Carbon Literacy: Bespoke Course Creation
Carbon Literacy training is a powerful tool for organisations who are looking to not only reduce their operational carbon footprint, but crucially, to bring people on board with the work that needs to be done.
What is Carbon Literacy?
Carbon Literacy is defined as:
“An awareness of the carbon dioxide costs and impacts of everyday activities, and the ability and motivation to reduce emissions, on an individual, community and organisational basis.”
The Carbon Literacy Project was formed in 2012 and as of December '23, over 76,000 people are now certified as Carbon Literate. Over 600 training courses have been developed, each with a specific audience in mind and it's a training tool that is being used in many sectors including local authorities, the NHS and even the automotive industry!
Carbon Literacy training offers everyone a day’s worth of Carbon Literacy learning, covering climate change, carbon footprints, how you can do your bit, and why it’s relevant to you and your organisation.
Why Carbon Literacy for organisations?
Businesses have a huge role to play in the fight against climate change, both in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and slowing down global warming, but also in facilitating the social change that is needed.
There are huge advantages to having a Carbon Literate workforce who:
- Understand how the business is impacting on climate change and where emissions are coming from within the organisation
- Appreciate how climate change is already impacting business operations and how this could change as the climate becomes more unstable
- Understand where emissions are coming from within their individual role, and the actions they can take to help to reduce these
- Are aware of why the business is making the decisions that it is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce it's ecological impact, and can help to support those decisions and bring others on board
- Help to create 'social tipping points' within the organisation. There is a growing body of evidence that 25% of a population, community or organisation doing something differently is all that is needed for that to quickly become the social norm. A Carbon Literate workforce can help to reach that social norm much more quickly and easily!
In addition:
- Many actions designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will also save money!
- More and more people are looking to work for organisations with a focus on the 'triple bottom line' - offering Carbon Literacy Training to your workforce can help with recruitment and retention
- Having a Carbon Literate workforce can be helpful when tendering for contracts and is a clear sign to clients that you are serious about climate action
What are the options?
You have lots of options!
- DIY
A Carbon Literate member of your team can create and deliver a bespoke course within your organisation
- Pros: cheapest way to do it; good opportunity for team member to develop new skills
- Cons: needs a team member with the time and confidence
- Cost: £0 + Carbon Literacy accreditation (payable to Carbon Literacy Project)
- Next step: Visit the Carbon Literacy Project website to find out more about creating your own course - Done with you
A Carbon Literate member of your team can enrol on 'Create your own Carbon Literacy Course' for support and guidance creating a bespoke course
- Pros: cheaper than having a 'done for you' course; good opportunity for team member to develop new skills; takes much of the stress and legwork out of creating a course from scratch
- Cons: still needs a team member with the time to devote to the course creation, and the confidence to deliver the course; additional cost of course creation course
- Cost: £299 + Carbon Literacy accreditation (payable to Carbon Literacy Project*)
- Next step: check out dates of the next Create your Own Carbon Literacy Course - Done for you
A bespoke course created for you
- Pros: significantly less time input needed and less demand on already busy team members
- Cons: the most expensive way of doing it
- Cost: approx £3000 + Carbon Literacy accreditation (payable to Carbon Literacy Project*)
- Next step: Drop me an e-mail on jen@sustainableish.co.uk to arrange a call
* Course accreditation is at the discretion of The Carbon Literacy Project, and subject to certification fees that vary depending on the size of your organisation - more information can be found here.
Once you have your bespoke course, any member of your team who is Carbon Literate can deliver the course, and once other members of the team are Carbon Literate, those who would like to can also be supported to deliver the training - the idea being that it can 'cascade out' within an organisation from an initial small trained team.
In addition to course creation, I can also help with course roll out and delivery to the first cohorts.