Carbon Literacy training at Bristol Medical School - a case study

Before Carbon Literacy

Before we started our Carbon Literacy journey, sustainability was already part of the culture of Bristol Medical School. Climate change and its relevance to health was covered extensively in the undergraduate medical curriculum. We had also taken many steps to reduce our carbon footprint, particularly in our labs. In 2024, we were awarded Gold LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Action Framework) certification in all our labs, making us the first medical school in the world to achieve this. Alongside our active staff and student Climate Action Group, there was growing interest around sustainability, leading Bristol Medical School to introduce Carbon Literacy training, helping staff and students to understand how they could reduce their own carbon footprints and embed sustainability across the School.

During Carbon Literacy

Carbon Literacy training was initially delivered by the Sustainability Officer at Bristol Medical School. Following certification, participants were encouraged and supported to become trainers themselves which enabled us to expand delivery across the School, while also developing individuals’ skills, confidence and leadership in sustainability.

Learners were engaged in creating their personal and group actions in several ways. The training already emphasises that individual decisions and behaviours can drive meaningful change. We shared examples of successful sustainability initiatives already achieved, alongside the processes and channels available to support further action. Time was built into each session for participants to discuss and refine their pledge ideas with other attendees and encourage collaboration.

The main challenge in delivering the Carbon Literacy training is operating within a large, multi-site and diverse School, making it difficult to engage all staff and students and ensure the content feels relevant to varied roles. To address this, we used all available communication channels to maximise awareness and participation. Trainers also took time to understand attendees’ specific roles, enabling tailored messaging during the sessions and when supporting the development of individual actions. Time and workload pressures were an additional barrier, with some staff concerned about their capacity to attend. To mitigate this, we offered flexible delivery formats to accommodate different schedules.

In delivering Carbon Literacy, we aimed to engage all spheres of influence within the School, including senior leadership, staff and students. We began by training senior leaders, recognising that their support would be critical in encouraging wider participation and demonstrating organisational commitment. We then prioritised academic and professional services staff, alongside postgraduate students, as these groups hold distinct roles and influence across teaching, research and operations.

We have successfully embedded Carbon Literacy within the undergraduate curriculum, enabling us to engage all Year 1 students. This delivery is supported by trained staff and students who have committed to contributing to the programme, helping to scale and sustain its impact across the School.

After Carbon Literacy

Since we started rolling out Carbon Literacy training in 2024, we have now trained over 580 staff and students who are actively working to make the School and University a more sustainable place. We achieved the Bronze Carbon Literate Educator Accreditation in 2024 and are continuing to roll out training to staff and students with the hope to receive Gold Accreditation in 2026. In addition to training this year’s cohort of undergraduate students in March 2026, we are working on developing our own Carbon Literacy materials for medical students.

All our learners have committed to highly effective actions following their training including: reducing business travel emissions, transitioning to a plant-based diet, investigating the carbon footprint of daily digital computing, commuting to work by active travel, exploring the possibility of including sustainability in grant and ethics applications and many more. Following the training, one researcher interrailed from Bristol to Switzerland for teaching last year and saved 600kg of carbon!

A member of our research staff has given this testimonial about their pledge and its positive impact both on them and the people around them: “My pledge was to travel by train into work rather than by car – I’ve saved about 1kg carbon equivalent per week since starting the pledge. I’ve found the Carbon Literacy training incredibly helpful and influential. It has renewed my sense of hopefulness and agency around climate change. As well as changing my behaviour at work, e.g. travelling by train instead of car, ordering meat-free catering for meetings and workshops, it has also changed my behaviour at home. As a direct result of the training, I have: installed a water-saving shower head, virtually eliminated single-use plastic packaging in the food I buy, e.g. by using my own containers at a refill shop, and reduced single-use plastics in the toiletries I use, e.g. switching to solid body wash and hair products. The training has also equipped me with the language and tools to influence friends, family, and colleagues to reduce their carbon footprints.” Other members of staff have also written about how they have put their pledges into action in our Bristol Medical School Sustainability blog.

One of the most significant achievements we have seen is the incredible culture shift within the School. Sustainability has always been important, but we are now seeing it considered in all levels of decision making with so many people across the School feeling more motivated and empowered to help make us more sustainable. For example, we now have a policy to only provide vegan and vegetarian food at our events which we estimate will reduce carbon emissions by 14,165kgCO2_e every year.

Alongside rolling out Carbon Literacy training there are a number of other sustainability initiatives we will be working on over the coming year, including implementing Green DiSC certification, writing a sustainable business travel policy, reviewing our lab consumables and looking to reduce single use plastics, consolidating our cold storage and much more.

We are very excited to see what sustainability looks like in the future in Bristol Medical School and look forward to continuing to roll out Carbon Literacy training to our staff and students.