Astrid Fischer – Skills Bootcamp: Future Climate Leaders

Get to know our Skills Bootcamp: Future Climate Leaders alumna Astrid

Astrid Fischer – Skills Bootcamp: Future Climate Leaders

Get to know our Skills Bootcamp: Future Climate Leaders alumna Astrid

1. What support did you receive?

We had a range of tools available, along with guest speakers from various backgrounds who shared their experiences.

The online sessions included breakout rooms for one-to-one interactions, and each session provided resources such as strategic tools, slide decks, and links for further information. Engaging with other students and tutors also offered useful contacts and helpful insights.

2. How did you find the delivery of the course?

The online delivery was flexible, as I didn’t need to travel to a venue, I could start immediately and get back to work as soon as the course finished.

What made this particular online model great was that there were plenty of exercises, which allowed for one-on-one contact with other participants as well as the chance to speak to the whole cohort.

3. What was your favourite experience on the course?

I enjoyed learning new strategic skills, such as using the Scope Analyse Vision Implement (SAVI) canvas. It’s a tool that helps me look at a problem from different points of view.

I define the problem, then explore the positives, the negatives, and anything else of interest. By looking at it from different angles, I can start imagining the best possible outcome and figure out the steps needed to get there. It’s a real strategic skill because before, I would just see the problem and think of an answer, but now I consider it from multiple perspectives. That’s what makes it more strategic: I think not just about the immediate solution, but short-term and long-term implications from different viewpoints.

The communication session was another area I enjoyed. It used a similar approach, putting me in the shoes of the person I’m communicating with: how can I engage them, what do we have in common, and how can I use that common ground to get my message across?

This is especially useful when speaking to someone with very different points of view.

4. How did you apply the learnings from your course to your workplace?

The learnings from this course have already started to benefit our organisation and will continue to influence our future sustainability plans. For example, it has helped me with writing our first carbon communication piece and understanding how to explain our initial carbon footprint analysis to colleagues. This is helping them see the importance of net zero and how we can set achievable goals moving forward.

One of the key takeaways for me has been the importance of communication, not just internally, but also with our clients. It’s not just our organisation that needs to reach net zero by 2050; our clients do as well. As a consultancy, we support our clients in making strategic decisions, so any knowledge I gain can be passed on to them, helping to create a ripple effect where one conversation spreads awareness and encourages action across a wider community.

For example, with clients interested in renewable energy, we currently provide renewable energy pricing. What I hope to do going forward is give all clients both renewable and non-renewable pricing, along with information on potential carbon reductions. I will also set up a template so clients can calculate their carbon impact automatically. We plan to start gradually, responding to client feedback along the way.

Outside of work, I’ve already applied parts of the course while volunteering with my local community energy group, by influencing a major supplier on a solar farm in our area.