In April 2020, Cynnal Cymru – Sustain Wales was recognised as the first Carbon Literacy Training Organisation (CLTO) in Wales. This accreditation is testament to Cynnal Cymru’s commitment to accelerating action on climate change by providing over 80 organisations with the training and support needed to reduce their carbon emissions.
The award-winning Carbon Literacy Project aims to give everyone a day’s worth of learning on the causes and consequences of climate change and the practical actions individuals can take in their home, workplaces and community to reduce carbon emissions. A globally unique project, it has been recognised by the UN as one of its 100 Transformative Action Programmes.
Cynnal Cymru has been the official partner of The Carbon Literacy Project since 2017, delivering accredited Carbon Literacy training across Wales to a variety of organisations including United Welsh, Cardiff Council, The National Museum of Wales, Public Health Wales, Community Housing Cymru, WCVA and many SMEs, charities and voluntary organisations.
In February 2020, Cynnal Cymru facilitated the creation of a consortium of 27 housing associations and social housing providers to launch ‘Carbon Literacy Cartrefi Cymru’. The consortium will develop bespoke Carbon Literacy courses for the social housing sector and enable a network of trainers to cascade peer to peer learning throughout this sector. Consortium members have agreed in principal to support each other in order to realise the goal of a decarbonised social housing and care sector in Wales.
Sarah Hopkins, Director at Cynnal Cymru said:
One of Cynnal Cymru’s key objectives is to accelerate progress to a low carbon economy in Wales and we are really pleased to become the first accredited CLTO in Wales. Carbon Literacy training provides an effective combination of scientific understanding and ideas for practical action to give participants the confidence to take action in response to the climate emergency. It’s really positive to see an increased interest in this training and we are looking forward to providing a remotely delivered course from May 2020.
Rhodri Thomas, Principal Trainer said:
The Carbon Literacy Project continues to grow in Wales, with the Museum sector, Public Health and Social Housing all embracing the concept as a way to inform and empower the workforce to make rational and proportionate choices in their private lives while supporting the strategic goals of their organisations. Covid-19 provides an interesting challenge in terms of how we frame the climate change conversation and deliver training remotely but it’s more important than ever to ensure we tackle climate change to safeguard our future.
Dave Coleman, Managing Director and Co-founder of The Carbon Literacy Project said:
Cynnal Cymru has been pivotal in helping to disseminate the Carbon Literacy message across Wales, helping The Project reach and engage with a more diverse cross-section of the Welsh community than we could possibly achieved otherwise. We’re delighted to accredit Cynnal as a Carbon Literacy Training Organisation, and see it join the ranks of a select few organisations at the top of their game in developing and delivering Carbon Literacy training, and so far the only organisation in Wales to have done so.
