With support from
With support from
Note that this page will be updated soon as the 2023 Net Zero Now Programme takes shape.
The 8-part, free, self-led training course below was developed in 2021 with support from South Cambridgeshire District Council as part of their Zero Carbon Communities Grant.
It is designed to enable everyone, regardless of knowledge, skills or experience to gain the tools to get started with community action on carbon reduction. This could be something as simple as setting up a new local clothes swap, or something as big as a community energy scheme.
This course is available as an online resource for anyone to undertake in their own time at home. There are many online sources of information and inspiration, and we have linked to a selection of these within the course resources.
So, you can decide whether to start at the top and work your way through or delve into the topic most useful to you.
If you would prefer to take part in our live programme, get in touch on our contact form here and we will let you know when the Winter 2023 Programme is open for applications.
Use the index below to navigate to the relevant section
Videos: within each topic there are one or two short videos for you to watch. These were recorded during sessions with participants taking part through the Zero Carbon Communities Grant in 2021. Use these to get an overview of the topic.
Worksheets: within each topic there are a number of worksheets. These are templates or information sheets related to the topic area. These can be downloaded and then filled in to help you put what you have learnt from the videos and other resources into context.
Reading lists: each topic has a list of ‘Essential reading’ and ‘Further reading’. These could be articles, guides, websites, blogs or video clips that will help to build your knowledge of the topic. Items on the ‘Essential reading’ lists are the most important, the ‘Further reading’ lists contain more resources to look at if there is a topic you’d like to delve into further. Note these resources take you to external pages not moderated or managed by Cambridge Carbon Footprint.
Slides: the slides are taken from the workshops run through the 2021 Zero Carbon Communities Grant and will help you to structure the topics. Slides will usually refer to the worksheets to help you see which order to complete them in.
This session provides a broad overview of the context of climate change today. The session covers:
Theme | Title | Type | Time | Details |
Net Zero Now | Net Zero Now | Webpage | 0:05:00 | What is Net Zero Now and what can you expect over the next couple of months. |
Net Zero Now | Course outline | Document | 0:10:00 | Find out more details of Net Zero Now and what we will cover in the different sessions. |
Carbon Footprints | Cambridge Climate Change Charter | Calculator | 0:15:00 | Calculate your carbon footprint and find out about potential actions to reduce your personal emissions. |
Carbon Footprints | Climate Basics: Your carbon footprint explained | Video clip | 0:03:00 | A short explanation of how carbon footprints are calculated. |
Political Landscape | The Climate Emergency in Cambridge | Article | 0:10:00 | Find out more about the climate emergency declared by Cambridge City Council and what the local authority is doing. |
Political Landscape | 12 Important Moments in the History of Climate Action: In Photos | Article | 0:10:00 | A conscise overview of the history of the climate change movement. |
Course tool | Quick introduction to Slack | Document | 0:03:00 | A brief introduction to the Slack tool we will be using as part of this programme |
Theme | Title | Type | Time | Details |
Carbon Footprints | Learn | Articles | 0:15:00 | More background information on carbon footprints and climate change. |
Carbon Footprints | Act | Articles | 0:15:00 | More detailed information on the actions that you can take to reduce your carbon footprint. |
Carbon Footprints | Carbon Footprint: Exploring the UK's contribution to climate change | Report | 1:00:00 | An examination of the UK's carbon footprint, and how it has changed between1990 and 2016. |
Climate Change | Plastic pollution: how humans are turning the world to plastic | Video clip | 0:10:00 | Why plastic turned into a problem and what do we know about its dangers. |
Climate Change | We asked scientists to help answer your most pressing climate questions | Article | 0:10:00 | Expert answers in simple english to a range of climate questions. |
Climate Change | Met Office Climate Glossary | Glossary | 0:05:00 | A glossary of climate related terms. |
Climate Change | Explainer: how to read an IPCC report | Article | 0:05:00 | An explainer on what an IPCC report is and how to understand it. |
Climate Change | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change | Report | 1:00:00 | The IPCC's reports on climate change. Dense, highly technical text for those wanting to delve very deeply into climate change research. |
Climate Change | Costing the Earth | Podcast | 0:30:00 | BBC Radio programme exploring a range of environmental problems and solutions. |
Climate Change | Net Zero – The UK’s contribution to stopping global warming | Report | 1:00:00 | The Committee on Climate Change's report on how the UK can get to Net Zero. |
Political Landscape | United Nations SDGs | Webpage | 0:05:00 | An overview of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals with links to further information and publications. |
Political Landscape | Who is responsible for climate change? | Video clip | 0:10:00 | Looks at which countries emit the most CO2 now and historically and explores who can and should take the lead in reducing emissions. |
Political Landscape | What is the Paris Agreement | Article and Video | 0:10:00 | An explainer on what the Paris Climate Agreement is and why it's important. |
Political Landscape | Glossary of Climate Change Acronyms and Terms, UNFCCC | Glossary | 0:05:00 | A glossary of climate related terms courtesy of the United Nations Framework Convenetion on Climate Change. |
Political Landscape | Key Milestones in the Evolution of International Climate Policy | Timeline | 0:10:00 | An interactive timeline of key milestones and achievements in international climate policy. |
In this session you will learn:
Theme | Title | Type | Time | Details |
Multi-level action | Individual Action vs Collective Action and the Importance of the Swiss Cheese Model | Article | 0:10:00 | Article discussing both individual and collective climate action |
Multi-level action | Lifestyle change and system change are two sides of the same coin | Blog Video clip | 0:02:00 | Blog discussing the debate on lifestyle change vs system change |
Multi-level action | Linking individual action and system change in climate advocacy | Report | 0:10:00 | Relationship between individuals and systems in changing behaviour |
Local Context | Zero Carbon Communities Grant | Website | 0:05:00 | Introduction to South Cambridgeshire District Council's Zero Carbon Communities Grant |
Local Context | Zero Carbon Communities Projects | Website | 0:10:00 | Overview of Zero Carbon Communities projects in South Cambridgeshire |
Local Context | Local Transport Leadership | Website | 0:07:00 | An overview of the different local government bodies, with a particular focus on transport and changes since the recent elections |
Tool | Getting started with Miro | Training | 0:20:00 | An introduction to the collaboration tool Miro. |
Tool | Community Carbon Calculator | Calculator | 0:10:00 | Estimates carbon emissions at Parish level - useful tool to think of community action |
Theme | Title | Type | Time | Details |
Effective Action | Deforestation: What's wrong with planting new forests? | Video clip | 0:03:00 | Video explaining the benefits and pitfalls of reforestation |
Solutions | 39 Ways to Save the Planet | Podcast | 0:15:00 | BBC Radio Four, in partnership with the Royal Geographical Society, presents 39 ideas to relieve the stress that climate change is exerting on the planet. |
Solutions | Our ten bold ideas for climate action in the 2020s | Report | 0:15:00 | By Possible. (formally 10:10 Climate Action) on their top 10 solutions to climate change |
Solutions | South Cambridgeshire District Council: Community Clear ups | Website | 0:05:00 | SCDC supporting communities to run litter picking activities |
Solutions | Net Zero Climate: Tools Library | Tool | 0:10:00 | A library of hundreds of free practical tools for businesses, policy makers and organisations of every size and across every sector to help organisations meet net zero targets |
Solutions | The Climate Crisis: Towards Zero Carbon | Video clip | 0:13:00 | Cambridge University alumni Sir David Attenborough and Dr Jane Goodall DBE, and leading Cambridge University researchers, talk about the urgency of the climate crisis – and some of the solutions that will take us towards zero carbon. |
This session explores:
Theme | Title | Type | Time | Details |
Behaviour change | Communicating Lifestyle Change | Article | 0:45:00 | A report outlining the impact of lifestyle changes on greenhouse gas emissions and how to foster lifestyle changes through policies |
Behaviour change | Five ways behavioural science can transform climate change action | Article | 0:10:00 | A short blog piece that links behavioural science (how do we change our habits?) to climate change interventions |
Behaviour change | Case studies | Document | 1:00:00 | A document outlining the four case studies that we have selected to introduce behaviour change campaigns |
Theme | Title | Type | Time | Details |
