Civil society organisations hold the only remaining key to averting catastrophic climate change, according to the Green Alliance.
In a report published in 2009, the Green Alliance argued that sector organisations must seize the opportunity now to mobilise their supporters and beneficiaries, or the earth will be irrevocably changed.
It argues that the only way governments will be persuaded to overcome their inertia on the issue is if public attitudes to the problem change, and the only way the public will be persuaded to change their own behaviour and thus influence governments to take real action, is if they are mobilised to do so by the civil society organisations that they trust.
Defra has set up a taskforce to support environemtnal leadership in the civil society sector. It is tasked with identifying specific actions the government and the third sector can take to tackle climate change, environmental problems and sustainable development. It is populated by charity representatives and ministers.
However, the Every Action Counts programme that was set up for three years with £4m from Defra in 2006 as part of the UK sustainable development strategy, has now ended and no new funding has been forthcoming.
Former shadow charities minister Greg Clark has labelled full cost recovery “outrageous” and insisted the voluntary sector should have a level playing field with the private sector on public service delivery.
The next government should force every employer to give their employees at least five days each year paid time off to volunteer, according to the NCVO in its general election manifesto just published.
With the impending demise of cheques and the need for greater environmental responsibility both high on the agenda for charities, is paperless accounting the way to go? Simon Kearsley outlines the benefits.
The Charity Commission is to consider adding a new good practice standard to its Hallmarks of an Effective Trustee, which will promote environmental responsibility among charities.
Combating climate change in real estate is an economic opportunity as well as a necessity, says Jakes Ferguson.
The Kew Foundation, the charity that fundraises for Kew Gardens, has recruited the Royal Society’s top fundraiser as its most senior executive.
Jewish poverty-reduction charity Tzedek has decided that the problems faced by its developing-world beneficiaries are so intertwined with climate change that it has adopted an ambitious environmental policy that will govern all its operations both here and overseas.
Last year, long before the financial crisis prompted questions about policymakers' obsession with economic growth, President Sarkozy did something remarkable.I am not talking about his engagement to Carla Bruni but his intention to question our most fundamental economic measure, Gross Domestic Product.
WaterAid has unveiled an ambitious six year strategy, in which it says it plans to reach an annual turnover of £100m by 2015. The charity, which in 2007/08 had an annual income of £40m, will use the money to fulfil its pledges of providing a further 25 million poor people with safe water and hygiene and reaching a further 100 million by influencing the policies and practices of government and service providers.
A coalition of international development charities has urged the Church of England to pressure a mining company in which it invests, to rethink a project in India. ActionAid, Survival and War on Want are leading a campaign to stop Vedanta opening a bauxite mine in the Niyamgiri mountains (pictured) in eastern India, a spiritual homeland for India’s Kondh people. The 8,000-strong Kondh tribe is dependent on the mountain for crops and water.
BTCV, one of the UK’s largest volunteering charities, has taken umbrage at the Office of the Third Sector’s suggestion that the new Social Investment Wholesale Bank should focus on social returns rather than environmental. The ministerial foreword at the start of the consultation document about the bank, attributed to charities minister Angela Smith and financial secretary to the Treasury Stephen Timms, suggests that while the new bank would generate both social and environmental returns, social returns would get priority.
Tania Mason summarises the CFDG’s new report Sustainability in Practice and picks out some pertinent excerpts At its annual conference in London last week, the Charity Finance Directors’ Group published Sustainability in Practice, a report which urges finance directors to recognise the importance of improving their performance on environmental and social sustainability, and offers some advice as to how.
Gareth Jones hears how the Forum for the Future works with big business. While there remains a long way to go in the battle to save the planet, you don’t have to cast your mind back too far to remember a time when sustainability issues weren’t even on the radar of most businesses. Fortunately, this is no longer the case, and the credit for this enlightenment can be attributed in no small part to Forum for the Future. “I think we have helped to move major companies from thinking sustainability was something very marginal, that could be handled by a corporate social responsibility person somewhere in the PR team, to thinking of it as central to the strategy and how an organisation runs its business,” says chief executive Peter Madden.
