but specialist marketing help from someone with experience.

Does your messaging resonate? Are you struggling to raise your next round or facing long sales cycles? Contact Nature Flow Marketing for help articulating with your value proposition.