De Montfort University has now passed the 600 milestone for the number of staff and students that have been trained in carbon literacy as part of its campaign for climate action.
Carbon Literacy is one of a series of education programmes and campaigns run by DMU in its role as a United Nations global academic hub for the Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 13 Climate Action.
The carbon literacy training is designed to raise awareness of the carbon costs and climate change impacts of everyday activities. It equips individuals with the knowledge, capacity, and motivation to take action to reduce emissions on personal, community, and organizational levels.
The training covers topics such as climate change, carbon footprints, and practical steps individuals can take to contribute to a more sustainable future. Overall, it aims to empower participants to understand and communicate about climate change effectively.
DMU has Carbon Literate Organisation status and its board of governors, senior leadership team as well as academics, professional services staff and students have all undergone the training.
Sustainability manager Karl Letten said: “Carbon literacy is one of the most important education programmes we run in showing people the climate change risks and impacts.
“Many people come away from the training with ideas for making a difference in both the workplace and also at home. We feel this really does make a difference.
“That is our goal for staff, students and our community partners to have a strong understanding of climate change issues and possible responses – to inspire collaborative action here at DMU and locally.”
Series of campaigns and education programmes on climate change
DMU has been running the training for six years and passed the 600 mark earlier in 2024 and there will be no let-up in 2025 with a series of training programmes planned.
Carbon literacy is only one of the education programmes and campaigns run by DMU, where the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are embedded into many of the course and modules run by the university.
DMU also holds an annual awareness campaign to coincide with the COP climate change by world leaders – and there was one this year for COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The university is recognised by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as an official Climate Observer as well as a global academic hub for the SDGs. It is the only university in the UK to be a UN global hub.
More than 500 staff and students attended a series of events held across the university’s campus during the 11 days of COP 29, which included everything from a river clean-up to the launch of the SDG Fellows, an organisation which aims to use staff to spread awareness of climate change and the SDGs.
Associate Professor Dr Mark Charlton, who co-ordinates the COP campaign, said: “This series of events is an important statement by the university of its position and calls for action on climate change.
“This is evident by the fact that our Vice-Chancellor Professor Katie Normington is heavily involved and launched the start of the COP 29 campaign.
“The 25 different events staged through the two weeks raise awareness of climate change issues and prompt people to be more active in calling for change.”