Carbon Literacy Certification Programme Accredited by the Carbon Literacy Project

Carbon Literacy Certification for individuals is now available via this enjoyable and enriching day of accredited training. Through completing it, delegates will learn how human activity is contributing to climate change, and why some people and places are more vulnerable than others. They will develop an understanding of why and how we must adapt to climate change, and the strategies there are for mitigating it. Delegates will consider their own carbon footprints, and discuss their fears, doubts, and hopes relating to climate change. With support from a trained facilitator, delegates will then develop two significant pledges for reducing carbon footprints in their place of work.

This course, delivered by an accredited Carbon Literacy Trainer (CLT), is learner-centred, promoting engagement, active learning, and knowledge retention. Delegates will leave motivated with a deeper understanding of the subject than ever before, and the significant pledges made as part of the training, will be measurable in terms of reduced environmental impact. Delegates who successfully complete the training will become Carbon Literacy Certified and will receive a PDF certificate from the accrediting body, The Carbon Literacy Project.

Carbon Literacy is defined as “An awareness of the carbon costs and impacts of everyday activities, and the ability and motivation to reduce emissions, on an individual, community and organisational basis"". In today’s Civil Service, Carbon Literacy is a vital skill. It’s one of the many green skills all employees will need to develop so that human systems can be brought into alignment with nature, climate change impacts can be minimised and a fairer, more prosperous, and healthier world can evolve.

Carbon Literacy training is a significant step towards a more sustainable future both for individual delegates and their departments, and the course could not be easier to complete. Step one comprises four hours of accredited e-learning, in the form of five bright, beautiful and engaging e-learning modules:

Module 1 : Basic Science of Climate Change: What on Earth is Causing It?
Module 2 : The Impacts of Climate Change both in the UK and Globally
Module 3 : Mitigating Climate Change: Strategies to Reduce Human-Caused Green House Gas Emissions
Module 4 : Adaptation: How We Must and Can Adapt to our Changing Climate
Module 5 : Action: How Carbon Footprints can be Reduced and how to Communicate about Climate Change with Others

Step two, which must be completed within four weeks of the e-learning is a half-day instructor-led workshop which aims to consolidate the knowledge and understanding gained from the e-learning, reflect on how carbon emissions can be reduced, and how others can be influenced to do the same. The content of the workshop is likely to vary and will depend on the individuals attending, any recent changes to the climate situation like extreme weather events or policy changes. As part of the workshop, delegates make two low-carbon pledges. One significant action as an individual to reduce their personal carbon footprint, the other involving other people working together to reduce the collective footprint of their workplace.

Becoming Carbon Literacy certified is a fantastic way for Civil Service employees to start or continue their Net Zero journey. The training focuses on effective strategies that are already happening and, by the end of the course, delegates will be more confident in expressing their Carbon Literacy to others in a way that will motivate and inspire those around them, and together move a step closer to achieving Net Zero.

Through participating in the training, gaps in their climate change knowledge will be closed, they will learn about new breakthroughs in climate change mitigation, and be motivated and empowered to start reducing their own – and their department’s - carbon footprints, in direct alignment with their department's sustainability and Net Zero goals.