Carbon literacy action toolkit

Moral Fibres

A free, extensive guide to pursuing a greener lifestyle. Find out more by visiting Moral Fibres.

Ethical Consumer

A comprehensive source of information and advice on Discover how to shop more sustainably by exploring the information and advice on the Ethical Consumer website.

Centre for Alternative Technology 

Offering independent and impartial advice on a wide array of topics relating to sustainability including:

• renewable energy
• green building and renovation
• water and sewage treatment
• organic growing

Access their free advice and information by visiting the Centre for Alternative Technology.

Further learning

Rise

Expand your knowledge and build your points by checking out the range of things you can do on Rise.

Project Drawdown

Billed as the world’s leading resource for climate solutions, Project Drawdown provides a comprehensive, cross-sectoral map of the solutions needed to resolve the climate crisis. Find out more by visiting the Project Drawdown website.

UN CC:Learn

Explore a range of free online courses from the One UN Climate Change Learning Partnership. Courses cover everything from climate adaptation and sustainable diets to climate change and human rights.

Climate Reframe

Amplifying Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) voices in the UK environmental movement. It’s a great way to explore a cross-section of the thinkers, activists, and organisations taking action in the UK. Find out more about Climate Reframe.

Climate Just

A free web tool for public service providers designed to:

• identify who is vulnerable to climate change and fuel poverty and why.
• highlight neighbourhoods where climate disadvantage is highest.
• explain the factors involved and help you decide what actions to take.

Learn more by visiting Climate Just.

People and Planet 

Explore the comprehensive table of UK universities, ranked by environmental and ethical performance, by People and Planet. We are currently in second place.

Anti-greenwashing toolkit

An anti-greenwashing toolkit has been developed by the University of Gloucestershire. It’s been built to help students in higher education assess how well sustainability is integrated into their courses.

Data Sources

Carbon Brief

A UK-based website covering the latest developments in climate science, climate policy and energy policy. Read about what’s happening on the Carbon Brief website.

Climate Action Tracker

Discover how the government’s climate action measures up against the Paris Agreement’s objectives with the Climate Action Tracker.

Climate Watch Data

A wealth of data on countries’ carbon footprints, historical emissions, and carbon reduction commitments, can be found on Climate Watch Data. This was a key source for the Carbon Literacy training section on international carbon footprints.

ND-GAIN Country Index

Our source for countries’ vulnerability scores, the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative. Examine each country’s vulnerability profile, as well as explore adaptation initiatives across the globe with the ND-GAIN Country Index.

Apps

Sustained and Impact Score

Scan products’ barcodes to see how they score against various environmental criteria with Sustained and Impact Score. These apps also suggest more climate-friendly alternatives.

MeetFreed

Join a community sharing recipes and tips for a plant-based diet on MeatFreed. Sign up and you’ll get discounts on vegetarian and vegan food in restaurants around Manchester.

Too Good to Go

Helping users reduce food waste through the purchase of ‘magic bags’, surprise selections of unsold food from various outlets for a fraction of the price. Download Too Good to Go.

Olio

Reduce food waste by exchanging unused items with others on Olio.

Kitche

Discover recipes based on what leftovers you have at home with Kitche.

NoWaste and Nosh

Reduce food waste by organising and tracking the food you buy. You can also create meal plans based on what you have and when things expire. Download NoWaste and Nosh.

Websites

Eat the Seasons

By eating food when it’s in season, we can reduce the amount of energy needed to grow, transport, and conserve it. Find out what’s in season and when, and discover recipes based on that on Eat the Seasons.

Love Food Hate Waste

Find tips on how to cut your waste such as recipes on how to turn leftovers into delicious meals on Love Food Hate Waste.

The Flexitarian

Discover tips and recipes for a low-carbon diet on The Flexitarian.

Sow the City

A Manchester-based social enterprise with a mission to empower communities to grow and live sustainably. Find out more on Sow the City.

Love Your Clothes

Discover practical tips on how you can prolong the life span of your clothes with Love Your Clothes.

Upcycle That and Freecycle

Exchange second-hand clothes on Upcycle That and Freecycle.

Aja Barber

Aja is a writer, stylist and consultant whose work deals with the intersections of sustainability and the fashion landscape. Her book Consumed dissects the historical racism and inequality of the textile industry and teaches us how to be more ethical consumers of fashion. Read Aja’s Six Tips for Enjoying Fashion and Doing Less Harm.

Saving Energy

Conserving household energy can often save carbon and money, but not always.  Also, keep in mind that if you save money by conserving energy but then spend what you saved on something carbon-intensive such as a flight, you haven’t saved any carbon.

