Accredited Carbon Literacy Training Tailored for SMEs

Accreditation matters. It is what separates a training course that produces a credible, externally recognised qualification from one that produces an internal certificate with no standing beyond the business that issued it. For an SME in food processing or agri-food, having staff certified by the Carbon Literacy Project – an organisation recognised by the United Nations as a Transformative Action Programme – means the qualification your team gains carries genuine weight with customers, buyers, and auditors.

The challenge for most SMEs is that accredited sustainability training has historically been designed for organisations with the budget, the headcount, and the internal infrastructure to accommodate it. ESG Made Easy's Carbon Literacy training is built differently – structured for the pace, the practicalities, and the business realities of a food SME, without compromising the rigour of the accreditation behind it.

What makes this right for an SME?

An SME typically cannot afford to take large numbers of staff off the floor for extended training programmes. It does not have an L&D team to manage the logistics. And it needs training that connects directly to the work its people do – not a course designed for a corporate sustainability team that then needs to be mentally translated into a food production or agri-food context.

One full day – that's it

The entire training is delivered in a single day, in person, at your premises or a nearby venue. There is no extended programme, no pre-reading requirement, and no ongoing course commitment. One day produces a certified team.

Sector-specific from the start

The course is built for agri-food and food processing. Participants engage with content that reflects their actual working environment – no mental translation required, no generic examples that need adapting.

No prior knowledge needed

Participants do not need a sustainability background or any prior climate training. The course starts from the basics and builds through to sector-specific knowledge and actionable commitments.

Scales with your business

Start with a cohort of managers and supervisors. Add further cohorts as your workforce grows or as your Carbon Literate Organisation accreditation ambitions increase. Each certified employee builds your CLO status.

What the accreditation actually means

The Carbon Literacy Project is the accrediting body. ESG Made Easy is an accredited trainer delivering a course that has been reviewed and approved by the Carbon Literacy Project to meet the Carbon Literacy Standard. This means the content, the delivery, and the evidence requirements all meet an independently set benchmark – not defined by ESG Made Easy, but by the Carbon Literacy Project itself.

When a member of your team completes the training and their evidence is approved, they receive a uniquely numbered certificate issued directly by the Carbon Literacy Project. It is theirs permanently. It goes on their CV, their LinkedIn profile, and their email signature. It can be verified externally. And it is recognised internationally – the same certification used by over 103,000 individuals across thousands of organisations worldwide.

The Carbon Literacy Project does not deliver training directly – it accredits courses delivered by approved trainers. Every certified participant has met an independently verified standard.

What your business gets from a trained cohort

The value of Carbon Literacy training for an SME is not just the individual certificates. It is what a trained cohort does to the climate knowledge and culture of the business. When your managers, supervisors, and key team members share a common, accredited understanding of carbon and climate – grounded in the specific context of your sector – the conversations about sustainability change. Decisions about energy, waste, procurement, and supply chain happen with a clearer shared frame of reference.

What your business has after a trained cohort

📜 Individually certified staff

Every participant holds a uniquely numbered Carbon Literacy certificate from the Carbon Literacy Project – a portable, permanently owned qualification with international recognition.

 📋 Documented carbon reduction pledges

A set of specific, assessed commitments – personal and organisational – made by each participant and submitted to the Carbon Literacy Project as part of their certification evidence.

 🏅 A pathway to Carbon Literate Organisation status

As each cohort is trained and certified, your business builds toward Carbon Literate Organisation accreditation at Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels – a formal, externally recognised mark of organisational commitment.

 💬 A stronger answer to stakeholder questions

When customers, buyers, or auditors ask what your business is doing on climate, a certified workforce – with documented commitments – is a concrete, credible answer that goes beyond a policy statement.

The only agri-food specific course on the market

There are Carbon Literacy courses available across a range of sectors. ESG Made Easy's training is the only fully accredited course built specifically for agri-food and food processing businesses. For an SME in this space, the difference between a generic course and one that speaks directly to your supply chain, your agricultural emissions, your food waste challenges, and your processing operations is significant – in the quality of the learning, the relevance of the pledges, and the action that follows.