And why Carbon Literacy was our first step
At Red Oak Consulting, we’ve always believed in doing the right thing. As a team of problem solvers working at the centre of HPC and cloud transformation, we pride ourselves on helping organisations use technology efficiently, responsibly and intelligently.
But by early 2024, one thing had become clear: while sustainability mattered to us, our approach lacked structure. Efforts were happening, but they were happening individually, not as a coordinated, company-wide commitment.
The partners cared deeply, and there were teammates making thoughtful choices and bringing sustainability into conversations with our customers, but we didn’t yet have a shared framework, shared language, or shared ownership of our environmental impact.
Early 2024 was a turning point; Microsoft now required us to calculate, report on and actively manage our carbon footprint in order to remain a supplier.
Someone had to own this so, as I was already active in climate-related charity work, I stepped into a dual role as Finance AND Sustainability Director.
The mission was to guide our sustainability efforts and help us calculate our footprint for the first time. Once we saw the data for the first time, the conversation changed.
Seeing our impact in black and white, and the requirements from partners like Crown Commercial and Microsoft that we have a Carbon Reduction Plan, gave the topic a regular spot in the Board Room. It was the push that made us realise something important:
If sustainability was going to be a core part of our business, it needed to be embedded rather than ad hoc.
We solidified our Net-Zero commitments at Board level and realised that becoming a more sustainable organisation required more than policies or spreadsheets, more than one person working in silo.
It required people. Knowledgeable, engaged, empowered people.
So, the question became: how do we bring everyone with us?
Why Carbon Literacy?
We chose Carbon Literacy (combined with Climate Fresk) because it aligns perfectly with who we are as a consultancy:
- It builds understanding, not just compliance.
- It centres around real-world evidence and practical action.
- It creates collective responsibility, not isolated champions.
- It’s hands-on and engaging, great for building a team feeling around the topic and encouraging discussion and ideas from everyone.
On 7 April 2025, our journey officially began when we delivered a bespoke Carbon Literacy course to the entire organisation, designed and led by me in my role as Sustainability Director and built for the digital and tech sector we operate in.
This was not a tick‑box training exercise. It was about creating a common foundation of knowledge and interest – one that every colleague, regardless of role or background, could take and turn into action.
Recognising Our Starting Point
Before Carbon Literacy, we were like many growing companies:
- Sustainability work happening in silo
- Limited documentation
- No organisation‑wide reduction targets
- Good intentions, but few formal structures
We weren’t starting from zero, but we weren’t yet moving as one aligned team. And as a consultancy trusted by clients for expertise and insight, we knew we needed to lead by example.
Carbon Literacy became our answer to the question:
How do we take the informal commitment we feel and turn it into something consistent across the company that can deliver on the actions and the impact we know we want to have?
Laying the Groundwork for the Future
Although this post is about the starting line, it’s impossible not to hint at what’s ahead in this series.
Carbon Literacy didn’t just give us knowledge. It sparked ideas, conversations, energy, and ownership across the company.
It also gave us the momentum to take the next step: achieving ISO 14001 in December 2025, which then helped turn the enthusiasm from Carbon Literacy into the structured, accountable environmental management system that we needed.
But that part of the story comes later.
For now, this post marks the beginning of our journey:
A company-wide realisation that sustainability wasn’t a side topic. It was a shared responsibility, a strategic priority, and a critical part of our identity moving forward.
In the next post, we’ll take you inside the Carbon Literacy training itself – how it worked, what we learned, and how it brought our whole organisation together.
Sarah Read
Director of Finance & Sustainability
Red Oak Consulting
