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As the public sector financial year-end approaches, many organisations face the same familiar challenge: how to use any remaining budget effectively before it is lost – and without creating unnecessary spending that delivers little long-term value.

If your organisation is holding a surplus, now is the moment to invest in something that supports real, measurable climate impact, well beyond year-end: Carbon Literacy learning and accreditation.

Making the most of your year-end surplus

Across the public sector, expectations around climate leadership remain high – from national policy and local authority plans to NHS net zero commitments and community accountability.

At the start of the year, we explored how organisations can set strong climate intentions for the year ahead in our blog New Year, New Goals: Lead on Climate Action in 2026. Year-end budget decision-making is an opportunity to recommit and make a lasting difference.

Rather than viewing surplus spend as a compliance exercise, investing in Carbon Literacy now enables organisations to embed climate capability across teams, laying the groundwork for action throughout 2026 and beyond.

Why Carbon Literacy is a smart use of surplus budget

Carbon Literacy training provides staff with a clear understanding of the climate crisis, its relevance to their role, and the actions they can take – individually and collectively – to reduce emissions.

For public sector organisations, this offers various advantages:

• Financial savings: optimising leftover budget saves money which would otherwise be wasted. This is particularly important where budgets are being reduced year on year.
• Long-term value: learning, accreditation and certification can be rolled out across future months.
• Organisation-wide impact: training is applicable to leadership, operational teams, and frontline services.
• Measurable outcomes: including certifications, action pledges and reported emissions reductions.
• Strategic alignment: training supports Net Zero plans, sustainability strategies and workforce development.

Crucially, many Carbon Literacy options can be purchased before year-end and used throughout the next financial year, making them ideal for preserving surplus budgets.

What can you spend your surplus budget on?

If you’re looking to commit budget before year-end without rushing delivery, Carbon Literacy offers several flexible options:

• Carbon Literacy certification: Pre-purchase Carbon Literacy Certificate Applications for staff, departments, or partners. These don’t expire, so Carbon Literacy can be delivered at a pace that suits your organisation throughout 2026 and beyond or saved for a big-impact delivery as part of the Carbon Literacy Action Day in November. This is the ideal time to capitalise on our discounts for bulk purchases of 100 certificates or more! Find the details in our Price Matrix on our Documents page.
• Accredited courses and learning resources: Secure access to existing Sector Toolkits or shareable courses, or pre-purchase course accreditation for your own criteria-checked course, ready for delivery when you’re ready to get rolling.
• Trainer certification: Pre-purchase Carbon Literacy Trainer (CLT) certification now, in preparation for when your trainers are ready to apply; supporting trainers to gain confidence and recognition for their training delivery.
• Carbon Literate Organisation (CLO) or Educator (CLE) accreditation: Commit to recognised standards that demonstrate your organisation’s leadership, and embed Carbon Literacy into policy, practice and culture. Pre-purchase now, ready for when you have all the evidence to submit your application to get accredited.
• Partnership and sponsorship opportunities: Support Carbon Literacy in your sector or community to demonstrate Social Value, advance ESG goals and show climate leadership. This activity can contribute to your CLO application. Explore sponsorship opportunities today.

These approaches were popular with public sector organisations during last year’s year-end period. Contact us to explore any of these options or more.

Supporting your 2026 climate goals

Organisations that succeed in turning climate targets into tangible action are those that empower their people at every level. Carbon Literacy supports this by:

• Creating a shared language around climate
• Encouraging informed decision-making across services
• Embedding accountability through pledges and certification
• Strengthening engagement with sustainability strategies

Whether your priority is workforce engagement, emissions reduction, reducing costs or organisational leadership, Carbon Literacy provides a practical foundation to support progress throughout 2026.

If your organisation is holding a surplus, contact us to discuss how you can make the most out of it with Carbon Literacy.