DataCamp Donates fights climate change: CDP's journey from R to Python

CDP, a global nonprofit bridging data science and climate change mitigation

I head up Data Analytics at CDP, a nonprofit climate research provider that drives companies and governments to reduce their environmental impact by motivating them to disclose and manage their data. In 2021, over 14,000 companies, cities, states, and regions reported data on climate change, water security, and deforestation, and my team provided market-leading environmental data products and services to these organizations. Since we’re always developing our data products, tools, and platforms, I often face training challenges when I want my team to upskill quickly, but my budget is limited and face-to-face courses are expensive. That’s why DataCamp Donates was a phenomenal partner.

The Data Analytics team are expert in modeling environmental data. Here at CDP, they provide market-leading environmental data products and services to many organizations. Products such as the “Full GHG emissions data set,”  as well as providing data powering the GCAP portal run by the United Nations Framework Climate change organization (UNFCCC).

Why CDP applied for DataCamp Donates?

DataCamp is one of the most trusted training platforms in the world for data analysts and we decided to start using it as one of our training tools at CDP. DataCamp’s many courses provide the detail and depth across many vital skills required by my team of Data analysts. This prompted me to consider the DataCamp Donate application. Managing a training program for a growing team of Data Analysts in a nonprofit is challenging. The training budget is limited and face-to-face courses are expensive. So, DataCamp Donates seemed like the perfect opportunity to provide first-class training for my team, enabling our training budget to stretch.

The application process for DataCamp Donates is very straightforward. I completed an application form online and provided my reasons why DataCamp Donates would benefit my organization. I then had a conversation with one of the friendly team members at DataCamp who approved my application. It was simple and not time-consuming. The DataCamp team then set up my organization’s account. Adding colleagues to it was straightforward. We were then ready to start learning.

Here at CDP, we are going through a Data transformation as we continually develop our data products, tools, and platform. As part of that development, we made the decision to migrate our codebase from R to Python. This means that our Data Analysts need to grow and develop their Python skills. DataCamp has been fundamental to that upskilling. From “Introduction to Python”, to ‘Deep Learning’ courses with Dan, the courses are easy to follow, interactive, and can be completed at a time when it’s convenient for you. This fits in very well with our fortnightly training focus. The team finds the courses very valuable. We have also benefited from the other training courses available in areas such as Data Visualization and SQL.

To incorporate these new skills that have been learned through DataCamp Donates, we have started to rewrite legacy code into Python. All new code is written in Python as a standard practice now. This is very important when aligning the team and bringing efficiencies in processes and data product development.

DataCamp Donates' impact on the CDP's data transformation

I have had a very positive response from the team on the introduction of DataCamp through DataCamp Donates. This is what they have said: