Carbon Literacy for Museums Course

Carbon literacy for Museums Toolkit was created in partnership with Museum Development England, Manchester Museum and the Carbon Literacy Project. The development of these materials was supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. It has been created by museums, for museums, and delivered peer-to-peer.

Delivered over two half days there is a pre course documentary to watch, followed by four modules. On Completion you will get a certificate.

Course schedule

Tuesday 3 February 2026, 13:30 to 17:00 Modules I and II

Wednesday 4 February 2026, 10:00 to 14:00 Modules III and IV

• Module 1: Introduction, climate change science, impacts
• Module 2: The role of museums, climate justice, concept of co-benefits
• Module 3: The policy position (politics/gov), carbon footprints (intro to the concept), low carbon museum case studies
• Module 4: Action planning, having conversations, wrap up

Outcome/qualifications:

At the end of the course, each learner commits to an individual and group pledge - this is important to keep momentum and prioritise impact. These pledges are sent to Carbon Literacy Project who review and are responsible for issuing certificates to all successful learners.

The learner is then certified as “Carbon Literate” and with just a little more training they can then deliver the course to their peers.

As an organisation trains an increasing number of staff, they can work towards Bronze/Silver/Gold status - The British Library achieved Bronze Carbon Literate Organisation (CLO) status recently, and London Transport Museum are a Silver Carbon Literate Organisation (CLO).

Please note:

• This workshop will be delivered online

• All learners need to attend both sessions to complete the training

• This course is suitable for museum professionals in a variety of roles. We have delivered it to a variety of sector colleagues including Heads of Sustainability, Programme leaders, Project Managers, those who work in Communications, Curatorial, Development/fundraising, Exhibitions delivery, Learning, Events, Marketing, Retail, Catering, Visitor Experience

It's an opportunity to learn more into how you can have an impact and what changes you can/need to make professionally and personally. It identifies key areas but doesn’t force feed you the information and allows you to make decisions and considerations of your own. (Exhibitions Project Manager)

The training is very accessible and relevant to anyone. In addition to the large amounts of information about the climate emergency in general, there is a lot of actionable information relevant to my own work and individual habits. (Events Manager)

Everyone should do it, from all industries, especially cultural organisations, since we communicate and engage with audiences in a very emotional and sensorial level. (Communications Manager)

This training provides a great opportunity for inter-departmental learning, contextualising our day-to-day work at the museum within the urgent context of the climate crisis and facilitating ways to work more collaboratively and leverage our power as a cultural institution. (Programme Manager)

Background image: More than Human exhibition at the Design Museum © Photo by Luke Hayes.