In August 2021, Speak Carbon Collective incorporated as a Community Interest Company in order to deliver Carbon Literacy training to anyone and everyone across the UK. That makes the 13th of August our official birthday, but our story actual starts a little while before that.
Back in the summer of 2020, when many of us were still living our lives largely online following the first lockdown of the pandemic, I had the chance to attend a free online training course run by St Nick’s in York.
I was looking for opportunities to connect with local ‘green’ organisations and this course – reportedly covering the science & impacts of climate change – seemed like a great way to increase my knowledge on climate while also meeting some like-minded folk. The course happened to be running on Tuesdays, the only day of the week that I was able to dedicate to this work at the time. The training was of course Carbon Literacy, run by Speak Carbon’s very own Pete Watkins. I don’t believe in fate but even I am tempted to think that the universe perhaps shuffled the deck a little for us in that moment, allowing Pete and I to meet for the first time, albeit in 2D.
After the training we got talking (frankly we’ve never stopped!) and Pete quickly introduced me to a group of other Carbon Literacy trainers he was already in touch with, who were looking for a collaborative way to work on getting the course out to more people. In early 2021 we began delivering training as a collective of freelancers, and after out first few projects together, we formed Speak Carbon Collective that August.
Almost exactly four years, dozens of projects and well over 1,500 Carbon Literate citizens later, and Pete and I have now both been accredited as Carbon Literacy Consultants. This is the highest level of Carbon Literacy trainer accreditation available. The application process is designed to reflect both the depth and breadth of experience of trainers. Delivering training, running projects, advocating for Carbon Literacy and writing Carbon Literacy courses for a broad range of organisations are just some of the things Pete and I were assessed on to receive this accolade.
Only a handful of other trainers have been awarded this status, and it’s one of my proudest professionals achievements to date.
More important than that though, is the fact that because two of Speak Carbon’s core team now have this accreditation, we can go even harder on pushing for accelerated climate action, both in the organisations with which we already work, and in those with which we’re developing new relationships.
We know Carbon Literacy inside out and back to front, and we know the best, most effective ways to utilise the framework to create the most positive change possible. This is what matters, and it’s what we as a wider Collective are doing and intend to keep on doing, in ever more innovative and meaningful ways.
To talk to us about climate learning for your organisation, get in touch today.