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It’s official! We’re beyond thrilled to announce that there are now over 100,000 people certified as Carbon Literate – spanning seven continents, 33 nations and over 7500 organisations – united by their commitment to deliver their best climate action where they are.

Together they have pledged at least 200,000 actions and saved approximately 360,000t CO2e – that’s equivalent to driving 921 million miles or 36,986 trips around the Earth’s equator!

But we know that this figure represents way more than just an abstract stat. Behind it stands a 100,000-strong global movement doing things differently, affecting their organisations and their communities, creating the market for low-carbon goods and services, and changing society with increasing rapidity. It represents a cultural shift that is not only anticipated but already ensuing.

A mandate for climate action

With the recent election results in the UK and France, a resounding demand for change is unmistakable. And despite climate issues being largely left out of election campaigns, appetite for climate action is strong.

The world’s largest standalone public opinion survey on climate change – Peoples’ Climate Vote 2024 – released last month found that a resounding 89% of people want to see more climate action from their governments. But, what’s more, they’re not waiting around for this to happen – they’re ready to take action into their own hands. Almost two thirds of people are starting to take climate change impacts into consideration when making decisions like where to live or work and what to buy.

As a Project, we’ve witnessed extraordinary growth in the last few years – certifying 80% of this milestone 100,000 figure in the past three years alone. This unprecedented acceleration represents a growing tide – businesses, universities, schools and communities alike are recognising the value of embedding Carbon Literacy as a core competence among staff, students and community members.

Cultivating low-carbon economy leaders

As well as mobilising the population to act, Carbon Literacy training is addressing the urgent need to fill the ‘Net Zero skills gap’, providing a foundation for key sectors to transition to a low-carbon setting.

With learners from as varied organisations as the Duchy of Cornwall, Auto Trader and the British Antarctic Survey, we’ve witnessed an incredible range of highly impactful actions. From basic-but-critical first steps; establishing a sustainability working group or developing a sustainability policy – to niche innovations; a brewery director creating a business case to install a carbon dioxide recovery plant to collect and reuse CO2 released from brewing fermentation for carbonation of drinks, a social housing group installing sensors in homes to collate data to improve energy efficiency and reduce fuel poverty.

It’s impossible to portray the impact that 100,000 Carbon Literate citizens have, across their vastly different and wonderfully unique contexts, in just one or a few examples. That’s why, over the coming months, we will be spotlighting 100 standout learners – a small but significant 0.1% of those certified – to honour our collective achievements so far and continue to inspire action of this calibre among the Carbon Literate to come.

Pushing forward together

100,000 certified learners is a landmark achievement, one owed to you – the Carbon Literacy community; our past and present team of volunteers and staff, our recognised Partners, the hundreds of trainers, and the thousands of organisations and learners who have undertaken and achieved Carbon Literacy.

But we cannot rest on our laurels. We know there is much more work still to be done in this critical decade for climate action. That’s why we’ve set an ambitious yet achievable aim to certify 1 million Carbon Literate citizens by 2030.

To help us get there and spread Carbon Literacy further and faster than ever before, we invite you to join us in marking this milestone by sharing your own Carbon Literacy story. Tell your friends, family, and colleagues your Carbon Literacy pledge and how it’s going. Tell your customers, clients and suppliers how you have contributed to this historic figure.

We’re tantalisingly close to reaching the social tipping point needed to create a Carbon Literate society and a zero-carbon world. Won’t it be fun to be able to look back and say, “here’s how I was part of it”?

If you’re not yet Carbon Literate, come and join the movement. Browse upcoming open courses tailored to a whole host of different audiences or contact us to find out how you can get even more involved.