Why community engagement should be essential for any climate strategy
Carnegie UK’s recently released report ‘Life in the UK 2024’ paints a picture of a country in stagnation driven by persistent and entrenched levels of inequality. It highlights a lack of trust in all levels of government with almost three-quarters of people feeling they cannot influence national policy and over half believing they cannot impact local decision-making.
Against this national backdrop the latest UN analysis revealed that efforts to keep global warming under 1.5°C this century is in tatters with greenhouse gases levels surging in 2023 and evidence that forests are losing their ability to soak-up carbon. The horrific floods in Spain illustrate the impact this could have on society.
We face a complex picture of interconnected problems requiring urgent attention at a time of fiscal constraint. Finding rays of hope and deciding how best to respond is challenging. One of the many solutions required may be closer to home than we think.
I was privileged to recently lead a webinar run by the School of Social Entrepreneurs exploring the role communities can take in tackling environmental and social challenges. Over 80 community organisations participated representing a UK wide cross-section of society. The groups consisted of passionate people seeking to create positive change in their locality each taking a different approach depending upon local circumstance and resources. These hidden champions provide a dynamic resource practically illustrating that change is possible.
On their own, community initiatives cannot deliver the scale and pace of change required to hit carbon reduction targets, but they do play a vital role. Crucially they demonstrate to a diverse section of society that change is possible often delivering visible financial, social and environmental benefits. This is far removed from abstract concepts such as Net Zero where the lack of tangibility can be used to stoke confusion and cultural battles.
Community campaigns offer people purpose and ownership essential in helping to overcome the despondency and anxiety faced by many. They can deliver compelling stories and evidence useful in illustrating to policymakers the impact of concerted action at a local level.
Despite these many benefits, the recurring message from community organisations is a daily battle to secure resources, a need for access to more expertise and additional support to take brilliant ideas to scale. This is hardly surprising as a recent report revealed that only 8.5% of charitable funding supports environmental initiatives.
This need for support offers companies a significant opportunity to deliver their environmental and social targets by partnering with community organisations. Whilst leading Hubbub I saw the significant benefits these collaborations can deliver through support provided by the Co-op to Community Fridges and by Virgin Media O2 to Community Calling. More recently, I have seen the potential that could be delivered by partnering with Community Gardens and the opportunities that exist for building a nationwide network of Citizen Scientists.
Effective community/corporate partnerships deliver a multitude of benefits for all parties offering opportunities for companies to engage with their staff and customers, build a higher profile in key locations and bring overall sustainability ambitions to life with real stories. From a community perspective they give access to essential resources including funding, new skill sets and added reach.
Despite these benefits, national partnerships are still relatively uncommon largely due to the complexity of brokering relationships between large companies and fragmented community organisations. My experience suggests that putting the time and effort into overcoming this obstacle is worthwhile and could deliver significant benefits giving additional hope and activity at a time when it is sorely needed.