Mapping the Big Green Challenge - The Skills & Learning ...

14 Chapter 2 - The Role of the 3rd Sector in Low Carbon Innovationactivity using these to highlight the main types of activity being undertaken. It then moves on tolook within the community sector at the types of organisation that appear to be particularly active inthis area. The final section looks at the focus of activity, briefly reviewing some of the key areas.2.4.1 Defra Programmes Supporting Community Innovation and ClimateChange 6As part of the Government’s strategy for sustainable development (HM Government, 2005) fundswere promised to support community activities (Community Action 2020). Details of the full rangeof Defra’s activities in this area can be found at www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/how-do-wework/third-sector/strategy/index.htmThere have been a number of broad funding streams of whichthe Every Action Counts and the Environmental Action Fund (EAF) are briefly considered here.Every Action Counts is (www.everyactioncounts.org.uk/) is led by a consortium of voluntary sectorbodies and aims to provide advice and support to voluntary and community sector organisationsseeking to reduce their own impact on the environment and improve their local area. It encouragesorganisations to pledge to look at their own impact on climate change and supports them in doing soby providing advice on assessing their current impact, actions that can be taken and ways ofmonitoring the changes achieved. It supports those working in the sector to make links betweenwhat their group does and climate change issues and has trained community champion volunteerswho can then provide local advice and support.The Environmental Action Fund has been supporting a range of community projects over a threeyear period. A review of the scheme (Brook Lyndhurst, 2009) classified the types of activity into fourareas: those working to change the behaviour of individuals at a community level; those working tochange the behaviour of their own organisations or the behaviour of their members; those workingto increase the demand for and / or the availability of sustainable products; and those seeking toinfluence policy. The projects were shown to reach large numbers of people and to have success inusing their connections to reach audiences effectively and to motivate people to feel that they couldtake action that would make a difference. A range of different models of working with communitieswere used and it is possible to identify the ways in which these were effective in particularcircumstances. These often relied on intensive interaction such as door to door contacts andrepeated calls. In some cases it was difficult for change to be achieved at this level due to theabsence of wider facilities (such as public transport) which the groups had little influence over.These findings reinforce the strengths and weaknesses of the sector identified in earlier sections.2.4.2 Overview of Activity by Environmentally-focussed Groups in Comparisonto the Wider 3 rd SectorA review of community-based local environmental improvement activity in Scotland (CAG, 2003)found projects particularly working in areas of waste, sustainable energy and travel. They reporthigh levels of ‘grassroots’ community initiation of projects and stress the integration ofenvironmental action with broader themes of social justice and capacity building. These are themesthat are common to many of the reports of action from 3 rd sector organisations.6 There are also targeted streams of funding, for example in relation to community energy and a wide range ofinitiatives run by charitable foundations or public bodies. It is not possible to document or review these here.The broad range of community activity is discussed in the next section.Appleby Ltd July 2009