Community-led climate projects get boost from groundbreaking new partnership

A pioneering new partnership commissioned by The National Lottery Community Fund is set to transform community-led climate action across the UK by connecting grassroots projects, sharing expertise, and amplifying local impact on a national scale.

The Climate Action Fund (CAF) Learning and Support Partnership will bring together over 130 community climate projects with some of the UK’s leading experts to contribute to a powerful collective movement capable of driving systemic change.

Led by Arup, in collaboration with the Innovation Unit, Creature & Co., and the University of Leeds, this ambitious seven-year partnership will support projects funded through The National Lottery Community Fund’s Climate Action Fund.

Colleagues from The National Lottery Community Fund, Arup, Creature & Co. and the Innovation Unit gather to volunteer at a CAF-funded project, The Community Environment Trust in Castle Vale; Ben Smith, Director of Climate and Sustainability Services at Arup (right).

The Climate Action Fund (CAF) is a ten-year, £100 million funding programme that inspires and enables communities across the UK to take action on climate change. It was set up in 2019 by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK and aims to contribute to a broader movement of change. To date, more than 130 projects have had been funded, engaging people in community-led climate action in communities across the UK.

The new partnership aims to accelerate climate action by fostering collaboration and sharing learning between diverse projects focused on environmental themes including energy, transport, food, waste and consumption, and the natural environment. It will provide hands-on learning opportunities, generate valuable insights, and help to amplify the voices of grassroots climate leaders nationwide to inspire other communities to take climate action.

Key Benefits of the Partnership:

Enhanced Support for Grant Holders: Access to shared knowledge, expertise and support, helping projects scale their impact and achieve greater success
Strengthened Environmental and Climate Action Sector: United projects and collaborative approaches will strengthen the entire community-led climate movement
Wider Societal Impact: Better-connected projects will increase public engagement, create more sustainable solutions and drive systemic change
Knowledge Amplification: Five years of learning from grassroots climate action will be collated, amplified and shared to drive bigger results
Inspiration for Future Climate Action: Powerful stories and insights will spark new ideas that are relatable and replicable to encourage more communities to take action

Ben Smith, Director of Climate and Sustainability Services at Arup, said: "We are thrilled to be leading the consortium working with The National Lottery Community Fund to support grant holders from their Climate Action Fund. It's been wonderful to meet some of the amazing grant holders and learn about the inspirational local projects they are leading. We see so much potential to raise awareness, provide learning support, facilitate knowledge sharing and ultimately inspire more people to engage in climate action. Critically, we believe that individual and community scale climate action can drive wider systems change. Passionate people effect change."

Mel Eaglesfield, Director of Funding Strategy, Communication and Impact at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “Local action has a nationwide impact and will contribute to a more sustainable future for everyone. This groundbreaking new partnership represents our commitment to not just funding community-led environmental projects but to catalysing climate action across the UK. By connecting grassroots expertise with national resources, this collaborative approach will help to build capacity and networks that can drive the systemic changes our communities need.”

Matthew Horne, Joint Chief Exec of Innovation Unit, said: “It’s a privilege for us to work alongside the grant holders on the Climate Action Fund. They are doing amazing work with local communities to combat climate change, change behaviours and win over hearts and minds. We look forward to supporting them to be even more impactful locally, reduce climate injustice and have a greater influence on our national systems."

Peter Johnson, Managing Director of Creature & Co., added: "We have a real opportunity to help not only Climate Action Fund grant holders but the country’s response to our global climate crisis. Helping recipients of these grants with communications will hopefully electrify action in communities across the country."

About the Partners

Arup – The lead partner, providing expertise in sustainability and climate resilience and generating evidence about community-led climate action.

Innovation Unit – A social enterprise dedicated to reducing inequalities and transforming systems by helping communities to grow people powered innovations. We will be supporting collaboration and learning between CAF grant holders.

Creature & Co. – A purpose-driven communications agency creating and curating a collective voice for CAF grant holders.

University of Leeds – A leading academic institution providing research and insights on climate action and community engagement.

The National Lottery Community Fund is the largest community funder in the UK, supporting activities that create resilient, inclusive and environmentally sustainable communities across the UK. National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Thanks to them, The National Lottery Community Fund plans to invest over £4 billion into communities by 2030.

Date published: 7 May, 2025
Region: UK-wide

Notes to Editors

The Climate Action Fund (CAF) Learning and Support Partnership is led by Arup, working with Innovation Unit, Creature & Co., and the University of Leeds. The partnership was commissioned in 2024 by The National Lottery Community Fund to support grant holders in the Climate Action Fund (CAF). CAF is a ten-year, £100 million funding programme, set up in 2019 by The National Lottery Community Fund to inspire and enable communities across the UK to take action on climate change.

About The National Lottery Community Fund

The National Lottery Community Fund is the largest non-statutory community funder in the UK – community is at the heart of its purpose, vision and name.

The Fund supports activities that create resilient communities that are more inclusive and environmentally sustainable and that will strengthen society and improve lives across the UK.

The National Lottery Community Fund are proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to work closely with Government to distribute vital grants and funding from key Government programmes and initiatives.

As well as responding to what communities say is important to them, funding is focused on four key missions, supporting communities to:

1. Come together

2. Be environmentally sustainable

3. Help children and young people thrive

4. Enable people to live healthier lives.

Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, The National Lottery Community Fund distributes over £600 million a year through more than 130,000 grants and plans to invest over £4 billion of funding into communities by 2030. The Fund is privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.

National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, £47 billion has been raised and more than 670,000 individual grants have been made across the UK - the equivalent of approximately 240 National Lottery grants in every UK postcode district.

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