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We are thrilled to announce that The Carbon Literacy Project won the Climate Pioneer award at the prestigious SE100 Social Business Awards 2024!

SE100 Award Win

The SE100 Awards aims to support the development and growth of social enterprise and mission-driven organisations across the UK, highlighting the impactful work being done by a diverse range of organisations which are striving toward a just future.

This unique accolade recognises pioneering organisations that lead by example in the climate movement and inspire others to follow, motivating them to combat climate change in whatever way they can.

Having been up against stiff competition, we were delighted to be honoured as the Climate Pioneer winner, and recognised for our mission to equip individuals and organisations with the knowledge and skills to address climate change and take action, wherever they are.

Judges at the awards said:

“The Carbon Literacy Project has a clear environmental challenge to address – reducing CO2 emissions – and a very smart solution to address it – empowering people to address this issue through education and training. Their measurement of impact was very clear and impressive and as an enterprise, they also understood the equality issues underlying the fight against climate change.”

Double celebrations!

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to pick up the award in person – but for a very good reason! The ceremony happened to take place while the Carbon Literacy team were gathered together to commemorate and celebrate the achievement of 100,000 certified Carbon Literate citizens. Luckily our Co-Founder and Director of Advocacy, Phil Korbel, was able to Zoom in from our equally professional setting… a Manchester pub!

Accepting the award, Phil explained how Carbon Literacy enables everyone to take their best climate action, whoever they are and wherever they are – and, in doing so, breaks climate action out of its ‘eco’ niche. He also remarked on the significance of The Carbon Literacy Project achieving this recognition at such a crucial milestone in our journey.

The impact of being awarded as a Climate Pioneer in the same week that we certified and celebrated our 100,000th learner is certainly not lost on us. This Project started back in 2012 as a response to a need for high-quality, standardised and adaptable training on climate change. With just a handful of members on the team, it took us two years to certify the first 2,000 learners.

Fast forward to now, we frequently certify over 1,000 learners per week, have a team of over 100 staff and volunteers, and Carbon Literacy is being rolled out by thousands of organisations, across all seven continents, that have exercised their commitment to a low-carbon culture change.

Looking Forward

As we celebrate this significant achievement, we know that the journey is far from over, and remain committed to and motivated in our mission. We will continue to be a Climate Pioneer and roll out Carbon Literacy at scale internationally to ensure we tackle climate change at the speed so desperately demanded by science.

We hope that we too have inspired you – our 100,000 certified learners, and wider Carbon Literacy community – to be climate pioneers and continue to champion climate action, embrace a low-carbon lifestyle, and make more positive choices every day.

Thank you to the SE100 Awards, NatWest Social & Community Capital, and Pioneers Post for this incredible honour. And a heartfelt thank you to our team, sponsors, learners, trainers and delivery partners – this award belongs to you as a testament to your dedication and hard work, as we collectively journey towards a zero-carbon future.

Now, as we focus our attention on our next goal of reaching 1 million learners by 2030, we invite you to join the movement! You can sign up to a course to become Carbon Literate as an individual, or get started on your organisational journey.