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As the UK’s leading independent leasing, vehicle outsourcing and fleet management provider, operating within the UK’s highest-emitting sector, Zenith is acutely aware of its environmental impact. Instead of shying away from this reality, Zenith embraces it – with a vision to decarbonise road transport by eliminating tailpipe emissions.

For Zenith, Carbon Literacy training is delivered to our its colleagues and suppliers with the ultimate aim of delivering for the planet and for its customers. Taking part in the 2024 Carbon Literacy Action Day gave the company a focused moment to bring people together, deepen understanding, and spark measurable action. Now, Zenith is stepping up further – sponsoring the fifth annual International Carbon Literacy Action Day in 2025 to help thousands more people worldwide take their first steps towards meaningful climate action.

Building a shared foundation of climate knowledge

Zenith’s 1,450 employees manage a fleet of nearly 167,000 vehicles, covering commercial, corporate, and consumer markets. Recognising that delivering its decarbonisation vision depends on all its people understanding the causes, impacts, and solutions to climate change, Zenith made staff training a priority.

Sustainability Manager Mark Wilson first encountered Carbon Literacy at an open Automotive Toolkit session hosted by Autotrader. He was “blown away” by how the course balanced accessibility with depth, keeping participants engaged through interactive activities, even when exploring challenging content.

Mark saw that Carbon Literacy could be “the vital first step” in embedding climate knowledge across all colleagues – making it easier to integrate sustainability thinking into everyday decision-making.

From the top down, across the business

Using the free-to-access Carbon Literacy Automotive Toolkit, Zenith began training with its Executive Committee to ensure senior leaders understood the climate risks and opportunities shaping the industry.

Engaged executives became advocates for the training, enabling the business to roll out the programme to senior leaders and then to all colleagues. Zenith now runs monthly sessions, with in-person and virtual options, supported by six accredited Carbon Literacy Facilitators.

By July 2025, 367 people had been trained, with 209 certified, including 150 of 200 senior leaders. This shared understanding proved critical when developing Zenith’s carbon reduction targets through the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) – ambitious, validated goals for near- and long-term carbon reduction. Because the key people involved had all completed the training, conversations moved faster, collaboration was smoother, and decisions were more ambitious.

Zenith’s efforts have been recognised with Bronze Carbon Literate Organisation (CLO) accreditation, and the company is already working towards Platinum by aiming for 100% of colleagues to be certified as Carbon Literate, while expanding training to customers, suppliers, and the local community.

The Action Day as a catalyst

Carbon Literacy Action Day has been a springboard for Zenith’s climate engagement. In 2024, the company delivered training to 21 supplier partners, leading two of them to embed the Automotive Toolkit in their own businesses. The day created a sense of shared momentum that extended far beyond Zenith’s own operations.

“I genuinely think it was brilliant and the most useful, impactful, and enjoyable training I’ve attended in as long as I can remember.” – Jenna Tranter, Business Improvement & Compliance Manager, Kwik-Fit

In 2025, in line with the theme ‘Connect, Collaborate and Cascade’, Zenith aims to bring even more supplier partners into the fold, multiplying the reach and impact of the training. By sponsoring the event, Zenith is also ensuring that The Carbon Literacy Trust – a charity without core funding – can expand the Action Day’s reach and inspire climate action in more places than ever.

Mark Wilson, Sustainability Manager, said:

“Zenith is delighted to support the Carbon Literacy Action Day as the training has been integral to helping us successfully embed sustainability throughout our business.

We’ve seen first-hand the impact this training has had on colleagues, and it has helped us to improve processes, and to collaborate across teams to implement carbon reduction initiatives. We want to do everything we can to further support Carbon Literacy and are proud to sponsor the Carbon Literacy Action Day.”

Why you should join in

The International Carbon Literacy Action Day is the world’s largest climate education and action event, coinciding with the UN COP30 climate negotiations. While global leaders negotiate, the Action Day enables thousands of individuals and organisations to act.

Last year, the day brought together 141 training providers, delivering 130 unique courses to representatives from 235 organisations in 29 sectors and 22 nations. Together, participants pledged 7,852 actions projected to save 14,000 tonnes of CO₂e.

This November, you can be part of this global wave of action. Like Zenith, use the Action Day to:

• Engage your teams and partners with climate knowledge that drives action.
• Unlock collaboration across your networks.
• Catalyse measurable impact for your organisation and community.

Register your interest in the Carbon Literacy Action Day.