Ellard’s Carbon Literacy Journey: The Road to Decarbonisation In 2023, Ellard set out on a mission to become a fully Carbon Literate Organisation by the year’s end. Since last year, they have been collaborating with The Carbon Literacy Project and had their entire Senior Management Team become Certified Carbon Literate. However, the company knows that The Carbon Literacy Project’s work is crucial for everyone to understand, and as a result, deemed it necessary for the entire Ellard team to receive training. But what is The Carbon Literacy Project, and why is it so important? What is The Carbon Literacy Project? The Carbon Literacy Project was founded with the aim that ‘everyone who lives, works and studies has access to a day’s worth of learning about climate change’ with the overarching goal to reduce carbon emissions and to switch to a low carbon culture. This training program covers all the aspects of the climate crisis, educating attendees on the actions that individuals, governments, and society need to take to halt it. By becoming ‘Carbon Literate,’ you’ll gain the knowledge and skills required to tackle the challenges brought about by climate change with confidence and effectiveness. Why is it so important? For many people, it’s hard to truly comprehend the climate crisis and the true cost of carbon. Carbon Literacy Training creates a comfortable learning environment to educate and foster discussions on how we can tackle and reduce our emissions. These conversations lead to actions, with every trainee pledging significant ways they are going to reduce their carbon impact. The more people who take part in this training the more carbon is saved, so far there are over 67,000 citizens Certified Carbon Literate and it’s resulted in around 24,000 tonnes of carbon saved. To put that into perspective 24,000 tonnes of carbon is the equivalent of 60 million miles driven by an average petrolpowered passenger vehicle. “It is important that we play a part and continue to decarbonise towards a net zero society. Climate change has always been relevant and it’s relevant to everyone, The Carbon Literacy Project is a vital tool that highlights exactly what we need to do and when we need to do it, which is now”. The journey so far... Currently, 38% of Ellard’s staff are Certified Carbon Literate, and five employees are awaiting their accreditation. The company is confident that they will achieve 100% by the end of 2023, and are working hard to make this a reality. In July of this year, Jules Drake, Ellard’s ESG Chair, carried out training to become a certified Carbon Literacy Facilitator. Jules possesses a thorough understanding of the climate crisis and is passionate about sustainability. With this accreditation, Jules is now able to assist in training across the company and educate employees on their carbon impact. Having an internal trainer will be an excellent way to implement training and instil a low-carbon culture in our business. We spoke to Jules about the importance of Carbon Literacy Training. Jules Drake commented: “The success we’ve seen with this is amazing. The training is so important and it really puts things into perspective in a way people can understand. Climate change is relevant to everyone, and we all have a part we can play, this training highlights that”. Jules is just under halfway towards all employees becoming Carbon Literate and looks forward to training the rest of the Ellard team. There has been a really positive response from the individuals who have taken part so far and the pledges that have been made will greatly aid in decarbonising how Ellard operates. Sara Smith shared her thoughts on the training: “It is so important to take part in the carbon literacy training as it emphasises the Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk 28 THE door industry journal winter 2023 Industry News
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