Cumbria’s climate change charity has been handed a national honour for its work in carbon literacy education.
Cumbria Action for Sustainability is one of only 10 organisations in the country to be awarded the prestigious Platinum Carbon Literate Organisation accreditation.
It is the highest award from The Carbon Literacy Project, and recognises organisations that demonstrate outstanding delivery, inspiring businesses, organisations, communities and individuals to act on climate change.
As part of its drive to support Cumbria to reach its ambition of becoming carbon net zero by 2037, Cumbria Action for Sustainability has trained over 1,000 people, and written, accredited, and delivered courses for multiple sectors. It also runs train-the-trainer programmes for organisations across the UK.
The Carbon Literacy Project promotes awareness and understanding of climate change, and directly inspires actions that can be taken to reduce carbon emissions.
Day-long training covers the latest science behind climate change, the impacts of climate change and the solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change.
CAfS’ course is designed to educate people on the importance of carbon reduction and to provide them with the tools and knowledge they need to reduce their own carbon footprints, and to communicate with others about the urgency of the climate crisis. T
Dave Coleman, co-founder and managing director of The Carbon Literacy Project, said: “CAfS has now been spreading carbon literacy for many years and has successfully educated, inspired and supported learners and organisations from all walks of life, to take meaningful actions on climate, right across Cumbria and far beyond. We are delighted to recognise this continued and growing impact and success, the award of Platinum Carbon Literate Organisation status to CAfS is richly deserved.”
Hazel Graham, CAfS climate and carbon literacy training manager added: “We are delighted to be one of the few organisations in the country to achieve platinum status. This is a real recognition of the quality of the work of our team of eight specialist climate trainers.
“At CAfS, we’ve been supporting individuals and organisations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions for 25 years and we have built an incredibly strong team of specialist staff. It is brilliant to see that hard work and expertise recognised in this award.
“We have trained over 1,200 people so far, but we aim to train 3,000 people in the next two years.”
The course is available to businesses, organisations and individuals looking for a deeper understanding of climate change and methods of reducing carbon in their businesses and lives. The course is also offered for free to those on low incomes, using a pay-as-you-can-afford model.
