Carbon Literacy Training gives accountants a stronger understanding of climate change, carbon emissions and the role businesses can play. But the most important question comes afterwards: what should you actually do with that knowledge?
The next step does not need to be a complex sustainability service or detailed carbon report. Start by turning your Carbon Literacy pledge into a simple internal routine, then use that experience to begin practical conversations with clients.
Why Carbon Literacy pledges can lose momentum
The pledges made at the end of Carbon Literacy Training are genuine. However, good intentions can easily become lost among client deadlines, compliance work and the day-to-day pressures of running an accountancy firm.
This is known as the intention–behaviour gap: the difference between intending to do something and following through.
Research covering 94 studies found that pairing an intention with a specific “if–then” plan had a significant effect on whether people achieved their goals.
For example, a broad pledge such as “we will reduce unnecessary business travel” is less likely to succeed than:
“When arranging a meeting, we will offer an online option before booking travel.”
The solution is not more motivation. It is building the action into something your firm already does.
Turn your pledge into an internal routine
Choose one pledge from your training and connect it to an existing process:
- Choose one area — such as energy, travel, printing, purchasing, suppliers or meetings.
- Add one manageable action — a default change or short recurring task, rather than a broad commitment.
- Decide when it will happen — for example, whenever supplies are ordered or during the first team meeting of each month.
- Give it a named owner — shared responsibility often means nobody feels accountable.
- Record it where work already happens — use your existing task system, meeting agenda or checklist.
- Review it periodically — add a two-minute update to a meeting that already takes place.
Small, low-admin changes help your firm build practical experience without adding unnecessary complexity.
Why this matters to clients
Accountants already help SMEs improve efficiency, manage costs, assess risk and plan ahead. Sustainability can connect naturally to each of these areas.
However, client conversations are more credible when your firm can speak from experience. You do not need to present your business as a perfect example. Being able to explain what you tried, what was manageable and what you learned can make sustainability feel much more realistic to an SME client.
A simple sustainability advisory workflow
You do not need to begin with a full carbon footprint or lengthy report.
Start with one client and use this six-step workflow during an existing meeting:
- Introduce the subject naturally during a quarterly review, year-end meeting or planning conversation.
- Ask a consistent set of questions covering energy, travel, waste, suppliers, customer requirements and finance.
- Give each area a simple low, medium or high rating.
- Produce a one-page summary explaining where the client stands, what is driving the issue and where action may be needed.
- Agree one specific next step, rather than giving the client a long list of actions.
- Record the conversation in the client file so the next review can build on it.
The immediate output is not a complicated sustainability report. It is clarity, confidence and an agreed next step.
Because the process is repeatable, your firm can test it with a small number of suitable clients before deciding whether to develop a wider sustainability advisory service.
What to do this week
Choose two small actions before the working week ends:
Within your firm: Select one Carbon Literacy pledge and connect it to an existing process, owner and review date.
With a client: Identify one suitable upcoming meeting and test the six-step advisory workflow.
The aim is not to build a complete service immediately. It is to move from training into practical experience.
Take the next step through Sustainability Suite membership
Sustainability Suite members can access two practical resources to help put their Carbon Literacy Training into action:
Advisory Starter Workflow
A step-by-step guide for structuring an initial sustainability conversation with a client, using a repeatable process you can apply in an upcoming meeting.
Internal Routines Checklist
A practical list of low-admin changes that can be incorporated into your firm’s existing operations.
Pledges made during a training session can easily become lost during a busy working week. A clear workflow, named owner and immediate next action are much harder to lose.
Download the resources from your Sustainability Suite membership, select one internal process and identify one client conversation to begin with.
References
- The intention–behaviour gap — Behavioral Times.
- Implementation Intentions and Goal Achievement: A Meta-analysis of Effects and Processes — Gollwitzer and Sheeran.
- Embracing Sustainability: Actions for SMEs — Accounting for Sustainability.