Carbon Literacy must be embedded into every aspect of placemaking to cut carbon emissions and ensure a sustainable, liveable environment for all. The Carbon Literacy Project is supporting various sectors to help make that happen
In the realm of the built environment, carbon isn’t just a footprint; it’s a legacy. The sustainable choices we make in placemaking aren’t just about aesthetics and functionality; they hold the key to our society’s future.
Social housing and climate action are undeniably connected
Domestic emissions account for over a quarter of the UK’s carbon footprint; due, in no small part, to the age and inefficiency of our homes.
Coupling this with emissions from the volume of new homes being built makes it clear that this is a concern for those watching the impacts of climate change unfold around the world.
Even on home turf, those of us in inefficient homes feel heatwaves and severe storms the hardest. Those of us renting our homes have limited legal and financial capacity to make material improvements to cope. And those of us who can’t choose to live somewhere else are forced to bear the financial and emotional burden of climate shocks.
The Carbon Literacy Project’s early work with social housing providers across Greater Manchester laid the foundations for a movement now attracting global attention.
Today, well over 5,000 people in the sector have been certified as Carbon Literate, with at least 10,000 impactful actions implemented as a result.
Bolton at Home’s green skills hub. Broadacres’ progress on retrofit. Whg’s ambitious staff training plans. Halton Housing’s buy-in from leadership. The Carbon Literacy Toolkit for Social Housing provides pre-accredited Carbon Literacy training materials for any organisation in the Social Housing sector.
Image: © Eneco Group
The altruistic essence of social housing attracts people who see the value in doing things better for better’s sake.
The position of registered providers as landlords, local authorities, developers and community organisations grants them a unique perspective on how global, political, economic and personal issues intersect. This means the sector has a real opportunity to achieve great progress on the path to net zero; not just in raw emissions, but in shaping the amazing co-benefits that come alongside low-carbon solutions.
Healthy homes reduce hospitalisations, improve childhood development and cost less to run. Construction and retrofit create jobs in local communities and reduce neighbourhood inequality. Community cohesion enhances quality of life and reinforces resilience to systemic shocks. This is just a snapshot of what Carbon Literacy training can support the sector to realise.
Sustainable placemaking will not be delivered without local authorities
Local authorities are consistently highlighted by central government, policymakers and research institutions as essential to the UK’s transition to net zero. They have direct control over 2% of UK emissions, while up to 83% are within their scope of influence. They are key to reducing these emissions but, furthermore, they have a vital, place-shaping role in coordinating how those emissions are reduced.
Chris Skidmore’s recent report, The Future is Local, outlines the benefits of a locally driven net zero transition; local authorities can deliver net zero at a lower cost and more efficiently, create cheaper and more secure energy and drive public engagement and support.
Yet ensuring the multifaceted functions and services local authorities provide all contribute to decarbonisation requires action beyond policymaking; it requires an organisation-wide low-carbon culture. From health and social care to planning and transport departments, decision-making across local authorities must incorporate an understanding of carbon emissions and ambition to reduce them if it is to contribute to this sustainable placemaking mission.
In 2020, The Carbon Literacy Project launched a Carbon Literacy Toolkit for Local Authorities, which speaks to the need for organisation-wide low-carbon culture across local authorities.
The toolkit contains five courses for different audiences; from community leaders and parish, town & community councils to leadership and management, general staff and elected members. The toolkit enables cross-departmental knowledge building, collaboration and empowerment to achieve net zero targets.
Over 12,000 local authority staff across 265 councils have completed Carbon Literacy training. As part of the training, each staff member pledges to take two actions to reduce carbon emissions in the workplace, meaning they have pledged over 24,000 actions across UK local government.
With planning teams, such as Fife Council’s Planning Service (who have achieved Gold Carbon Literate Organisation status), keen to take on the training, the impact on the built environment is tangible. Many councils have now made training a mandatory part of staff induction, with some having already trained thousands of their staff.
While policy is essential to the delivery of net zero, behaviour change within councils themselves plays a vital role, and Carbon Literacy training continues to provide an important tool to do so.
Carbon Literacy Action Day takes place on 4 December 2023 to coincide with the UN COP28 climate negotiations. Get involved.
The Carbon Literacy Project
Tel: +44 (0)161 298 1782
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