Explore Climate in Any Story
Good Energy started with a question: Why is the climate crisis largely absent from our screens?
In 2018, Good Energy founder Anna Jane Joyner was engaged as a consultant on Madam Secretary, which featured a character inspired by her life’s work as a climate leader and communications strategist. This led to more consulting on scripted film and TV with screenwriters and producers who wanted to integrate climate into their stories. Through this work, Anna Jane saw how Hollywood has previously driven change—from normalizing LGBTQ+ characters, to popularizing the term “designated driver,” to powerful movements for BIPOC representation. She also saw a glaring absence: climate change is practically nonexistent in scripted entertainment.
So she embarked on a period of deep listening in Hollywood. Through interviews with writers, directors, producers, and executives, Anna Jane found that Hollywood was eager to grapple with the climate crisis, but fearful about alienating or boring audiences. After all, the rare times climate change did show up on-screen, it was typically in the form of nature documentaries, lectures, or apocalypse stories. It wasn’t yet clear to creators and audiences that the climate crisis could be portrayed on-screen in more nuanced and entertaining ways.
Good Energy was founded in 2019 to support writers in taking this creative leap. The nonprofit brings together professional screenwriters, climate communications experts who understand storytelling, climate scientists, everyday people from the hardest-hit communities around the globe, and an extensive network of industry, nonprofit, and philanthropic partners. What they all share is a deep love of TV and film as a storytelling medium, a fervent respect for the creative process, and a belief that Hollywood is uniquely positioned to shift the conversation on climate change. Good Energy is committed to a future where storytelling—and all of humanity—can flourish.
Our Clients
Our Featured Service
Comprehensive Climate Lens™ Analysis
Our keystone service explores the potential for climate representation in your existing project—even (or especially) if it’s not about climate—including:
- psychological impacts of climate change on your unique characters
- physical, social, and economic impacts on your setting and characters
- climate solutions that could be depicted in your story world
- community impacts and responses
- intersections with other key issues like racial justice, mental health, disability, and economic disparity
A Climate Lens™ Analysis can be delivered via briefs, brainstorming sessions, and/or ongoing consulting.
The Climate Storytelling Spectrum
Climate Placement
Climate friendly behaviors are adopted by characters or woven into the setting or set design of a story, but might not be addressed or mentioned directly.
Climate Mention
Characters mention climate change in passing, which normalizes talking about the climate crisis in daily life.
Climate World
Climate-related events influence the story world, culture, and characters in meaningful ways, but the film or show isn’t directly about the climate crisis.
Climate Character
The film or show is largely about the climate crisis, in that its characters and plot are primarily driven by climate change and/or its impacts.
More Services
Research
Get research briefs on any climate-related topic you need. Each brief will be tailored to explore dramatic potential and entertainment value, rather than presented as a dry collection of facts.
Writers' Room Visits
Ask all your questions and have a lively discussion with Good Energy team members and/or other experts. With room visits and periodic check-ins, we’ll help you explore how your characters, plot, and setting might be affected by climate change.
Our first visit is complimentary.
World Building
Receive an organized and incisive world-building document to help you imagine a climate-influenced setting unique to your story, including projections on weather, architecture, infrastructure, leisure, clothing, food, and more.
Script Review
We will review your script with an eye toward the accuracy of your portrayals, as well as unique and surprising places to include climate. Whether it’s adding climate solutions in your setting, introducing climate-related conflict, or examining dialogue in a climate-sensitivity read, we’ll ensure your script features seamlessly integrated and fact-checked climate portrayals.
How It Works
1. Get In Touch
Book your free 15-minute virtual consultation, during which we’ll discuss the unique needs and goals of your project.
2. Project Scope
We’ll come back to you with a clearly defined scope of work and pricing for services.
3. Work Together
Get the expert climate-related services you desire, customized for your unique story and characters. We’re always here to discuss, follow up, and answer questions.
Meet Our Experts
You want your climate portrayals to be as accurate and authentic as possible; we work with 100+ leading climate experts who will help you with that. From scientists to futurists to psychologists, from activists to adventurers, these experts have insider info and are passionate about making it available to storytellers like you.
Sarah Eagle Heart
she/herMary Annaïse Heglar
she/her/hersRev. Lennox Yearwood Jr.
he/him/hisDr. Peter Kalmus
he/him/hisDr. Kate Marvel
she/her/hersDr. Britt Wray
she/her/hersAmy Westervelt
she/her/hersFavianna Rodriguez
she/her/hersAbigail Dillen
she/her/hersMike McHargue
he/him/hisQuinn Emmett
he/him/hisThimali Kodikara
she/her/hersSarah Eagle Heart
she/herMary Annaïse Heglar
she/her/hersRev. Lennox Yearwood Jr.
he/him/hisDr. Peter Kalmus
he/him/hisSelect Clients and Partners
Interested? Book your consultation
