Drive transformative climate action from within the workforce.
Are you feeling a personal disconnect between your climate beliefs and where you spend your time? Do you want to help your community or workplace be part of building a resilient and equitable city? Are you ready to make a tangible impact on climate change through your organisation?
ClimateWorks is excited to be opening up applications again for 2025! Apply by January 5th!
New applicants will be joining the existing cohort in our action phase of the program. Are you interested in implementing a climate action project in your workplace or community? Receive mentorship, coaching, and support from early planning through execution. Sample plans include emissions reductions, sustainable transitions, policy shifts, and many more! If you’re looking for support in taking your climate plan to the next level – apply today!
Overview
ClimateWorks Lab is a pilot program that provides space for employed youth (ages 18-30) to create their own pathway to greener careers. The program invites young employees from various sectors, including hospitality, professional services, trades, arts and culture and more, to collaborate with their employers and communities to contribute to climate sustainability initiatives within their sphere of influence. Following CityHive’s Knowledge-to-Action framework, you will leave with new intrapreneurial skills and resources needed to drive climate action from within your organisation or community.
The workshop series follows the Knowledge-to-Action Framework:
CityHive’s Knowledge-to-Action Framework is rooted in community-based learning, relationship building, and partner-supported action planning. This framework builds a learning arc that enables youth to come to the program with any level of understanding or knowledge about civics, climate change, and public space to then develop bold actions to address local challenges.
What You’ll Do
FALL 2024
Learn how local government operates, including jurisdiction and decision-making, to understand the levers for change when taking climate action. Participants will explore the climate crisis’ impact on workplaces and and communities to collaborate on tangible solutions to reduce emissions. Some themes we will be exploring seek to answer questions such as:
- How do local governments make decisions and tackle our cities’ pressing climate issues?
- What is my key role in influencing local climate action and how can we engage with local decision-makers to enact change?
- What is climate justice and why is it important to address within the workforce?
- What are the barriers to creating and sustaining green jobs in different sectors?
- How can sectors embed climate values and shift towards sustainable practices and reduce emissions?
Investigate and Ideate solutions to spark change within the workplace and/or community. Through design-thinking, participants will investigate the challenges that their employers and communities face and opportunities to embed climate values. Participants will explore the questions:
- What is intrapreneurship and how can I leverage my strengths to implement change within my workplace or community?
- How do I develop an actionable plan to bring to my employer or local business/community leaders?
- What are the tools for effective communication and engagement on climate change?
WINTER-SPRING 2025
**Applications Re-Open! Additional Program Spaces Available**
Recap: New program participants receive a condensed 2-day refresher to bring them up to speed on the learnings so far in the program.
Apply and Take Action with your employer or community. For the duration of five months, participants will collaborate with their employer and community partners to implement action projects. Participants will convene once a month as they execute their plans, providing a peer network of support, as well as access to mentors and thought partners. Participants should spend 2-5 hours working on project-related tasks outside of the program sessions. Participants will leave answering the following questions:
- How do I measure my project’s success?
- What can I do when I’m faced with pushback and resistance?
Present your project progress and learn about other participants’ workplace climate initiatives at a Community Showcase & Networking Event. At this event, we will celebrate you with our community!
Quick Facts
- Dates:
- Thursday, January 23 @ 6-8PM *New Participants Only*
- Saturday, January 25 @ 10AM-3PM *New Participants Only*
- Thursday, January 30th @ 6-8PM
- Thursday, February 13th 2025 @ 6-8PM
- Thursday, March 13th 2025 @ 6-8PM
- Thursday, April 10th 2025 @ 6-8PM
- Thursday, May 8th 2025 @ 6-8PM
- Duration:
- Winter/ Spring (Jan-May 2025): 5 monthly sessions
- Community Event (date TBD)
- Location: In-person at Vancouver, location TBC
- Eligibility: Youth ages 18-30
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is this program for?
ClimateWorks Lab is meant to be an entry point for youth who have the capacity to make change within their workplace but don’t know how. This program is for youth who have a basic understanding of climate change and a drive to take transformative action.
Do I need to be already employed to join the program?
Yes, it is expected that participants will be coming into the program already employed – either full-time or part-time – and will be staying with their employer throughout the program (at least until May 2025).
Does my employer need to participate in the program? Do I need my employer’s permission to participate?
No, your employer doesn’t have to participate in the program. While it’s ideal to have your employer’s support, it’s not a requirement for participating in ClimateWorks Lab. We’ll equip you with the skills and knowledge to advocate for change and implement your project, even if your employer is initially hesitant.
What do we do during the program sessions?
Our program sessions are pretty jam-packed. Our sessions are hands-on and interactive – and encourage active participation. We like to say that you’ll get out what you put in. We make sure to utilize body breaks throughout the sessions.
We blend content delivery and workshops with dialogue, group discussions, breakout sessions, and peer-to-peer learning. You can expect that we will
deliver a presentation and invite you into conversation with your peers as we learn together.
How much does it cost to join?
Our programs are free to you! There is ZERO cost to join ClimateWorks Lab. To lower barriers to participation, we do offer honorariums. Please contact us for more information.
Ready to make an impact?
Application Deadline: Sunday, September 15th @ 11:59PM
Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing and rolling basis.
Got Questions?
Email Anjali (ClimateWorks Lab Coordinator) at anjali@cityhive.ca to learn more!
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