• Quick Tips to Save Energy 
• Energy Saving Tips from MoneySavingExpert.com 

Saving Water

United Utilities provides water in the North West of England. Get access to ‘quick wins’ and free products to help you save water by using their water savings calculator. 

Travel Better Package

Providing tools and guidance to help those in the FHE sector reduce air travel. Read more on the Sustainability Exchange website.

Sustrans

A charity promoting walking and cycling. Discover maps of the National Cycle Network as well as hints and tips on the Sustrans website.

The Man in Seat 61

Find out useful tips on how to travel by train in Europe on The Man in Seat 61.

BlaBlaCar

Travel cheaply and efficiently by carpooling with those going to the same destination by using BlaBlaCar.

Climate stories

Stories about real people’s experiences of climate change can be a powerful way of engaging others.

In the UK

• From the Ground Up by Len Grant is an illustrated e-book looking at the various local climate initiatives happening in Hulme. Read the e-book here. 
• Bristol Climate Heroes is a great resource looking at the diverse ways normal people in the UK are responding to the climate crisis. Read more on the Bristol Climate Hub.

Around the World

• Water Aid Climate Stories is a visually engaging look at how climate change is impacting real people across the world. Read their stories on the Water Aid website.
• Discover a repository of articles and videos showcasing climate action stories from around the world on the World Bank Group.

Communication tools 

• Six Ways to Change Hearts and Minds about Climate Change is a useful booklet produced by Frameworks Institute and On Road Media. Read the booklet here.
• Discover various climate story-based activity ideas for young learners with the Oxfam Education Climate Story Activity Worksheet. 
• Stories that Make a Difference: Climate Narratives for a New World is a write-up of a forum designed to engage and inspire ideas on how best to communicate climate change, held on 24 May 2019 at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC. Read the write-up.

Write to Your MP

Writing to your MP can be a powerful way to show politicians that the public is concerned about climate change and to ensure it is on the agenda in parliament. The more people raise a particular issue with their MP, the harder it is for them to ignore it. 

The Climate Coalition

Modify this useful template to demand your MP advocate for climate action in parliament. Download the template on The Climate Coalition.

Write to Them

Create and send communications to your MP using Write to Them. 

They Work for You

Find and write to your MP using They Work for You. The site also aims to put parliamentary decisions and legislature into terms we can all understand.

Environmentalism grounded in religion is common. Exploring climate change through your faith can be a productive pathway towards action, and invoking faith-based environmentalism can be a powerful way to appeal to people’s values when engaging with and influencing them on climate. 

Faith-based environmental organisations

• Faith for the Climate
• One Earth Sangha
• SGI-UK and Climate Change
• Arocha
• Church of England Environment Programme
• Green Christian
• Hindu Climate Action
• Green Muslims
• Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences (IFEES)
• EcoSikh UK
• Ecosynagogue
• Jewish Climate Action Network

Practical tools and reading suggestions

• 5 Buddhist Practices to Help Tackle Climate Change
• Green scripture from the Christian Bible
• Hindu Declaration on Climate Change
• Green scripture from the Quran
• A Muslim’s Guide to Climate Change
• The Climate Crisis: A Humanitarian and a Jewish Issue

Bank.Green

Check if your bank is making environmentally damaging investments and explore greener alternatives on Bank.Green.

Moral Fibres

Discover the most ethical banks, current accounts, credit cards and more with Moral Fibres.

Make My Money Matter

Is your pension fund investing in fossil fuels? As a student, you may not have a pension yet, but this is something to keep in mind as your life and career progresses. Make My Money Matter is a campaign helping people demand that their money not be invested in harmful practices. Understand the financial sector’s relation to climate change and how to take action by visiting Make My Money Matter.

The Climate Psychology Alliance

A community of therapeutic practitioners and researchers helping others attend to the psychology and emotions of the climate crisis. Their website offers a list of useful resources to help people cope with eco-anxiety. Read more on their website.

The Resilience Project

Young people are being helped to build resilience in the face of eco-anxiety with the UK initiative The Resilience Project.

Force of Nature

If you’re feeling empowered to take action to deal with climate anxiety, take a look at Force of Nature. They help young people turn anxiety into action through learning programmes and training opportunities.

It is collective action that’ll bring about carbon reduction at the scale we need. For many of us, the places we work are the biggest collectives through which we can act. By encouraging the business or organisation you work for to reduce its emissions, you can exponentially increase your positive impact on the climate.

Find out how you can get started by visiting Climate Solutions at Work.