Cartoon Network Climate Champions has launched a cross-platform EMEA wide campaign to inform, inspire, and empower children and young people around global water issues in collaboration with the UK not-for-profit, Wastebuster.
The collaborative partnership has been launched as part of Wastebuster’s new global Water Week campaign, an initiative to bring science, sustainability, and storytelling together with the entertainment industry and arm children and young people with the knowledge to become water stewards.
Water Week is being delivered in alignment with goals of the UN-Water 2030 Strategy as part of the United Nations Water Action Decade UNSDG 17 – a global initiative launched in 2018 as a means of encouraging collaboration among governments, organisations, and communities to raise awareness and promote action to achieve sustainable water management goals.
Cartoon Network Climate Champions will empower kids with the knowledge of how small steps in their daily lives can act to improve waterways and collectively help accept water-related challenges.
Cartoon Network Climate Champions will deliver a series of curated water-themed challenges, trivia, quizzes, and climate content on the campaign website and app, and is sharing these with Wastebuster for its website and educational resource packs with the goal to create a global, world class STEAM education programme in schools. Highlighting content created by the entertainment industry, broadcasters, NGOs, and academics including films, documentaries, clips, shorts and music alongside engaging scientific presentations, papers, tools and studies, Wastebuster will use Cartoon Network Climate Champions water content to help engage kids in the solutions that can be undertaken to conserve water, and tackle water-related climate issues.
This unified approach to educate through programmes and activities offered by the entertainment industry, NGOs, governments, and schools will help inform children about water and encourage them to take positive action. Cartoon Network along with other National and international broadcasters, will use social media and news platforms to amplify messaging around the initiative, giving children and young people a voice. Using the full Cartoon Network ecosystem to deliver campaign reach, the initiative will inform, entertain and provide opportunities for kids across EMEA to actively get involved through challenges, interactive content, and gaming.
Dedicated, water-themed challenges featured across the Cartoon Network Climate Champion microsite and app include ‘The Great Shower Race’ which encourages kids to reduce their shower times to five minutes to save water; while challenges like ‘Beach Clean’, ‘Clean Your Local Environment,; and ‘Water Ways Wonders’ encourage families to help clean up their local streams, rivers, or coastlines as well as their local areas, helping to prevent pollution reaching their waterways.
Meanwhile, challenges that can be done at home include “Be Drain Safe” which encourages kids not to dispose oils, food, and wet wipes down drains and use compost or bins instead, and “Stop the drip” a challenge which will have kids going around the home to check taps and hoses to make sure they’re not leaking.
Further to this, Cartoon Network is expanding the Climate Champions water initiative by integrating it into Cartoon Network Game On! on Roblox, ensuring that messaging about tackling climate change reaches kids during their playtime. Cartoon Network GameOn! will add new Climate Champions water themed in-game missions such as “Rain Catcher” – where players can help Craig place rain collectors around the park, “Bottle Hero” – where players can help Robin pass out reusable water bottles, and “Cap Collector” – where players can help Darwin collect bottle caps.
Warner Bros Discovery, VP Brand, Comms and Digital Content Strategy, Monika Oomen said: “Water, often taken for granted, is one of our most precious elements yet we don’t always appreciate its significance. We want to use Cartoon Network’s Climate Champions to raise awareness and inspire kids to cherish every drop. Kids are the key to safeguarding the planet and we want to use our channels to motivate and ultimately enable kids to act.
“Our partnership with Wastebuster during Water Week aims to empower young change-makers, through practical guidance, and equip kids with the tools to protect our planet. This collaboration with Wastebuster elevates our campaign because it is a fusion of storytelling and climate education. By weaving narratives, we inspire the next generation to care for our world.”
Founder and director of Wastebuster, Katy Newnham added: “We believe in the power of entertainment for social change. Wastebuster is delighted to work in partnership with Cartoon Network’s Climate Champions for Water Week to give children the confidence, motivation, and tools to become the next generation of water conservationists. By capturing children’s imaginations with relatable characters, compelling stories, fun facts, and simple water action challenges, children can be inspired to adopt pro-active, responsible water behaviours.
“The partnership demonstrates a collaborative new way of delivering education for sustainable development, in support of the United Nations Water Action Decade.
“We look forward to working together with Cartoon Network’s Climate Champions to create positive change worldwide and support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, whilst giving children a fun, exciting, and engaging experience with their favourite characters.”
On-Air promos on Cartoon Network will help support the Climate Champions water initiative during the month of June and celebrate the planet whilst showcasing water in all shapes and forms.
Water Week brings together representatives from the United Nations, Entertainment, not-for-profit, policy, academia, and industry leaders to unlock the power of collective impact. Through this collaboration with Wastebuster, Cartoon Network Climate Champions inspires and equips the next generation of water conservationists.