Behaviour change | Behaviour change, public engagement and Net Zero | Report | 1:00:00 | This extensive research paper by Imperial College London shows how behaviour change principles and public engagement can be used for working toward Net Zero goals. The executive summary and first chapter are particularly relevant to our course. |
Behaviour change | Communicating low-carbon lifestyles | Webinar | 1:00:00 | This webinar summarises the findings of the Climate Outreach report linked in the essential reading above. |
Behaviour change | Levers of Behaviour Change | Website | 0:20:00 | An overview of six categories of intervention strategies that can help change behaviour. |
Behaviour change | Criteria for Behaviour Change Interventions | Report | 0:30:00 | This report aims to provide a framework on how to assess how successful environmental interventions and projects have been. |
Behaviour change | Waltham Forest Mini Holland | Website | 0:15:00 | Enjoy Waltham Forest website, providing information about the programme |
Behaviour change | Repair Cafés | Website | 0:15:00 | The original Repair Cafe website, outlining what it is and where they can be found. |
Behaviour change | Carmarthenshire Energy | Website | 0:15:00 | The community energy scheme's own website. |
Behaviour change | Plastic Free Communities | Website | 0:15:00 | Surfers Against Sewage website outlining the framework and network. |
This session will look at:
Theme | Title | Type | Time | Details |
Communicating climate change | Let's change how we talk about climate change | Video clip | 0:13:00 | TED talk outlining five things that don't work when communicating climate change and four things that do. |
Communicating climate change | How to have a useful conversation about climate change | Blog | 0:06:00 | A psychology professor outlines eleven steps to having a useful conversation about climate change. |
Communicating climate change | How to step up in the face of the climate crisis | Video clip | 0:14:00 | Talk by youth climate campaigner, Clover Hogan, on how to communicate climate change positively to younger people and how to limit climate anxiety. |
Communicating climate change | Sustainababble | Podcast | 0:01:00 | An informal, chatty and free climate change podcast: "A weekly podcast about the environment, for and by the confused. Your hosts Ol and Dave are supposed to be experts in how to save the planet. But why’s everything got to be so confusing? Each week they try to get a little bit closer to enlightenment. They may fail." |
Communicating climate change | Britain Talks Climate | Report | 1:00:00 | Full report by Climate Outreach looking at engaging the British public on climate change. |
Communicating climate change | Are the public ready for net zero?: Executive Summary and Next Steps | Report | 0:30:00 | A Climate Outreach report looking at how to communicate the concept of net zero to the British public. Most relevant pages 1-5 and 17-32. |
Communicating climate change | Rural Attitudes to Climate | Presentation | 0:45:00 | A research document by Climate Outreach looking at how attitudes to climate change differ in rural areas. |
Communicating climate change | Climate visuals: from photos to video | Video clip | 0:10:00 | How do use images in environmental campaigns |
Communicating climate change | Engaging the public on COP26 | Webinar | 1:00:00 | A Climate Outreach webinar looking at how to engage the public on COP26, the 2021 UN climate conference taking place in Glasgow. |
Theme | Title | Type | Time | Details |
Effective Action | Deforestation: What's wrong with planting new forests? | Video clip | 0:03:00 | Video explaining the benefits and pitfalls of reforestation |
Solutions | 39 Ways to Save the Planet | Podcast | 0:15:00 | BBC Radio Four, in partnership with the Royal Geographical Society, presents 39 ideas to relieve the stress that climate change is exerting on the planet. |
Solutions | Our ten bold ideas for climate action in the 2020s | Report | 0:15:00 | By Possible. (formally 10:10 Climate Action) on their top 10 solutions to climate change |
Solutions | South Cambridgeshire District Council: Community Clear ups | Website | 0:05:00 | SCDC supporting communities to run litter picking activities |
Solutions | Net Zero Climate: Tools Library | Tool | 0:10:00 | A library of hundreds of free practical tools for businesses, policy makers and organisations of every size and across every sector to help organisations meet net zero targets |
Solutions | The Climate Crisis: Towards Zero Carbon | Video clip | 0:13:00 | Cambridge University alumni Sir David Attenborough and Dr Jane Goodall DBE, and leading Cambridge University researchers, talk about the urgency of the climate crisis – and some of the solutions that will take us towards zero carbon. |
This session focuses on:
Note: As this session was very interactive and consisted mainly of group discussions, there is no recording available.
