Building a strategy-supportive culture for real change

There are many roadmaps and frameworks to follow, for organisations to become agents of transformative change, but so many are focused narrowly on the environmental pillar of sustainability.

It is our view, and the view of many of our peers, that so much of the conversation around sustainability is unaspirational, with a limited focus on “decarbonisation” and the “race” to net zero. Sustainability is also about people, equity and partnership. A compliance mindset can only take us so far, and not far enough. 

A compliance approach taken top-down can make huge reduction in emissions scopes 1 and 2, but if we are not also building a broad culture of change, then this is as far as we get.    

All of our key services take the birds-eye view. Whether a one-day workshop or a long-term partnership, we are committed to ensuring that sustainable development is the galvanising force for change, and that everyone is included. 

True sustainability requires deep, systemic change, but we do not, and cannot do it alone. Let’s get started! 

Services for Everyone ↓

 Sustainability is everyone’s business, and though contexts vary, these are services we provide to Education Institutions, private sector organisations, community groups, NGOs and other Civil Society Organisations. 

Fractional Sustainability Management

Employing a Sustainability Manager is just not feasible for small to mid-size organisations. Add to this the fact that the sustainability journey is one of constant change, growth and adaptation, so ensuring that you hire someone with all of the requisite skills and expertise is a big ask. Our Fractional Sustainability Manager is not one person, but a small group of trusted professionals who are available to you for a fixed number of days each month. Whether you are focusing on site biodiversity or decarbonising your in-house catering, this service ensures you will have access to the right expertise at the right time 

We can help with

-Staff or student training, and bespoke learning design

-Measuring, reducing and reporting emissions

-Mapping your activity to the SDGs and Producing impact reports

-Building sustainability capacity, momentum and visibility

-Conducting biodiversity surveys

-Planning, strategy and partnerships for sustainability

-internal and external communication

 

 

Learning Design

We have designed many courses and training workshops on all things sustainability,online and on the ground. Our most popular workshops have been around emissions reduction and reporting, and on Sustainability Leadership Strategy.

We can also design courses for you as high-quality SCORM files, which you can own, brand and use with no restrictions or per-learner fee. Whatever you need, we can work quickly to deliver your course via Articulate 360 and SCORM export.

Courses for Clients in 2022-24

-Understanding Environmental Sustainability (L4, RQF)

-Sustainability for the Personal Care sector (L2 RQF)

-Sustainability for the Food & Drink sector (L2 RQF)

-Sustainability Bootcamp (DoE Partnership course)

-Education for Sustainable Development (L4 RQF)

-Climate Justice and Activism (L4 RQF)

-Decarbonising Our Organisation (L4 RQF)

 

 

true north connect

Connect- Day Retreats

These are half to full day experiences, designed with both students or employees in mind, but which work equally well with leadership teams.

Most Sustainability learning begins with the science of GHG emissions, but there is much that should come before.  Our Connect experience takes place in a Rewilding Centre in the Scottish Highlands,  and invites particpants to reflect on their sense of agency and responsibility in facing the challenges ahead.  Changing behaviour means changing mindsets and that has to come from reflection and space to explore a shift in perspective. We will begin to offer these in September 2024. 

Interested?

We would love to hear from researchers or practitioners in behaviour change. We have drawn on a wide range of evidence and frameworks to design this experience, and are working across disciplines with artists, writers and others.

As we develop this further, we welcome insight and collaboration, so please do not hesitate to reach out for a chat. 

 

 

Specific Services for The Education Sector ↓

We work with FE, HE, and Secondary in the UK and worldwide. Below are some of the services we offer, but these are constantly evolving as we respond to the needs of our clients, and to the latest research and practice. Please do get in touch with us to learn more about any of these, or to discuss your own bespoke needs. 

 

 

Student and Staff Training

From working with teachers on mapping and embedding the Sustainable Development Goals, to delivering learning experiences on decarbonisation, activism and so much more, we have a wider range of training pathways both online and in person.

This bespoke service fully adapts to the needs of your staff, and is tailored to your institution, so you will find no generic one-size-fits-all approach with us.

Our teacher training has tended to be delivering 3-4 workshops to the same group over an academic year, to allow time to act, reflect and feed back. However, we have also delivered one-off full-day sessions to new teachers, worked with small groups more extensively through the year, and everything in between.

We have also worked with groups of non-teaching staff, such as those working in estates, support services and marketing.

Examples of Our Workshops in 2023-24

-An introduction to Education for Sustainable Development (3 hours)

-Mapping and embedding sustainability in the curriculum (9 hours)

-Supporting learners to deal with climate anxiety (3 hours)

-Exploring the EUAC Roadmap and building institutional strategy (12 hours)

-Getting stakeholders on board in a transformative institution (6 hours)

-Decarbonising our college and the hard yards of scope 3 (6 hours)

-Building a strategy supportive culture for a sustainable university (6 hours)

-The campus as a living lab for sustainability (6 hours)

 

staff training

Communication support- Impact and Partnerships

What does it all matter, if nobody knows about it?  From student recruitment to staff retention, and partnerships across public and private sectors, getting your internal and external communication right will help build visibility and momentum.

We offer a specialist service that covers everything from content creation to impact reporting, staff training and optimisation of paid and organic messaging to let the world know that your institution is not just talking the talk, but truly walking the walk.

Sustainability Impact Reporting

In 2024, we are launching a student-led project for FE and HE, in which students develop a qualitative impact report for the institution, covering all of the 17 SDGs.

Working in partnership with community groups, teachers, staff and the marketing team, they not only develop critical skills, but also build momentum and visibility for the sustainability transition in their college or university.

 

Chatbots are fine for other robots. If you want to talk things over with a human, however, send us a message here and one will get right back to you. 

Even if your project is still just an idea and only exists on a post-it note, that’s fine with us. Reach out to us at any stage to talk things over. Big ideas are what we do best.   

INNOVATION IS OUR PASSION

We work with institutions and organisations big and small, and can manage projects suited to a range of budgets. We love to talk ideas, projects and innovations. Everyone who works at True North comes from the classroom, and innovating that core experience is where our passion will always be. 

 

 

working towards a better future

Get in touch

+44 (0)7384 712 390

mark@truenorthconsult.co.uk

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