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On July 23rd, we celebrated reaching our milestone of 100,000 Carbon Literate learners at the National Football Museum. Not only is it an incredible building, but the museum is also one of the pioneers of Carbon Literacy for museums!

As our guests arrived, they were directed upstairs to explore the exhibitions. On their way up, they passed our very own (positive!) hockey stick graph, which illustrated the growth in Carbon Literate citizens over the past decade. The graph, shown below, displays the numbers since 2008 and highlights the dramatic increase since 2022! Each certified guest had their certificate number on their name badge and was encouraged to place a sticker where they were represented on the graph. It was wonderful to see how many attendees have been a part of our journey to this monumental milestone.

After about an hour of mingling over champagne and delicious food, one of our founders, Dave Coleman, took the stage. In honour of the occasion, he took us on a journey through the history of Carbon Literacy, starting from 2008 when he and Phil Korbel first conceived the idea whilst leading writing groups for the “Manchester A Certain Future” strategy.

Fortunately for us, Dave’s affinity for photography meant his whistle-stop tour featured lots of photos! Some highlights included photos from activations Phil and Dave ran at the Arndale Centre to promote Carbon Literacy back in 2010.

This shot of the core team looks like a Patagonia ad!

Pictures from the team at their first COP in Paris, in 2015.

And the first draft of a Carbon Literacy certificate, similar to the one we use today! 

During his talk, Dave interviewed Tim Desmond, CEO of the National Football Museum, who shared some of the steps that the NFM has taken to reduce its impact. Dave also introduced our new Head of the Board, Jen Wilson from Auto Trader. Jen has been a vital part of the Carbon Literacy journey for some time, and we are thrilled to have her in this role!

The atmosphere was one of excitement and community, thanks to the attendees, the beautiful weather and the amazing NFM staff. It was incredible to gather so many people in one room who have all contributed to this milestone – trainers, volunteers, trustees, CLO representatives, founders, and of course, the team members.

A huge thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us, and to the 100,000 individuals whose pledges, inspired by their Carbon Literacy training, have made a significant impact! Special thanks to the National Football Museum, Vanilla Catering, Vivid Bar Services, and all the team members who made the night a success!