Theme | Title | Type | Time | Details |
Local action | Nicole's Ideas for Community Climate Action | Guidance | 0:07:00 | Recommendations for events and activities from Nicole Barton, Volunteer and Events Organiser at Cambridge Carbon Footprint |
Local action | 31 Climate Actions for Local Governments | Guidance | 0:20:00 | An evidence-based list of the most effective actions councils can take on climate. |
Local action | Carbon Copy | Guidance | 0:20:00 | Sharing and celebrating real world examples of local climate solutions. |
Local Action Plan | Local Authority Climate Plan Checklist | Guidance | 1:00:00 | A checklist for local authorities and community groups to draw up and assess climate and ecological emergency action plans. |
Theme | Title | Type | Time | Details |
Local government | A councillor’s workbook on the local pathway to net zero | Guidance | 0:40:00 | This workbook intended to provide councillors with insight and assistance on net zero and the role of local authorities in achieving it. |
Local government | Zero Carbon Britain | Training | - | A list of training opportunities from the Centre for Alternative Technology and their Zero Carbon Britain team. |
Footprinting | Impact | Footprinting tool | 0:10:00 | A tool providing a visual representation of your community’s carbon footprint, helping you spot the areas where your community climate change activities can make the biggest differences to reduce it. |
Local government | CCC - Local Authority and the Sixth Budget | Report | 1:00:00 | A report from the Committee on Climate Change on the role of local authorities in delivering the UK’s Net Zero ambition. |
Local network | Cambridge Resilience Map | Network | 0:10:00 | A network map of environmental and social justice groups in Cambridge city. Useful for finding local like-minded organisations, seeing common connections and contributing to proactive collaboration across Cambridge. |
Local action | Zero Carbon Britain | Guidance | - | Resources for councils, communities and other organisations on reaching net zero. |
Local action | Collective for Climate Action | Network | - | A self-organised network of public sector employees working throughout the UK to build ambition in government on addressing the climate and biodiversity crisis. |
Local action | Local Government Case Studies | Case studies | - | Case studies of innovative council programmes. |
Local Action Plan | Neighbourhood planning in a climate emergency | Report | 0:45:00 | A guide to policy writing and community engagement for low-carbon neighbourhood plans |
National schemes | Centre for Sustainable Energy | Community energy saving charity | - | A wealth of information on local energy initiatives and the role they have to play in the transformation of the UK’s energy system. |
Local action | Local Energy Options – A Guidance Document for Local Government | Guidance | - | A guidance document outlining the options and opportunities for local energy. |
Local action | Climate Emergency Centres | Network | - | Support to establish self funding community climate hubs in disused buildings. |
Download slides for this session
Now that you have completed your ’Listening Campaign’ and the ‘Shaping your Initiative’ activity, it is time to review your short list of potential activities and prioritise them further.
This session will look at:
Title | Type | Priority | Level | Time | Details |
Developing a Project Plan | Video | Core | Beginner | 0:04:00 | A short video for community groups on developing a project plan. |
Project Planning for Beginners - Project Management Training | Video | Core | Beginner | 0:06:00 | A short video breaking planning down to its basics. |
Title | Type | Priority | Level | Time | Details |
Managing a community project | Video | Medium | Beginner | 0:12:00 | An overview of managing more complex community projects. |
How To Create a Project Plan: the foolproof way to guarantee the success of any project | Video | Medium | Beginner | 0:07:00 | A clear overview of how to go about creating a project plan. |
How to get started with a project in your community | Website | Medium | Beginner | 0:18:00 | Step by step guide on how to engage your local community, develop a project and make a plan for it. |
How to set up a community group successfully | Website | Medium | Beginner | 0:15:00 | Where to start and what to think about if you're setting up a new community group. |
Community Hubs handbook | Publication | Low | Beginner | 1:00:00 | An informative and detailed handbook on setting up local community hubs. |
Thrive Renewables Community Benefit Programme | Grant | Low | Intermediate | 0:06:00 | Grants for energy saving measures in community buildings |
Salix | Grant | Low | Intermediate | 0:02:00 | Government funding to the public sector to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and lower energy bills |
The National Lottery Community Fund | Grant | Medium | Intermediate | 0:02:00 | National lottery funding for community climate projects. |
In this session we will explore:
Title | Type | Time | Details |
Coordinating volunteers | Website | 0:05:00 | Very basic guidance from NCVO to coordinating volunteers. |
Recruiting volunteers | Website | 0:10:00 | A NCVO page with advice for finding, appointment and refusal of volunteers. |
NCVO: Supporting and Managing Volunteers | Website | 0:30:00 | Guidance from NCVO. Including how to support, supervise and get feedback, how to keep volunteers engaged, solving volunteer problems and dismissing a volunteer. |
Choosing the right organisational structure for your group | Article | 0:08:00 | Article from mycommunity.org.uk. Some of the links are broken but it's a useful overview on type of organisation you might want to form and how to decide. |
How to keep volunteers happy and engaged | Booklet | 0:15:00 | Booklet from Semble. Uses 6 Cs as a strategy for engagement: connection, communication, coordination, care, celebration, co-creation. |
Safeguarding and volunteers | Website | 0:10:00 |
A NCVO page introducing safeguarding for volunteers and outlining some key principles. Also including links to Covid-19 guidelines.
|
Getting volunteer insurance | Website | 0:10:00 |
A NCVO page introducing different types of insurances that might be relevant to your organisation and how to get it.
