How to embed carbon literacy into the college curriculum

Sasha Beswick is the Head of Sustainability at Barnsley College

At Barnsley College, our students constantly express curiosity, questions, concerns and ideas about the world they will be walking into once they leave us. Whilst areas such as Barnsley have a strong history of industrial development, the long-term changes this has made to the landscape has left many concerned about the future of the region.

Our students especially want to learn how they can positively influence the world around them. Many are scrutinising organisations’ green credentials when they look ahead to their careers and understand that a strong sustainability strategy is the sign of a considerate and responsible employer who understands their duty in the climate change challenge.

The college has taken a leap when committing to climate education and embedding education for sustainable development (ESD) into the curriculum. We are well-positioned to not only have a significant impact on the carbon footprint locally, but to lead a dramatic cultural shift in attitudes towards – and knowledge of – climate change and its potential impacts.

The approach has been described by The Carbon Literacy Project (CLP) as ‘catalytic’, and we were thrilled to have been commended in the education for sustainable development category at the Association of Colleges’ Beacon Awards.

Key to our activity has been a focus on carbon literacy, and in 2024 we expanded the CLP’s Carbon Literacy Action Day into a week of training and activities, and the college has made every effort to offer carbon literacy training to as many students as possible, across all disciplines whilst emphasising those factors that are under an individual’s control. The training has equipped them with the tools to explore climate change and its relevance to them, and helped them to understand their spheres of influence and how they can use that understanding to effect positive change.

We have been asked to share our approach, learning and successes across the globe. I have personally spoken at webinars and events – as well as providing one-to-one support and guidance to other institutions both in the UK and globally. Our Deputy Chief Executive Officer Gavin Batty, and the Director of Marketing, Communications and PR, Alicia Clow have both pledged, as part of their own training, to formalise a sharing model to wider influence other organisations to take part in the training. The college recognises that there is ‘no profit lost’ when it comes to sharing this learning and practice with others, only collective gain.

In the course of their training and other initiatives such as our Climate Cafés, students’ voices have been amplified and they have been given more motivation to engage with the college’s sustainability strategy. Students have been given the means, encouragement and funding to act on pledges. Sustainability awareness has increased throughout the college, leading to initiatives such as a dedicated ReLoved Boutique offering vintage clothing, which has already prevented hundreds of items of clothing from going to landfill in just a few months.

Students are also encouraged to explore carbon literacy through their own studies, exploring the challenges and opportunities within their chosen industry. This has created impact throughout the college and wider community. The local community response will be pivotal, as students have an opportunity to become carbon literacy facilitators themselves. Not only will they be offered an exclusive opportunity to deliver climate education within their community, with college support, they will develop a host of professional and interpersonal skills whilst doing so. Training has already been offered, by a college apprentice, to local organisations including Barnsley Civic and the National Coal Mining Museum.

Raising levels of climate education in the local area has multiple benefits: enabling businesses to enact action plans to reduce their carbon footprint, encouraging others to follow suit and creating the conditions for more sustainable practice.

Organisations are valuing carbon literacy higher than ever before when introducing and hiring for new roles, and students who are now receiving carbon literacy training will eventually enter the workforce with the knowledge and skills to make an impact. A keen young workforce will bring with it new ideas and a passion to create change. We are proud to have played a role in effecting cultural change in attitudes around sustainability. Our goal as a college is to transform lives, ensuring students leave us with all the tools and opportunities to make a real difference in their communities.