Following yet another year of wildfires, hurricanes and flooding, the effects of climate change are undeniable, yet the world is paralysed by helplessness.

Leading the transition from black to green energy, Ørsted (the world's most sustainable energy company) is committed to creating a world that runs entirely on green energy. Building this better world starts with our children and informing them about sustainable solutions towards a better, greener future.

While 58% of parents would like to speak more about climate change to their children, 68% say that it’s too difficult a subject to explain.

So, we set out to help facilitate those conversations and provide parents with the right tools.

With a limited budget, we created a free children’s book and online hub with tips and answers to difficult questions on climate change, accompanied by an online campaign highlighting the importance of encouraging children to be a greener next generation.

As an alternative to the prevailing negative narrative about the possible catastrophic consequences of climate change, Ørsted wanted to equip parents with the resources to not only talk about the problems, but prompt them to start talking about how we can take care of our common home: the planet.

With this in mind, we concepted, wrote and illustrated “Is This My Home?”, a children’s book aimed at kids aged 5-8, bringing the conversation around the importance of protecting our collective home into houses across the world.

The story follows a young girl as she sets out to understand what “home” really means. Colourful illustrations by South Korean award winning illustrator Yeji Yun immerse the reader in the captivating journey as the girl travels far and wide in search of the answer. She finally discovers that the whole planet, which we share with all other living creatures, is her home.

From the outset we believed this should come to life as a children’s story. A book of value and longevity. The storytelling takes the lead, and this non-traditional, low- branded approach is a true testament to Ørsted’s commitment to its mission.

Yeji Yun’s style injected playful humour to the piece, lightening up a serious message.

The illustrations reveal a world that's suffering from higher temperatures, melting ice, and plastic pollution, subtly but deliberately portrayed through essential elements like mosquitos in the jungle.

Initially, rough sketches decided a first composition. The shapes and lines were drawn by hand and scanned into Photoshop, and then collaged in hundreds of layers to make a finished illustration. Printing the piece in six spot colours was a very deliberate production choice for an overwhelmingly bright and vibrant result.

The book is available in four languages, as a free e-book download or a narrated 6-minute video.

Measuring an increase in green conversations between parents and their children is challenging to measure. But the results we have make us optimistic for the next generation:

The leading daily Danish newspaper, Politiken, featured our children’s book on their front page, highlighting the importance of tackling climate change through children’s books. On June 12th, it will be announced that we’ve won the Danish Book Design Prize for children’s books.

Over 30,000 hard copies have been distributed globally.

The book reached over 8.6 million impressions on Instagram alone, sparking hundreds of comments about interactions parents have had with their kids as a result of it. On average, one in four who visited our hub downloaded the book or subscribed to other resources that facilitate green conversations.

Our book will go into schools this year and is being translated into additional languages, inspiring even more children to protect their home.