Council marks Carbon Literacy Action Day with training opportunity for councillors
The third annual Carbon Literacy Action Day (CLAD) takes place today (Monday 4 December).
The action day coincides with COP28 – the largest climate event of the year with world leaders gathering in Dubai to discuss and negotiate on climate policy.
To mark CLAD, Arun District Council will be offering councillors training to become ‘carbon literate’ in a bid to reduce Arun’s carbon footprint, protect the environment and become a net zero district.
The council began its carbon literacy journey in Autumn 2022 when we undertook our first training session, with the support of West Sussex County Council.
This was targeted at senior members of staff, including group heads and Philippa Dart, Director of Environment and Communities and Joint Interim CEO.
It was then rolled out to other council staff and so far, 40 people have officially become ‘Carbon Literate’. This has resulted in 80 ‘actions’ being started within the council to help reduce our impact on the environment, ranging from ensuring that climate change is discussed at each team meeting to reviewing how officers undertake the procurement of goods and services.
As a result of the training, we became a Bronze Certified Carbon Literate Organisation earlier this year. We are now working towards the next tier and being awarded a silver certificate.
Our councillors are now being invited to take the training in early 2024, which is run by Arun District Council using toolkits provided by an organisation known as The Carbon Literacy Project (CLP). The training will include an explanation of climate change, why taking action is so important, what is already taking place locally, and what actions can be taken on both a personal level and a community level.
Councillor Sue Wallsgrove, Chair of the Environment Committee at Arun District Council, said:
“I’m really looking forward to participating in this training. Council staff who have taken the training have reported that it really shifted their mindset on how they do things at work, and I was delighted to hear that Arun District Council has become a Bronze Level Carbon Literate Organisation and is working towards the Silver accreditation.
“It’s vital that everybody starts to think about the environment in everything they do, whether it’s in the workplace or in their personal lives. This way it will become second nature and we will effectively be joining forces to tackle climate change.”
For more information on the work being done by the Carbon Literacy Project, visit Home - The Carbon Literacy Project
Find out about climate action work being delivered by Arun District Council Climate change | Arun District Council
This work is being rolled out in association with several local authorities across West Sussex with the shared aim of reaching net zero. To find out what the other West Sussex councils are doing please go to:
Chichester District Council: www.chichester.gov.uk/climatechange
Horsham District Council: www.horsham.gov.uk/climateactionstrategy
Mid Sussex District Council: Mid Sussex: A Net Zero Council - Mid Sussex District Council