|
Writing volunteer role descriptions | Website | 0:10:00 | A NCVO page with advice for writing a volunteer role description. |
Title | Type | Time | Details |
McClelland's Achievement-Based Motivational Theory and Models | Article | 10:00 | A technical read on motivation theory for those wanting more of a deep dive into the psychology behind motivation. |
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs | Article | 10:00 | A background and overview of Maslow's research and theory into human behaviour and motivation for those wanting more of a deep dive into the psychology behind motivation. |
NCVO: Involving Volunteers | Website | 00:05-1:00 | Practical and step by step guidance from NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations) to help you manage volunteers and the process of volunteering well. NCVO is a well-respected organisation that provides training, support and advice to the voluntary sector as well as both helping to connect organisations together and representing the voluntary sector to government. |
My Community | Website | 00:05-1:00 | A hub with lots of resources on things relating to communities. Find resources on funding, help creating partnerships, marketing, engaging communities, business and finances, governance and organisational structure, and staff and volunteer management. |
Time well spent: A national survey on the volunteer experience | Report | 00:10:00-01:00:00 | A report of a survey into the reasons why people volunteer. Study from 2019 (pre-COVID). |
NCVO: Understanding Volunteering | Website | 00:05-1:00 | Guidance from NCVO. Including what is volunteering, why involve volunteers, writing a volunteer strategy and equity, diversity and inclusion in volunteering. |
Bang the Table | Tool | 00:05-1:00 | An online platform for engaging community and stakeholders in decision making. |
New Local | Network | 00:05-1:00 | An independent think tank and network of councils, with a mission to transform public services and unlock community power. |
Writing a volunteer strategy | Website | 0:20:00 | A NCVO page with advice for writing a volunteering strategy featuring some useful examples. |
Writing a volunteer policy | Website | 0:10:00 | A NCVO page with advice for writing a volunteer strategy. |
NCVO: Recruiting and welcoming volunteers | Website | 00:05:00-01:00:00 | Guidance from NCVO. Including how to recruit volunteers, writing a volunteer agreement and running a volunteer induction. |
NCVO: Motivation and engagement | Website | 0:10:00 | Article from NCVO on motivating and engaging staff. This mainly focuses on employees but there is some useful advice in here on motivating teams in general, for example finding out about people's motivations and what their needs are in a role. |
From Conflict to Co-operation | Booklet | 00:30:00-01:00:00 | 5 booklets from Co-operatives UK Limited on how to manage conflict in an organisation. Booklets are as follows: Booklet 1: Conflict - where it comes from and how to deal with it Booklet 2: Communication skills Booklet 3: Meetings and decision-making Booklet 4: Organisational growth and development Booklet 5: Role and responsibilities of the board |
In our final session we:
Title | Type | Time | Details |
Britain Talks Climate | Toolkit | 1:00 | If you haven't looked through this already in Part 1 of this course, this is a key toolkit to look through in preparation for Session 8. An evidence-based toolkit from Climate Outreach looking specifically at the British population and how they can be engaged in climate issues. |
Listen, learn, adapt: Engaging your community in a meaningful way | Toolkit | 1:00 | A detailed toolkit by Locality that gives details of different ways you can reach communities. These include tips on reaching through events, posters, newsletters and local radio as well as the benefits and challenges to different digital tools (e.g. Mailchimp, Youtube, SurveyMonkey, Canva etc.). This toolkit provides a number of case studies of different projects and has a more in-depth section specifically on neighbourhood planning. The first 37 pages are core reading for this course |
Title | Type | Time | Details |
Five tips from the front lines of talking about climate change | Article | 0:05 | World Economic Forum article with communication tips about climate change. Most relevent is number 5 - giving people meaningful agency. |
Understanding digital communications, campaigns and content | Article | 0:15 | An article providing a very basic introduction to digital communications, campaigns and content. The focus is on the charity sector but there are a lot of crossovers to other organisations. Useful for those with little existing knowledge of social media and other digital platforms. |
How to create a social media strategy in 8 steps | Article | 0:20 | An article by Hootsuite providing a step by step guide to support businesses to market their products. While this is focused towards businesses, these steps can be used to raise awareness of projects or campaigns in your community. |
Beginning Graphic Design: The Fundamentals | Video | 0:06 | A brief introduction on the use of lines, shapes, form and texture when designing graphics. Useful starting place for anyone needing to know the basics of design to create posters, social media graphics, leaflets etc. |
How to use Canva for beginners | Video | 0:10 | A tutorial for using the free design software Canva. Useful for designing social media graphics, posters, leaflets etc. |
New Conversations: LGA guide to engagement | Toolkit | 1:00 | A toolkit from the Local Government Association for councillors and officers working to build a stronger dialogue between council and community. The focus is on local authorities but there are cross overs with community groups and engagement. |
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