ADD2718 Climate Literacy Training Programme – running costs

1.1.    The Mayor’s target for London to be net zero carbon by 2030 and his aim to ensure London is adapted and resilient to climate change impacts will require all GLA staff to understand and consider the climate impacts of their work. The Climate Change Team are working to embed climate thinking at the heart of all GLA activity through a number of initiatives, including through the Climate Budget work and the Climate & Equalities Tool. A key part of this mainstreaming is the delivery of climate literacy training to all staff.
1.2.    In December 2023, CIB approved the proposal that the Climate Change Team should deliver Climate Literacy Training to all GLA staff to complement activity that is going on across the GLA Group. It was recommended that it should take the existing training programme developed by Transport for London and following it as closely as possible. The purpose of the course is to:
•    Increase staff awareness of the climate costs, impacts and opportunities of GLA activity
•    Increase GLA staff’s ability and motivation to reduce carbon emissions, increase climate resilience and adapt to climate change on an individual, community and organisational basis
•    Develop staff confidence and competence in having conversations about climate, internally and externally.
1.3.    Transport for London have been successfully delivering Carbon Literacy training to their staff for two years. We have worked closely with them in the development of our programme to utilise their experience and we have relied heavily on their existing training materials, with some amendments as necessary to tailor it to GLA staff. We are taking a peer-to-peer approach meaning that staff will be responsible for delivering the training to others, further embedding learning, developing additional skills and developing relationships across the organisation. 
1.4.    The Carbon Literacy Project accredited our training materials in June 2024 and in late June through to mid-Aug 2024 we will be training up our first cohort of GLA staff who have volunteered to become our in-house trainers. These staff members will undergo one day of Climate Literacy training (delivered by the Climate Change Team) and a two day “Train the Trainer” course developed by TfL and delivered by an external trainer. This will provide them with the skills and confidence to deliver courses to other staff members. In late August we intend to begin a two-month pilot to test the programme, before rolling out the course to all staff over this mayoral term. We are aiming to deliver climate literacy training to 300 staff members a year. We will train up more staff to become course trainers over the coming years, as required, to maximise the opportunity for participation and staff development. 
1.5.    We have looked into alternative “Train the Trainer” courses but the TfL course offers better value for money, a more hands-on experience as it is in person and is designed to develop staff skills in the art of climate literacy training. It has also been designed based on TfL’s Carbon Literacy course which our own Climate Literacy course largely replicates, so will be better aligned than alternative “Train the Trainer” courses. 
1.6.    We will also be delivering a shortened version of the course to the Mayor’s Office (delivered by an external trainer).   
1.7.    The costs to deliver the first three years of the programme are set out in the following table. This includes issuing Carbon Literacy certificates to each staff member who completes the training, provided by the Carbon Literacy Project for a £10 fee. The £10 fee covers the cost of the Carbon Literacy Project certifying each attendee as carbon literate. This includes reviewing and providing feedback on the assessment an attendee is required to submit at the end of the course (to confirm they have understood the content) and reviewing the three climate pledges attendees commit to setting out how they will take action in their jobs. 

2.1.    The objectives are:
•    To have a core group of GLA staff fully trained up and able to deliver Climate Literacy Training across the organisation
•    A successful roll out of the training programme to all staff over the mayoral term
•    For the Mayor’s Office to have undergone a shortened Climate Literacy training session.
2.2.    The expected outcomes are:
•    An increased awareness across the GLA of the climate emergency and the roles, responsibilities and opportunities that we have to both mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change which will influence how funding decisions are made and programmes and projects are developed and delivered.
•    An increased awareness in the Mayor’s Office of the climate emergency, what it takes to tackle it and the GLA’s role.
 

3.1.    We are aiming for any member of staff to be able to become a trainer. We know that there are disabilities that may make this more of a challenge, for example, those who are hard of hearing. We will engage with relevant GLA Teams and Networks to help us develop a training programme that is accessible to all, both from a trainer and participant perspective. We have also been speaking to a member of staff who has shared adjustments they would need to become a trainer in the future and will work with them to ensure this is possible. When inviting staff to training sessions we will ask them if there are any adjustments that they may require to be able to fully participate in the programme and any information that is shared will then be passed onto the trainers running the course.
3.2.    We understand it may be challenging for part-time staff to commit 1.5 days a month to the programme in order to fulfil the requirements of being one of our in-house trainers. Once we have a core group of trainers in place we will ensure that part-time staff are encouraged to become trainers with a lower time commitment per month to ensure they are not missing out on the development opportunities that the course offers.  
 

4.1.    Key risks and issues
•    Staff pulling out of training courses at the last minute which would be a particular issue for the “Train the trainer” course provided by an external trainer sourced by TfL – the trainer requires two weeks’ notice if a course is to be cancelled without incurring a fee which staff will be made aware of. Staff will also be reminded of their course dates and encouraged to let us know if they need to cancel so we can try and find a suitable replacement. We have a list of “reserve” staff members who want to be trainers and they will be provided with the opportunity to attend the training if others drop out.
•    Staff do not feel sufficiently confident to deliver training courses – the interactive nature of both days of the training courses will allow staff to highlight any concerns they have and ensure we can address them. We will support staff on an ongoing basis by pairing them up with Climate/Environment Team colleagues to deliver the training to build their confidence and we will provide regular opportunities for trainers to come together to learn from each other. 
•    Staff do not sign up for training when we roll it out – we have been engaging with staff regularly through emails, a Lunch & Learn session, Core Brief to make them aware of the training and have a list of over a hundred staff who have signed up to go on the training. We will continue to keep the training highlighted through blogs, Core Briefs and meetings with other teams. We will also be working actively with senior staff and identifying ‘supporters’ across the organisation who will promote the training programme and encourage their staff to sign up for the programme.  
4.2.    Delivery of this training is directly linked to the Mayor’s target for London to be net zero carbon by 2030 and his aim to ensure London is adapted and resilient to the impacts of climate change. By embedding climate literacy across the organisation we will be ensuring our staff understand how their specific role fits into the Mayor’s climate objectives and the action they can take to help achieve them. This forms part of a GLA Group-wide initiative to run tailored climate literacy courses for their respective staff members to help ensure that the Mayor is leading by example in mainstreaming climate change knowledge across the GLA Group.
 

5.1.    Approval is requested for expenditure of up to £28,000 to support delivery of the first three years of the Climate Literacy Training Programme for the GLA and the Mayor’s Office.  
5.2.    The estimated profile of the expenditure is shown below:

5.3.    This expenditure will be funded from the Climate Emergency Budget within the Environment Unit. The budget for future years has been included within the draft budget plans for those years but will require formal approval as part of the Mayor’s budget setting process. The usual break clauses should be included in any contracts which could be activated in the event of the programme have insufficient funding following the conclusion of future budget rounds.

7.1.    The Climate Change Team will be responsible for delivering the programme against the timings set out below.