Carbon Literacy at The Pensions Regulator
In 2023, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) commissioned targeted Carbon Literacy training to engage colleagues across the organisation on climate and drive forward their Net Zero strategy.
The Pensions Regulator published their Climate Change Strategy in 2021, and have set a Net Zero target of 2030 for their internal operations.
An important aspect of TPR’s approach to climate action, is to influence the climate change, sustainability & ESG debate by being a thought leader and enabler within the regulatory landscape.
Information on TPR’s role in climate adaptation and resilience can be round in the Adaptation Reporting Power Round 04 report Climate adaptation report 2025. This report is their contribution to the national assessment of the resilience of the UK to climate change and future adaptation priorities, and includes how they are supporting the regulated community to meet the risks and challenges of climate change.
Speak Carbon and TPR
Following a national tender process, Speak Carbon Collective started working with TPR. Using the Carbon Literacy Project’s (CLP’s) Carbon Literacy for the Civil Service toolkit, we delivered a series of pilot sessions to senior leadership and other key people.
TPR were keen to work with Speak Carbon due to our experience delivering Carbon Literacy in the public sector, as well as our collaborative approach to project development.
The training
To establish the best approach for future cohorts, we used a different delivery model for each session. These models included the CLP’s Carbon Literacy Knowledge eLearning pathway, online facilitated sessions, and full-day in-person workshops.
TPR’s senior leadership team were involved in these early sessions. This is such a key part to any successful climate engagement project. We call this the ‘flashing green light from above’. Getting senior participants in leadership positions engaged early on, creates a strength of advocacy that enables people from every other part of the organisation to get involved as well.
Due to the senior engagement, TPR were able to apply for Bronze CLO accreditation, and were awarded this fantastic accolade in early 2025.
The next stage of this ongoing work, a further three cohorts of full-day in-person training, was delivered in spring 2025. Several of our Collective members have been involved in delivering workshops for TPR since we started working together, and it’s been a resoundingly enjoyable experience for all of us.
Alison Tomlin, co-founder, had this to say on working with TPR:
“Running these workshops and working with the project team at TPR has been so much fun. Climate is such a heavy topic, and being able to bring humour and warmth to this work is so lovely. The participation from people in the room, the engagement with the topic and the commitment to make meaningful change has been really inspiring.”
Pete Watkins, co-founder added:
“Delivering Carbon Literacy training for TPR has been a fantastic experience . It was inspiring to work with a team so committed to understanding their climate impact and exploring meaningful ways to achieve real reductions in emissions – both organisationally and as thought leaders in this sector. What I had not appreciated before beginning the project was how influential the TPR could be with their significant reach across the pensions market in the UK and beyond.”
Mark Hill, Climate and Sustainability Lead at TPR, said:
“Becoming Carbon Literate helps our staff understand the impact of their actions and decisions and enables them to contribute to meeting TPR’s ambitious net zero goals. As a regulator, we play a key role in guiding the pensions industry’s response to climate risks. Carbon Literacy training is one of the ways we can ensure we have the skills and knowledge to effectively evaluate the climate resilience of schemes.”
The results
At the time of writing, we’ve trained 92 participants over six cohorts, with colleagues from all areas of the organisation taking part.
There has been a fantastic range of pledges produced through this work so far. From high-level policy changes around low-carbon procurement, to operational efficiencies, to stakeholder engagement across the regulatory industry; some really meaningful changes are happening throughout the organisation from these sessions.
At the end of our sessions, we like to ask for one word or phrase from each participant capturing their immediate thoughts on the learning. This word cloud is from our February 2025 cohort.
Participant Natasha Loveday, a People Service Adviser at TPR, said this of her experience, attending training in February 2025:
“I really enjoyed the day of training and learnt a lot about the science behind climate change and what TPR is already doing regarding their climate impact. Pete and Alison were engaging, thoughtful and very knowledgeable and made what can be an anxiety-causing topic more manageable to think about. Thank you.”
What’s next?
We are now working closely with TPR’s internal project team to plan a larger, ongoing cascade of Carbon Literacy training. We’re planning to develop a bespoke course for the organisation, drawing on the specific strategic priorities highlighted in their Climate Change Strategy.
We’re so excited to begin this next chapter of our work with TPR and are looking forward to further developing our relationship with this fantastic group of people!
Get in touch to talk to us about climate learning for your organisation.