Businesses are increasingly investing in sustainability training to help employees understand environmental issues and play a more active role in their organisation’s sustainability strategy. But with terms such as Carbon Literacy Training, sustainability training and ESG training often used interchangeably, it can be difficult to know what type of training your organisation actually needs. While there is some overlap, carbon literacy and broader sustainability training have different purposes.
In simple terms, carbon literacy focuses specifically on understanding carbon emissions and climate change, while sustainability training takes a broader view of environmental, social and governance issues.
For organisations looking to build practical sustainability knowledge across their workforce, both can play an important role.
What is Carbon Literacy Training?
Carbon Literacy Training (CLT) is designed to give people a practical understanding of climate change, carbon emissions and the actions they can take to reduce their impact.
Rather than focusing solely on the science of climate change, effective carbon literacy training connects the topic to people’s roles, organisations and everyday decision-making.
A typical Carbon Literacy Training course may cover:
- The science and impacts of climate change
- Carbon emissions and the different scopes of emissions
- How organisational activities contribute to carbon footprints
- The relationship between carbon reduction and business decisions
- Practical actions individuals and teams can take
- How employees can influence wider organisational change
The aim is not to turn every employee into a carbon specialist. It is to give people enough knowledge and confidence to understand the issue, recognise their role in addressing it and take meaningful action.
Why is Carbon Literacy important for businesses?
Climate action increasingly requires involvement from people across an organisation, not just the sustainability team.
A carbon literacy programme can help employees understand why reducing emissions matters, what their organisation is trying to achieve and how their own decisions can contribute.
This can be particularly valuable when an organisation is working towards Net Zero, developing a carbon reduction plan or trying to embed sustainability into day-to-day decision-making.
At Positive Planet, Carbon Literacy Training is a core part of the work we do with organisations. Our training is designed to make climate and carbon understandable, practical and relevant to people’s roles, rather than simply delivering a theoretical overview.
What is Sustainability Training?
Sustainability training is a broader term covering education and training around the environmental, social and governance issues that affect an organisation.
Depending on the organisation and its objectives, sustainability training could cover topics such as:
- Climate change and carbon emissions
- Net Zero and carbon reduction
- Environmental impacts
- Sustainable procurement and supply chains
- Biodiversity and nature
- Resource use and the circular economy
- Social value and responsible business
- ESG
- Sustainability reporting and regulation
- Sustainable business strategy
Because sustainability is such a broad subject, sustainability training can be tailored considerably depending on the audience.
For example, a leadership team might need training on ESG strategy and sustainability governance, while a procurement team might benefit more from training on sustainable supply chains and supplier engagement.
Carbon Literacy vs Sustainability Training: What’s the Difference?
The main difference is scope.
| Carbon Literacy Training | Sustainability Training | |
| Primary focus | Climate change and carbon emissions | Wider sustainability issues |
| Scope | More focused and specific | Broader and more flexible |
| Typical audience | Employees, teams and organisations looking to build carbon awareness | Employees, leadership teams or specific functions |
| Topics covered | Climate change, carbon emissions, Net Zero and practical action | Environmental, social and governance topics |
| Best suited to | Building a shared understanding of climate action | Developing wider sustainability knowledge and capability |
| Approach | Practical understanding of carbon and individual/organisational action | Can be tailored around specific sustainability priorities |
The two approaches are not mutually exclusive.
In fact, Carbon Literacy Training can form an important foundation for a wider sustainability training programme.
Once people understand the fundamentals of climate change and carbon, organisations can build on that knowledge with more specialised training relevant to their sustainability strategy.
Which type of sustainability training does your organisation need?
The right approach depends on what you are trying to achieve.
If your primary objective is to build a shared understanding of climate change, carbon emissions and Net Zero across your organisation, Carbon Literacy Training can be a strong starting point.
It can be particularly useful if you are:
- Developing or implementing a Net Zero strategy
- Working towards carbon reduction targets
- Looking to engage employees in climate action
- Starting to measure your organisational carbon footprint
- Trying to make sustainability part of everyday decision-making
- Building sustainability knowledge across different teams
If your organisation already has a strong understanding of carbon and wants to develop knowledge in other areas, more specialised sustainability training may be appropriate.
For example, teams may need training on ESG, sustainable procurement, supply chain sustainability, biodiversity, sustainability reporting or specific regulatory requirements.
Why Carbon Literacy Training is more than an awareness session
There is an important difference between simply raising awareness and developing carbon literacy.
A short sustainability presentation might introduce employees to climate change and explain why it matters. Carbon Literacy Training goes further by helping participants understand the relationship between carbon, their organisation and their own role.
The most effective training should leave people with a clearer understanding of:
What is happening?
Understanding climate change and the role of carbon emissions.
Why does it matter to our organisation?
Connecting climate change to the organisation’s operations, strategy and wider impacts.
What can I do about it?
Identifying practical actions that individuals and teams can take.
That final step is critical. Sustainability training should not leave people simply knowing more. It should give them the confidence and knowledge to do something differently.
Building sustainability knowledge across your organisation
There is no single training course that will give every employee everything they need to know about sustainability.
Instead, organisations can build capability progressively.
For many businesses, Carbon Literacy Training is a practical starting point because climate change and carbon emissions are relevant across almost every part of an organisation. From operations and procurement to sales, marketing and leadership, employees make decisions that can influence an organisation’s carbon footprint.
From there, more targeted sustainability training can help develop deeper knowledge within specific teams or around specific business priorities.
This creates a more practical approach to sustainability capability: a shared baseline of knowledge across the organisation, supported by specialist knowledge where it is needed.
Carbon Literacy and sustainability training with Positive Planet
At Positive Planet, we provide both Carbon Literacy Training and wider sustainability training, helping organisations build the knowledge and confidence they need to turn sustainability strategy into action.
Our Carbon Literacy Training is a core part of our work, with more than 1,500 people trained across organisations and sectors. We focus on making the subject practical, accessible and relevant to people’s roles, rather than overwhelming participants with technical detail.
We can also develop broader sustainability training around the areas that matter most to your organisation, from ESG and Net Zero to sustainable supply chains and wider environmental and social issues.
Whether you are looking to introduce carbon literacy across your organisation or develop more specialist sustainability capability, we can help you build a training approach that fits your people and your sustainability objectives.
Want to build sustainability knowledge across your organisation?
Talk to our team about Carbon Literacy and sustainability training.