Inside Our Carbon Literacy Training

Building a Shared Understanding of Sustainability 

In our previous blog, we shared why Red Oak Consulting began its sustainability journey and how Carbon Literacy and Climate Fresk became the catalysts for change. 

Once we’d recognised that sustainability needed to become a company-wide effort rather than something driven by a handful of individuals, the next challenge was clear: 

How do we get everyone involved? 

If we were going to get meaningful action taken across the business, we needed to develop a shared understanding of the issues and opportunities and for people to feel confident to make suggestions and ask questions.   

It’s all too easy not to talk about sustainability at work (and in life!), especially when you don’t know whether those around you share your concerns or interest.   

We needed our people to feel safe to talk and make suggestions, with the confidence that comes with having a basic understanding of the issues and how they can make a difference.   

That’s why we chose to deliver Carbon Literacy training to the entire company – engaging education that would bring us together and provide a common foundation to build from. 

Looking back, creating a space where those conversations could happen openly turned out to be one of the most valuable outcomes of the whole programme. 

Why We Combined Carbon Literacy with Climate Fresk 

One of the challenges with sustainability is that it can often feel overwhelming. 

There is so much information out there, and an overwhelming message of doom.   

There are so many problems to solve in the world of sustainability.   

Unfortunately, fear and negativity alone rarely lead to positive change. 

There are many issues, but we decided to focus at first on carbon, as it’s one of the areas where we can have the greatest impact through our own activities.   

We wanted something engaging and collaborative, something that could help our team understand the severity of the issues and the urgent need for change, but that felt hopeful too and empowered people to act, rather than fall into despair – a big ask! 

So, we built our training around two complementary workshops: 

• The Carbon Literacy Project framework 

• The interactive Climate Fresk workshop 

Rather than relying on presentations and lectures, Climate Fresk encourages participants to work together to explore the causes and impacts of climate change using collective intelligence and problem-solving.   

It’s rather like playing a game as a team, and who doesn’t like a game?   

This approach really helps make the Carbon Literacy training feel fun and collaborative. 

As a consultancy full of technically minded people, this approach felt like the right fit. It allowed everyone to contribute, challenge assumptions and learn from each other. 

Most importantly, it turned what could have been a mandatory slide-based training course into a genuinely engaging experience; we’ve had a number of requests for a follow-up because it was such a good day.   

Keep reading the blogs to find out how we kept the training going. 

Taking the Whole Company on the Journey 

On 7 April 2025, we brought the entire company together for a bespoke Digital and Tech sector Carbon Literacy course designed by our Sustainability Director.

The training was delivered across two interactive days and explored topics such as: 

• The science behind climate change – most people are amazed by how little they know! 

• The role of technology and digital infrastructure 

• The environmental impacts and issues associated with the IT sector – it’s probably not what you think! 

• The actions individuals and organisations can take to reduce emissions 

• The opportunities for consultants to influence positive outcomes 

We deliberately created space for conversation throughout the sessions. 

As consultants, we spend much of our time helping customers solve complex challenges. 

Giving people the opportunity to discuss sustainability openly, share ideas and debate possible solutions proved incredibly valuable. 

The Most Valuable Outcome Wasn’t the Training 

Going into the course, the goal was to increase awareness and build understanding across the team.

What surprised us was the volume and quality of ideas that emerged.   

People began identifying opportunities throughout the business: 

• How we travel 

• How we store and manage data 

• How we procure goods and services 

• How we engage with suppliers 

• How sustainability considerations can form part of the advice we give customers 

We captured all of these and have been working on them ever since.  

We now have a car-pooling policy and an EV scheme; we’ve built sustainability criteria into our business processes and started working on providing more consistent sustainability advice across our consultancy team. 

Looking back, what started as a training programme became one of the biggest drivers of our sustainability strategy.  

Many of the actions that now sit within our carbon reduction plans, like the EV scheme helping staff switch their travel to a greener option, can be traced back to discussions that first took place during those workshops.   

Turning Ideas Into Commitments 

One of the benefits of the Carbon Literacy Project is that it requires participants to evidence their learning and commit to making changes.   

If they do this, then they become ‘Carbon Literate’ in their own right, earning a personal certification people can be proud of.   

Ideas were refined following the workshops, allowing the team to think about where they could have the greatest impact.   

We had an amazing uptake and success rate, with over 75% of staff who attended submitting an application and achieving the Carbon Literacy certification first time.   

Whilst we were proud of that achievement, the real success was seeing sustainability become a topic of everyday conversation. 

Building Momentum 

Looking back, the Carbon Literacy training gave us something we did not have previously:  a shared language and the space to use it. 

Instead of sustainability being owned by one person or discussed only occasionally, it became something the whole team could engage with because they understood why it mattered and where they could contribute. 

The training created energy and momentum, but sustaining that momentum would require something more. 

In our next blog, we’ll explore what happened immediately after the training, how staff engagement evolved, and how the ideas generated during those two days began to turn into real actions across the business.

Sarah Read
Director of Finance & Sustainability 
Red Oak Consulting