Carbon literacy for managers: explained

With Earth Day on the horizon, we are all being encouraged to “invest in the planet”. Yet many managers and leaders may not feel they have the resources to do so.

Finding the necessary funding is one potential roadblock, but a survey from the UN-backed SME Climate Hub found that two-thirds (63%) of small business owners are more worried that they don’t have the right skills and knowledge to tackle the climate crisis. Only 47% cited finance as their main reason for delaying climate action. The Earth Day campaign is also highlighting the need for climate literacy – an understanding of the reciprocal relationship between humans and the climate – among the population.

Many companies are going a step further and striving to become certified as “carbon literate”, a designation handed out by the Manchester-based Carbon Literacy Project that asks for “an awareness of the carbon dioxide costs and impacts of everyday activities”, along with “the ability and motivation to reduce emissions, on an individual, community and organisational basis”.