Empowering Charities for a Greener Future
At CVS Cheshire East, we understand the vital role charities and non-profits play in shaping a more sustainable, low-carbon world. Explore resources, training opportunities, and funding support designed to help you reduce your environmental impact in Cheshire East, protect nature, and take action on the climate crisis.
Get Started on Your Green Journey
Whether you’re just beginning to integrate sustainability into your work or you're looking to build on existing efforts, we’ve got you covered with a variety of practical tools:
Leading local experts:
Cheshire East Council's Environmental Services – Offers guidance on sustainable travel, the carbon-neutral council, heritage buildings and social value.
Cheshire East Council’s Carbon Neutral Council
Tackling climate change in Cheshire East - YouTube
Cheshire East Council - journey to carbon neutral - YouTube
Sign up to the Cheshire East Council’s newsletter on Tackling Climate change
Cheshire Community Action – Energy-Saving Advice. Cheshire Community Action is working in partnership with Utility Aid to help community buildings reduce energy costs, improve efficiency and advise on renewable energy.
Click here to check out Utility Aid’s energy switching site. This will give you the ability to compare prices and switch your utility provider online for your charity at a time that is convenient for you
Cheshire Association of Local Councils – Climate Change
See news from ChALC’s Net Zero Working Group, upcoming climate events and useful resources for Councils.
Cheshire Wildlife Trust - We are pioneers in creating natural carbon solutions to combat the current climate and nature crisis we today find ourselves in. Find guidance on what you can do as an organisation and individual to reduce your impact on the environment.
National sources of information and guidance:
Environmental responsibility for charities - GOV.UK
Includes information on how to improve environmental impact of your building, installing energy-saving equipment, and changing a charity’s objects to include environmental activity.
Charities and climate change – Charity Digital
This article explores the basics of climate change for charities, looking at why charities need to get involved, how to get involved, the best resources available to charities, and so much more.
How to write an environmental policy – Charity Digital
Guidance on what an environmental policy is, why your organisation may need one, and how to develop your own policy.
Sample environmental policy from Community First Yorkshire
Three simple ways to help your charity go green - video
360°carbon.org – free carbon footprint calculator. This collaborative tool is specifically designed for charities and other groups, allowing them to measure their carbon footprint from various activities like energy, travel, food, waste, water, and other expenditures.
Carbon Trust – Provides in-depth courses on energy efficiency and carbon reduction strategies for non-profit organisations.
Environmental sustainability in the charity sector: partnerships and collaboration - Green Careers Hub - Watch this webinar to find out more about the types of environmental jobs in the charity sector, and how you can get involved to drive change
Chartered Institute of Fundraising - Environmental change – A toolkit for fundraisers on how to become more aware and impactful in environmental sustainability. Includes information about what your charity can do to show commitment to climate protection.
UK Green Building Council (UKGBC): Offers guidance and tools to help charities and organisations source sustainable products and services.
Recycling Locator tool | WRAP - The Waste and Resources Action Programme – helping people and organisation find out what you can recycle and where.
Sustainability Action Plan Tool - NETpositive have developed a free tool which can create a sustainability Action Plan for your organisation. While this tool was developed for universities, it can also be used by charities and non-profits to generate ideas on how to improve your impact on climate, as well as practices to support inclusion, mental health, and how to demonstrate social value. Simply click here to complete a short survey about your organisation and create your sustainability action plan.
Guide for use:
- For any questions specifically relating to universities just select “Not applicable”
- If you are unsure of any questions asked just select “No” or “We do not have a significant supply chain”
- In regards to the modern slavery questions, you do not need to produce a statement unless you have a turnover of £36 million or more.
Funders
Funders increasingly ask to see your environmental sustainability policy and steps your organisation is taking to reduce its impact and respond to the climate crisis. Do you have your environmental sustainability policy in place? Have you considered the impact your organisation has on the climate?
Read an example from the Heritage Fund on good environmental practice for non-profits here; Environmental sustainability good practice guidance | The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Climate Action Fund - Our Shared Future | The National Lottery Community Fund
Deadline: End of May 2025
Funding size: The minimum you can ask for is £500,000.
The Climate Action Fund is our commitment to help communities tackle climate change. We're supporting communities to be environmentally sustainable. We’ll only fund projects developed in a formal partnership with other organisations.
We’re looking for partnership projects that reach more people by either:
- linking climate action to the everyday lives and interests of local communities. And inspiring them to take action.
- influencing communities at a regional or national level. Like linking up groups across locations. Or a campaign that inspires change across one country, or the whole UK.
You do not have to be a climate or environment focused organisation to apply.
The Stobart Sustainability Fund - Stobart
Deadline: Open, no deadline
Value: Discretionary
Eligible Expenditure: Grants are used to support the delivery of local sustainability projects and initiatives.
Who Can Apply
Applications will be accepted from community groups, educational facilities or small businesses.
Applications need to be of a green, ecological or sustainability nature with the project benefiting the environment.
Our Stobart Sustainability fund is aimed at supporting community-led sustainability projects and initiatives lead by non-profit organisations, community groups and educational facilities, such as schools and colleges, to help them transform their local community through projects that tackle climate change, reduce carbon emissions or that protect and enhance the environment.
By integrating sustainable practices into your operations, you’re helping to create a better future for everyone. Get started today by exploring these resources. Together, we can make a real difference.
Local action – Spotlight on community-led action to protect nature and tackle the climate emergency
Cheshire Tree Alliance | Facebook - Round table for local Tree Groups across Cheshire to share information about their activities, achievements and planned events. It’s a platform for highlighting opportunities for new volunteers to get involved in local Tree Groups.
Congleton Sustainability Group (CSG) - Congleton's sustainable future - Congleton Sustainability Group (CSG) aims to raise awareness of the issues associated with the challenge of climate change and the consequent need to develop a low carbon, sustainable future.
Macctastic - Macclesfield, Cheshire – Since its inception in 2018 we’ve been galvanising and guiding people to tackle climate change, being a catalyst for ideas and campaigns, and connecting green groups and initiatives in the town.
Save Danes Moss - Campaign to stop the development planned on Danes Moss, Macclesfield. Danes Moss is a historic peat bog and rare wildlife habitat which holds massive amounts of carbon in its soil. Cheshire East Council and others are planning a housing and retail development on 200 acres of the Moss.
Transition Wilmslow | Community Group - Transition Wilmslow is a charity based in Wilmslow, Cheshire. We work together on climate change, biodiversity and health & wellbeing initiatives in Wilmslow, Handforth and the surrounding area.
Contact Us
If your organisation is involved in environmental protection or climate change please contact us at enquiries@cvsce.org.uk to include your information on this page.
