East Devon District Council - Speak Carbon Collective

As local authorities around the country contend with crises in housing, cost-of-living, climate and budget, the need to actively engage colleagues and stakeholders is paramount. A coherent approach that highlights the interconnections of these challenges can shine light on ways to implement simultaneous solutions with maximum efficiency.

Cascading Carbon Literacy in the public sector

East Devon District Council (EDDC) recognises the value and positive impact of Carbon Literacy, as training the workforce in how to adopt low carbon actions helps the organisation to achieve its net zero aims. For the Carbon Literacy attendees, the training instils confidence that the solutions to the challenges of climate change are accessible and achievable.

The team at East Devon wanted to create internal capacity to be able to roll out this training to as many of its people as quickly as possible. Following on from a number of Carbon Literacy workshops delivered by Speak Carbon, nine members of East Devon staff, including three from a local community gallery, were enrolled on Speak Carbon’s Training Professionals (train-the-trainer) programme.

East Devon’s position on climate

East Devon District Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and aims to be carbon neutral by 2040.

The council’s Climate Change Action Plan includes decarbonisation strategies for buildings, transport, waste and energy. More information on the plans can be found on the East Devon District Council website.

The challenge

Local authorities like East Devon District Council are responsible for delivering essential public services including building control, social housing, waste collection, community engagement, environmental maintenance and climate resilience.

To ensure colleagues with the most crucial need had access to Carbon Literacy training, the council needed to find a way to train as many of its people as cost effectively as possible. The solution, therefore, was to empower a small group of colleagues to become high-quality Carbon Literacy training facilitators alongside their day-to-day responsibilities.

Why EDDC chose to work with Speak Carbon

Catherine Causley, the Council’s Climate Change Officer had initiated the original Carbon Literacy training project with Speak Carbon. With our offering creating a coherent pathway from climate novice to accredited Carbon Literacy Trainer, Catherine felt it made sense to continue the story with Speak Carbon.

The Training Professionals programme

Once the Council’s project lead had recruited their cohort of facilitators-to-be, Speak Carbon’s Ned Gatenby managed the Training Professionals programme. He said that he and the cohort of Training Professionals participants “were excited to use our time together to form a team that would see the Council become Carbon Literate.

The structure of our workshops allows people to delve deep behind-the-scenes of Carbon Literacy training, developing an intimate understanding of how to create the most impactful workshops for learners.

It was fantastic to see the light bulb moments, for example, when they understood that their role is not about being the expert on climate change, but about guiding informed discussions about what colleagues can do to aid the Council’s (and the world’s) net zero aims.”

Over a series of four half-day workshops, East Devon colleagues developed key facilitation skills, enhancing their practical abilities in workshop leadership. They explored the details of The Carbon Literacy Standard and how the unique training method applies expertise from a diverse range of educational and environmental resources. They co-produced information about improving the accessibility and inclusion of the training they offer, and are now able to apply this learning to other professional and social settings. Following the theory sections of the course, participants also engaged in some practical delivery, where they put into practice the skills they had learned during the course. Everyone was able to give and receive constructive feedback to boost confidence ahead of their first live Carbon Literacy training delivery.

Catherine said “[We are] grateful that we chose Speak Carbon as our training provider, throughout the whole process [you] made it simple, [were] flexible around dates and worked extensively to [make it work] for everyone. During the training we found that sessions were delivered in a way that accounted for different levels of skills and knowledge, making everyone feel included.

I received excellent feedback [from colleagues] about the training and would wholeheartedly recommend Speak Carbon.”

The newly formed training team at East Devon has enjoyed breaking down traditionally siloed roles and working with people from different areas of the organisation.”

Upskilling colleagues to deliver Carbon Literacy training made the best use of East Devon District Council’s training budget, and has empowered colleagues to continue to cascade this vital learning across the organisation and beyond.

Carbon Literacy cascade programmes for your organisation

Our Training Professionals courses are the ideal way to embed ongoing Carbon Literacy learning across your organisation.