Get Started

Get started with Carbon Literacy

Carbon Literacy® is an award-winning tool supporting the implementation of an organisation’s zero-carbon journey. It engages people as part of the solution, increasing climate-positive decisions and behaviours at all levels, and drives measurable action towards emissions reduction.

Our model is based on a flexible framework of engaging training that is tailored to your organisation, sector or interest, utilising either:

Our pre-accredited toolkits and shareable courses
A bespoke course created for your organisation
An experienced training provider

Find out more about the benefits of Carbon Literacy, our founding Carbon Literacy Standard, and how to get started in our Introduction to Carbon Literacy pack.

Follow the steps below to help you navigate the journey from becoming Carbon Literate to rolling out your own accredited Carbon Literacy training programme.

Step 1: Become certified as Carbon Literate

The first step on your Carbon Literacy journey is to become certified Carbon Literate as an individual. A Carbon Literate citizen understands how climate change affects them, their community, and the wider world. Becoming Carbon Literate means gaining the knowledge, confidence, and practical skills to reduce your own carbon footprint, and inspire and influence others to do the same.

To become certified as Carbon Literate, you must take part in a day’s worth of accredited Carbon Literacy training, and certification is awarded following the successful completion of an approved course.

Find out more about becoming Carbon Literate.

Step 2: Choose how to deliver

Use our sector materials

The Carbon Literacy Project offers a range of Sector Toolkits and Shareable Courses, which are pre-accredited, ready-to-deliver Carbon Literacy courses. If your organisation falls under one of these existing sectors, you can purchase or access the toolkit for delivery within your organisation (depending on the delivery model and sector).

You may choose to utilise a toolkit as a base for your bespoke course, refining and re-accrediting before delivery to ensure your adapted content meets our Carbon Literacy Standard.

Accredit a bespoke course

We encourage and support organisations outside our existing sectors to develop and accredit a bespoke Carbon Literacy course tailored to their sector, location and audience. This is vital in large organisations or where external engagement is a priority.

Free resources are available to support efficient and comprehensive course development:

Our Course Kit contains the blueprint course, structured content on the Knowledge section of the Carbon Literacy Standard and impacts of climate change, with supplementary resources to combine with your own relevant content.
Our CLK e-Learning package provides an alternative self-paced online course covering the Knowledge section of the Carbon Literacy Standard, which can then be used in combination with a tailored accredited session.
The SME Course Kit is available to relevant organisations with under 250 people in the UK, as an adaptable framework to develop and accredit with bespoke content for your sector or organisation.

Commission a training provider

You might choose to employ an established trainer to tailor and accredit a course for your organisation, which you or they can deliver internally. Delivery by peers is strongly encouraged, led by your trainer team, sustainability lead, or cascaded through your organisation.

There are numerous accredited Carbon Literacy courses open to organisations, designed for a specific audience, which are hosted by experienced training organisations. Many are available to book on our Events Page, and some can be delivered on a bespoke basis. This pathway is particularly suitable if you are a small to medium-sized organisation (up to 250 people) and do not have the time to develop and accredit your own course.

Step 3: Start delivering training

To deliver Carbon Literacy training, you must be certified as Carbon Literate, have access to an accredited Carbon Literacy course, and to have attended a free Delivering Successful Carbon Literacy webinar. To become certified as Carbon Literate, one of your team members can complete an open course, relevant to your sector and/or region. Find out more about becoming Carbon Literate, and browse all the open training courses and our upcoming DSCL sessions on our events page.

Alternatively, an external trainer can deliver Carbon Literacy to your people. Find relevant trainers on our Trainer Directory. They may already have an accredited course, or could develop and accredit a bespoke course for your organisation. Our Trainer Network team provide support for training delivery with regular events and tailored advice, which can be found on our Resources and Trainer Support pages.

Next steps

Once training is underway, there are numerous opportunities to engage with The Carbon Literacy Project’s events and campaigns, and gain recognition for your work. Those delivering training can become accredited as Carbon Literacy Facilitators or Trainers, and organisations can be accredited as a Carbon Literate Organisation, gaining recognition for their investment in climate education and demonstration of leadership in their sector or locality.

Learn more about Carbon Literacy accreditations.