When The Carbon Almanac was published in summer 2022, Working the Future bought bulk copies to distribute to local schools and libraries. 

In July 2023, the opportunity arose to donate further copies to support a secondary school project in Buckinghamshire. In its second year, the Green Schools Challenge is a competition organised by Buckinghamshire Council in partnership with Bucks Skills Hub and local businesses. 

It invites Year 12 students to collaborate with business professionals already working in the field of clean tech and / or sustainability to develop an idea that improves sustainability in their local ecosystem. Its goal is to help young adults build business acumen and employability by showcasing their ideas for a lower carbon future.

Schools entering the competition were matched with local businesses and invited to pitch their idea in a Dragons Den style. The final took place in early December and Cat was invited to be a judge.

Each group of students showed deep passion and flair in their presentations. It was heartening to see how much thought had gone into each proposal and invigorating to see young adults care so deeply about the environment. While impossibly hard to decide an overall winner, the competition demonstrated how much more might be achieved if, within the business community, we better supported local schools and young adults to bring their sustainability ideas to life. 

As extreme weather events become increasingly dire, there really is no such thing as a bad idea when it comes to reducing emissions. The secret, of course, is first of all awareness and then the willingness to contribute to local community goals in addition to purely profit maximisation.