Becoming a Carbon Literate Organisation

Corra is a philanthropic organisation. Our mission is to make a difference with people and communities by encouraging positive change, opportunities, fairness and growth of aspirations, which improve quality of life.

Our journey towards Carbon Literacy began in 2016 when we began management of the Scottish Government’s Climate Justice Innovation Fund. This was a £1.5 million grants programme to support innovative responses to the climate crisis.

In 2018 a group of Corra staff members formed a working group called the Green Team, and this achieved several positive changes including the introduction of Active Travel incentives.

Corra took the decision to commit to becoming a Carbon Literate Organisation (CLO) in 2021. This was the year we signed the Funders Commitment to Climate Change (FCC) and began working towards the six FCC Pillars in earnest. This marked the beginning of an intense period of change.

We have been supported on this journey by The Carbon Literacy Project. The process has been smooth as we have had great engagement from our staff team and board. Today we are a Carbon Literate Organisation (CLO) and currently hold a Bronze Award.

Some of our key achievements over the past 3 years include:

• Carbon Literacy training is now a core component of the suite of training packages all staff are required to complete.
• Decarbonising investments. Corra’s investments are currently managed through Sarasin’s Climate Active Endowment Fund and Cazenove’s Responsible Multi-Asset Fund. Both funds support the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and encourage the transition to renewable energy through influence and investment.
• We have made two strategic grants with an environmental focus. Young People’s Forest and BREATHE.
• Changes have been made to internal processes to allow us to identify and note any work we fund with a climate focus.
• Carbon Literacy has been integrated into our performance management accounting, this captures data on our carbon emissions which are published in our Annual Accounts.

In addition to the fundamental organisational changes are listed above, the Carbon Literacy training also has had an impact on individual colleagues. Inspired by the training, they have been on personal journeys to cut their own carbon footprints. This has included actions such as changing shopping habits, making different transportation choices, and adopting ‘greener’ ways of heating their homes.