First Carbon Literacy® Toolkit for the digital & tech industries launched in Manchester
UK tech companies come together to address unique environmental challenges facing sector
Friday, 24th January 2025, Manchester – At a time when the digital and technology sectors are under growing pressure to reduce carbon emissions, Auto Trader and Manchester Digital have launched the first ever Digital & Technology Carbon Literacy Toolkit in partnership with The Carbon Literacy Project.
This unique industry partnership, between one of the UK’s most admired technology companies and the membership organisation behind Greater Manchester’s thriving tech and digital sector, recognises the importance of improving sustainability in the industry, and the need to address it collectively. Indeed, the Toolkit, which is the first of its kind for digital and technology, has been designed in close collaboration with a number of other leading UK technology businesses, including: Mony Group; Nexer Digital; Littlefish and GlobalLogic UK&I.
The Toolkit was carefully designed to address the unique environmental challenges facing the technology industry, which in 2022 alone accounted for 62 billion kg of e-waste globally[1]. It is available to anyone in the industry, and free for internal use, helping to support both individuals and businesses in their journey towards reducing their carbon footprint.
It was launched at Auto Trader’s head office in Manchester yesterday (23rd January) during a packed ‘sustainability in tech’ event, which as well as panel sessions with leading sustainability experts and thought leaders, included an inspirational talk from Alex Beasley, Patagonia’s Regional Manager, Northern Europe, around the company’s extensive action to reduce its environmental impact.
Its introduction follows the huge success of a bespoke automotive toolkit, which was funded and developed in partnership between Auto Trader and The Carbon Literacy Project. Since its launch in 2021, over 5,000 people from 260 businesses spanning the whole of the automotive industry have become Carbon Literate, helping to save over 18,000 tonnes in carbon emissions.
Nathan Coe, Chief Operating Officer at Auto Trader, which was the first FTSE 100 company to achieve Platinum Carbon Literate Organisation status, commented:
As well as reaching our own ambitious targets of becoming net zero by 2040, we’re equally committed to supporting the wider technology community in meeting its sustainability objectives. Having seen the significant benefits within our business, and the automotive industry before it, we wanted to extend Carbon Literacy training to the technology sector where we believe it has the potential to make a very meaningful and lasting contribution to reducing its carbon footprint. We’re very grateful to our partners for their time in creating the toolkit; this huge collaborative effort is testament to a shared determination to address the industry’s sustainability challenges, and our collective responsibility in reducing it.
Katie Gallagher, Managing Director at Manchester Digital, said:
“This national toolkit is a vital step for the tech industry at a time when climate action is critical. We’re especially proud that it’s been developed here in Manchester—a reflection of the forward-thinking businesses and partnerships driving innovation in our region. We encourage tech companies to make Carbon Literacy a priority in 2025 and put their teams forward to become certified. Huge thanks to Auto Trader and all our partners for their hard work in bringing this toolkit to life.”
Dave Coleman, Managing Director of The Carbon Literacy Project, added:
“The launch of a new Carbon Literacy Toolkit for the Digital and Tech Sector is a really significant initiative from the tech industry. With the accelerating implementation of AI and cloud computing, the tech sector is quickly becoming aware of its need both to understand its own rapidly growing carbon footprint, but also the greater opportunity to use tech as a climate solution and adapt its products and solutions to help others reduce their carbon emissions and grow and support the low carbon economy.”
The Toolkit is designed to support accredited in-house Carbon Literacy training, which is typically delivered during a one-day seminar and can be conducted virtually or face-to-face. It contains all the tools and materials an organisation requires to educate and accredit its employees in Carbon Literacy, including tailored training content, a trainer guide, detailed resources, and dedicated support from a member of the Carbon Literacy Project team which makes it accessible to anybody with good facilitation skills not just experienced training professionals.
