Climate Action Fund opens to applicants across the UK, looking to address waste and sustainable consumption in their communities

The National Lottery Community Fund has today [24 February] launched the second round of applications for the Climate Action Fund and a new report to demonstrate and inspire community-led action on climate change.

This round of funding will see £8 to £10 million made is available for development and full grants across the UK. As the largest funder of community activity in the UK, The National Lottery Community Fund have already committed almost £20 million to projects supporting community-led climate action as part of the Climate Action Fund. In addition to this, the Fund is exploring how to embed environment and climate action throughout its funding portfolios, such as its environmental top-up grants currently being piloted in Wales.

In this round, the Climate Action Fund will focus on supporting projects addressing waste and sustainable consumption. There are a wide range of community-led approaches being implemented across the UK to move towards becoming a lower waste society, and the Fund’s aim is to identify and support the best opportunities for community-scale action.

This round has a particular focus on projects that have the potential to scale, are approaching an old problem in a new way, are exploring innovative finance mechanisms to ensure longer-term sustainability, are exploring narratives to engage new audiences and address behaviour change and are clearly pointing towards the potential for systemic change.  

The Climate Action Fund is keen that applicants are able to identify the carbon impact of their project, with ideas and approaches looking at themes such as retail and consumerism, repair and re-use, sustainable fashion, food waste and reimagining waste flows. More details are available here: https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/programmes/climate-action-fund-round-2

This second round of funding comes after 23 grants holders, across the UK, were announced in 2020, as part of the National Lottery-funded Climate Action Fund; a ten-year £100 million fund that will reduce the carbon footprint of communities and support community-led movements that can demonstrate what is possible when people take the lead in tackling climate change. Funding from The National Lottery Community Fund will support the 23 projects, who are sharing over £19.5 million, to work together, share learning and be catalysts for broader and transformative change.

At the same time, The National Lottery Community Fund is also launching "The Power of the Collective” report, which is the first in a series, written by the Fund in conjunction with climate change charity, Ashden, aiming to demonstrate and inspire community-led action on climate change.

This first publication outlines the scale of the challenge posed by climate change, sets the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions in context, and introduces the Climate Action Fund. It then outlines the importance, and potential, of community-led climate action, such as the co-benefits and offers advice on how to set up a community-led project.

Nick Gardner, Head of Climate Action at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “Over the past year, we have seen communities across the UK come together and deliver effective responses to the crisis quickly and appropriately. We’re confident that - with people in the lead - communities can take climate action and respond to the climate emergency. From repair & re-use to food waste, from tackling a culture of consumerism to deep-dives on individual waste streams, we know that a wide range of community-led approaches are already being implemented across the UK in approaching this issue.

“Thanks to National Lottery players we’re now bringing these communities together so they show how people can collaborate to tackle carbon emissions associated with an increasingly wasteful society, learn from each other and have an impact within and beyond their communities.”

The Climate Action Fund is part of The National Lottery Community Fund’s Environment Strategy which has seen significant National Lottery investment through community-led projects that are focussed on activities that not only improve the environment but use it to enhance the lives of people and communities. Since April 2013, the Fund has awarded more than £450 million to projects with an environmental element, through over 7,500 grants.

Thanks to National Lottery players, £41 billion has been raised for more than 565,000 good causes across the UK since 1994. National Lottery players raise £30 million every week for good causes in the UK. The National Lottery is playing a critical role in supporting people, projects and communities during these challenging times.

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk