{"id":627882,"date":"2023-04-11T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-11T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/04\/11\/climate-literacy-training-for-every-budget\/"},"modified":"2023-04-11T04:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-04-11T09:00:00","slug":"climate-literacy-training-for-every-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/04\/11\/climate-literacy-training-for-every-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate literacy training for every budget"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Editor\u2019s note: This is the first article in a series on closing the sustainability skills gap with the resources we have available right now. <\/em><\/p>\n

I was lucky enough to attend GreenBiz 23 in February. One sentiment I heard over and over again was that many people believe we have the majority of the tools we need to solve the climate crisis, but what most organizations really struggle with is getting enough employees the technical or functionally specific training they need to really scale adoption of these solutions across the entire business.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That sentiment is consistent with the findings in a report Microsoft published in November titled “Closing the Sustainability Skills Gap: Helping business move from pledges to progress<\/a>,” which provided an in-depth analysis of the many, many climate and sustainability related training needs companies have right now.<\/p>\n

This training gap is a huge business problem for a number of reasons. First, it\u2019s a problem for senior business leaders whose companies have made climate pledges their stakeholders actually expect them to make progress on. It\u2019s also a problem because forthcoming regulations in multiple countries related to carbon emissions reporting mean there are legal consequences for not developing sufficient measurement and reporting capabilities. Last, but certainly not least, as Joel Makower pointed out in his recent article on young professionals in sustainability<\/a>, several studies have shown that motivating and supporting employees in stepping up to these challenges is a key component of success for attracting and retaining millennials and Gen Z employees.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, we know we have some training gaps, and we know we\u2019ve got to fill them, but the big question is how.<\/p>\n

Several people I spoke with at GreenBiz cited a lack of good training options, but I respectfully disagree. I think the biggest issue is a lack of visibility into what’s available, followed closely by the scalability of some solutions given the constraints of cost, employee time available for learning and instructor capacity (at least for the training sessions that involve actual human instructor).<\/p>\n

My goal with this article series is to give readers a sense of the resources available right now that can get us started with closing these gaps today. There are options for every budget and level of time and financial commitment.<\/p>\n

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Most organizations really struggle with getting enough employees the technical or functionally specific training they need to really scale adoption of sustainability across the entire business.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Today\u2019s installment focuses on basic climate literacy training accessible to individual members of the public. These offerings generally provide a high-level overview of climate science, available solutions and accelerators such as policy, and are appropriate for everyone. The beauty of this type of training is you can make it available to every employee in your organization or you can just share it with that business partner who would appreciate learning why you keep asking them for their utility bills.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Part 2 on “climate literacy” (which we’ll publish Wednesday) will continue the discussion around basic climate literacy and provide an overview of solutions designed specifically to help businesses scale employee training and engagement programs. Future articles will focus more on the training needs of the sustainability team and functional business partners.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A few caveats. The training space is as vast and complex as the world of sustainability is, so I had to put some boundaries on this list. I didn\u2019t include formal degree programs that require enrollment in a university as that topic is already covered pretty well by the folks at Corporate Knights<\/a>, Princeton Review <\/a>and others. I also didn\u2019t include resources that required learners to be in person because those solutions simply can\u2019t scale the same way virtual options can.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are literally thousands of training options related to sustainability and climate, so I can say with complete confidence that I’ve missed some. If I’ve missed your favorite training offering, I enthusiastically invite you to reach out to me on LinkedIn<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I plan to write additional articles that will cover more technical training for sustainability teams and business partners, so share your favorites with me on LinkedIn so I can include them in future lists. Thanks in advance for helping bring these resources out into the open so more people can get to work on advancing sustainable business practices.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Special thanks to Nishant Saun, an MBA student at the University of Pittsburgh\u2019s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business\u2019s Center for Sustainable Business, who helped with research for this article. And, without further ado.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Climate Literacy Courses<\/h3>\n

Climate Solutions 101<\/strong><\/a> by Project Drawdown<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Project Drawdown team does a fantastic job of setting the stage and connecting the dots between what\u2019s happening, why it\u2019s happening, what levers we have for change, and how we can accelerate that change.\u00a0<\/p>\n