Carbon Literacy can help a tech organisation put the brakes on carbon and kick-start their sustainability journey. With every colleague successfully accredited (each of which will receive an individual certificate of accreditation), the organisation can progress towards becoming a fully accredited Carbon Literate Organisation, achieving key milestones (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum) along the way.
For more information, please contact digital@carbonliteracy.com. Or to join the next Carbon Literacy Training Day, hosted by Manchester Digital on February 20, please visit:
https://www.manchesterdigital.com/event/manchester-digital/carbon-literacy-training-day-digital-and-tech-toolkit
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About Auto Trader
Auto Trader Group plc is the UK’s largest automotive marketplace. It listed on the London Stock Exchange in March 2015 and is a member of the FTSE 100 Index.
Auto Trader’s purpose is Driving Change Together. Responsibly. Auto Trader is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive culture, it aims to build stronger partnerships with its customers and use its voice and influence to drive more environmentally friendly vehicle choices.
With the largest number of car buyers and the largest choice of trusted stock, Auto Trader’s marketplace sits at the heart of the UK car buying process. That marketplace is built on an industry-leading technology and data platform, which is increasingly used across the automotive industry. Auto Trader is continuing to bring more of the car buying journey online, creating an improved buying experience, whilst enabling all its retailer partners to sell vehicles online.
Auto Trader publishes a monthly used car Retail Price Index which is based on pricing analysis of circa 800,000 unique vehicles. This data is used by the Bank of England to feed the broader UK economic indicators.
For more information, please visit:
https://plc.autotrader.co.uk/
For all media enquiries, please contact:
Andrew Nankervis | Andrew.nankervis@autotrader.co.uk / 07720 896760
About Manchester Digital
Manchester Digital is the industry body for the tech and digital sector in Greater Manchester. It works to develop the tech sector across the region, represent businesses at policy level and supports digital skills and training.
We are proud to have grown an engaged community of more than 400 members, which includes large corporations, SMEs, startups, freelancers and agencies across all tech verticals.
We work to influence and shape government policy and promote the continued growth of Manchester as a leading UK tech hub on behalf of our members. We also run engaging tech events and conferences, digital skills training, run apprenticeships programmes and initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion in the tech industry.
https://www.manchesterdigital.com/
For all media enquiries, please contact:
Carolyn Hughes, Breathe PR | 07743406503 | carolyn@breathepr.co.uk
About Carbon Literacy® and The Carbon Literacy Project
Established in 2013, The Carbon Literacy Trust (registered charity number: 1156722) oversees the Carbon Literacy Project and the dissemination of Carbon Literacy® across the UK and beyond, for the public good.
The Carbon Literacy Project is a UN-recognised, multi-award-winning low-carbon culture change initiative, enabling everyone who lives, works or studies access to relevant and impactful Carbon Literacy training.
Carbon Literacy® is “an awareness of the carbon costs and impacts of everyday activities, and the ability and motivation to reduce emissions, on an individual, community and organisational basis.”
It is delivered by testing and certifying successful individuals as Carbon Literate after they have participated in a day’s worth of learning and devised actions that optimise their contribution to reducing emissions. With rapidly expanding take-up across the UK and globally, more than 118,000 citizens have now been certified as Carbon Literate.
‘Carbon Literacy’ and the ‘Carbon Literacy Project’ logo (including the use of text, the speech bubble and the style of imagery including people) are registered trademarks®. In general usage and specifically within copy, the term Carbon Literacy is correctly capitalised as a noun: It is therefore “Carbon Literacy” not “carbon literacy”.
The Project's Brand Guidelines covering usage of Carbon Literacy terminology and imagery are available at https://carbonliteracy.com/our-brand-guidelines/
https://carbonliteracy.com/
For all media enquiries, please contact:
Lucia Simmons lucia.simmons@carbonliteracy.com | 0161 298 1782
[1] ITU https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Environment/Pages/Publications/The-Global-E-waste-Monitor-2024.aspx
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