Meet our new Carbon Literacy trainer: Sonia Drake-Pighini

Our Carbon Literacy journey is going from strength to strength, and we’re delighted to have Sonia join our team of certified Carbon Literacy trainers.

Carbon Literacy is an awareness of the carbon costs and impacts of everyday activities and the ability and motivation to reduce emissions on an individual, community and organisational basis. Developed by The Carbon Literacy Project into a day’s worth of training, it empowers participants to make informed, lower-impact choices.

Our accredited Carbon Literacy training for the packaging sector has been running for over two years and is equipping businesses with the knowledge to reduce their carbon emissions and rethink the packaging they place on the market.

We now have five certified Carbon Literacy trainers in our team, and we run regular sessions throughout the year. If you’re interested in joining our next session, see our upcoming training dates here.

We caught up with Sonia to find out what inspired her to become a trainer, and what she hopes attendees take away from the experience.

Q: What drew you to become a Carbon Literacy trainer, and what does Carbon Literacy mean to you personally?

A: I have always been passionate about sustainability and climate science. I hold two degrees in sustainability science but haven’t always had the opportunity to apply them fully in my day‑to‑day role. Becoming a Carbon Literacy trainer felt like a natural step, a way to give voice to that passion, encourage meaningful action, and help others better understand their impact on the environment.

Carbon Literacy is about awareness, but also about having the knowledge, confidence, and willingness to act, and to inspire others to do the same. I firmly believe that change starts with small ripples of action. If I can influence the people around me and inspire others through training, those ripples can grow into a significant impact, both for individuals and for the organisation as a whole.

Q: Why is Carbon Literacy so important for organisations right now?

A: Something that has become increasingly clear, and is strongly emphasised in our training, is that climate change is no longer a problem of tomorrow. It is happening now, affecting all of us, and presenting a real, present‑day business risk. The better organisations understand this, and the more they equip themselves with the tools to respond, the more resilient they become.

Carbon Literacy is not just about raising awareness of climate change and our impact on the environment; it is about giving people the knowledge, confidence and motivation to take meaningful action.

Q: How do you make the training sessions engaging and relevant for attendees?

A: The key to making training engaging and truly relevant is ensuring that participants feel included and that their perspectives matter. Our Carbon Literacy training is very much peer‑to‑peer, and we actively encourage people to share their experiences and viewpoints.

I believe shared learning is one of the most effective ways to learn, and this approach consistently leads to insightful and thought‑provoking conversations throughout the session. Those discussions are what make the content more memorable, meaningful, and relevant for everyone involved.

Q: How did your first Carbon Literacy training session go, and what stood out to you on the day?

A: I thought it was a fantastic experience. It’s always a challenge to get through all the content and keep to the timings, especially when so many interesting discussions and debates emerge that you don’t want to cut short. Those moments are often the most valuable part of the session. What continued to amaze me was the level of interest people have in this topic and how new insights kept coming up. As someone said in the session, “every day is a school day”, and that really couldn’t be more true.

Q: What do you hope attendees take away and implement after the training?

I truly hope that people leave our training feeling inspired and equipped with the tools to take practical action within their businesses, and that they in turn go on to inspire their colleagues and peers.

Throughout the session, we aim to bring the training to life by sharing real examples of what other organisations have done, demonstrating that meaningful action is possible in many different ways.

My hope is that participants take those insights, make them their own, and think creatively about how they can apply them within their own organisations. I strongly believe that big change comes from the ripple effects of small, consistent actions. No matter your role within a company, there is always an opportunity to influence positive change.