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Supporting community action and Social Value

We are pleased to announce that the Carbon Literacy Community Leaders Toolkit is now free to access. This decision reflects a growing recognition that climate action happens most effectively when it is rooted in communities and that a wide range of organisations, from charities to corporates, have a role to play in supporting and enabling that action.

Community leaders are often the trusted connectors within society. They influence decisions, shape conversations, as well as mobilising action across neighbourhoods, networks and organisations. This includes leaders working within charities, voluntary and faith groups, housing providers, social enterprises and local partnerships.

Many also collaborate directly with local authorities and businesses delivering social value, CSR, or ESG commitments. Yet despite their importance, community leaders are often under-resourced when it comes to climate education and practical tools.

The Community Leaders Toolkit was made freely available to help bridge that gap.

What is the Community Leaders Toolkit?

The toolkit is a ready-to-use Carbon Literacy training materials resource pack designed specifically for community-based decision makers. It enables organisations to deliver Carbon Literacy training that is relevant, accessible, and grounded in real-world decision-making.

It supports participants to:

• Understand the basics of climate change in clear, non-technical language.
• Explore how climate change intersects with social issues such as health, inequality, and resilience.
• Identify practical, achievable actions they can take personally and within their organisations or communities.
• Build confidence to talk about climate change and inspire others to act.

Within the pack, you will find a slide pack, trainer guidance manual, running order, resource document and activity PDF.

Who can use it?

The Community Leaders Toolkit can be used by a wide range of organisations, including but limited to:

• Charities and community groups supporting local action, engagement, or behaviour change.
• Local authorities working with community leaders as part of climate, Net Zero, public health, or engagement strategies.
• Corporate organisations seeking to deliver meaningful social value, CSR, or ESG commitments by supporting community climate education.
• Anchor institutions and partnerships working across sectors.

The toolkit offers a credible way to support communities with practical climate knowledge, demonstrate social value beyond an organisation’s internal operations, and contribute to wider climate and Net Zero goals through education and empowerment. It can also help create an additional revenue stream, reduce organisational risk, improve efficiency and resource use, and ultimately support the reduction of carbon emissions.

Why we’ve made it free

Making the Community Leaders Toolkit free removes a key barrier to access and allows more organisations to embed Carbon Literacy within community-focused work.

This decision:

• Supports charities and community groups operating with limited budgets
• Enables councils and corporate partners to scale community engagement
• Encourages consistent, high-quality climate education across sectors
• Helps align social value and CSR activity with genuine climate impact

By widening access, we aim to support fairer, more inclusive climate action.

From awareness to action

The Community Leaders Toolkit is about how people can influence everyday decisions, local projects, funding priorities, and conversations that shape long term outcomes.

Whether used by a charity director with their board of trustees, a council working with neighbourhood leaders, or a business investing in community social value, the toolkit helps turn climate concern into confident, practical action.

Access the Community Leaders Toolkit

The Community Leaders Toolkit is now free to download and use. You need to be certified Carbon Literate, have attended our Delivering Successful Carbon Literacy workshop to be ready to deliver training, and complete a short form to agree to the Terms and Conditions. Please contact us to arrange your access.

If you are a Carbon Literacy Trainer, charity, community organisation, local authority, or business looking to support meaningful community climate action, we encourage you to explore how the toolkit could support your work. Contact [email protected] for more information.