Defra is inviting third sector organisations to apply to join its newly launched taskforce on climate change and the environment. First announced as part of the department’s Third Sector Strategy in November 2008, it is now looking for a “diverse membership representing the full spectrum of third sector organisations”, in addition to inviting specialist contributors on an ad hoc basis as required.
Tania Mason looks at what comes next after the closure of Every Action Counts The government must find some new funding to help the voluntary sector tackle climate change if the £4m already spent on the Every Action Counts project is not to be wasted, the head of the project has said.
The government must find some new funding to help the voluntary sector tackle climate change if the £4m already spent on the Every Action Counts project is not to be wasted, the head of the project has said. The lack of a long-term strategy to ensure climate change is ‘mainstreamed’ into the wider work of the sector through organisations such as Futurebuilders and Capacitybuilders, puts the work already done at risk, Mark Walton added.
It is a strange world, that world of charity auctions. But never is it more strange than when a kiss from - an albeit loveable – ageing member of the literati is selling for more than double as much as one from one of Britain’s most famous models (and a on-again-off-again writer to boot).
Organising a trip for 50 supporters to the other side of the world can be challenging in itself, but for charities the most pressing task is how to make these events more environmentally friendly, says Hannah Kelsall-Joel. Physical challenges for charities are increasingly popular. People all over the country, of all ages and all walks of life ask for sponsorship in return for pushing their physical – and often mental – limits by trekking, cycling, rowing, swimming, or anything that takes them out of their comfort zone.
Nearly nine out of ten charities say that funding constraints would stop them from ‘greening’ their office practices during this year, according to a survey of 188 organisations. The research, conducted by Groundwork London on behalf of sector environmental campaign Every Action Counts, looked at whether charities were taking steps to make their office operations less damaging to the environment. The survey followed an initial survey in 2007, providing the researchers with comparative data. They found that the number of organisations with an environmental policy had almost doubled, to 52 per cent. More than four in every five charities said they recycled more than they did 18 months earlier, and over half monitored their energy use, compared with just 39 per cent 18 months before.
Whether he’s persuading charities to finally do something about climate change, educating government officials about the third sector, or badgering Coca-Cola to distribute life-saving items in Africa, there aren’t enough hours in the day for Simon Berry. By Tania Mason. Soon after Ruralnet chief executive Simon Berry announced on his blog that he was leaving the organisation he founded to go and join the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on secondment, congratulatory tributes started pouring in.
The Church of England's General Synod has agreed to seek government intervention against the water regulator Ofwat and water companies, over the new drainage charges on water bills that is set to cost the voluntary sector an extra £100m.
Civil society organisations hold the only remaining key to averting catastrophic climate change and must seize the opportunity now to mobilise their supporters and beneficiaries, according to an influential new report from Green Alliance. The new politics of climate change - why we are failing and how we will succeed argues that the only way governments will be persuaded to overcome their current inertia on the issue is if public attitudes to the problem change.
Greenvoice has capitalised on the social networking phenomenon by using Facebook and Bebo to promote a campaign encouraging communities to say no to excess packaging. Greenvoice.com, a non-profit website enabling like-minded individuals to take action on green issues, joined forces with viral content distributor, The 7th Chamber, to run a viral campaign for two weeks in October.
A new grants scheme designed to promote mental health and regenerate the local environment has been launched by mental health charity Mind.
The Big Issue's John Bird and Unltd's Michael Norton are among several people who have been recruited to help with the production of a new television programme that is to follow the progress of 20 young campaigners on their quest to change the world.
More than 100,000 eco-friendly designer shopping bags have been sold in the first week of hitting stores, raising over £50,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care.
Donors concerned about the carbon footprint of their philanthropy have been given a new internet tool to ensure their money goes to projects that have the least negative impact on climate change.
A few weeks ago I heard from Jen, the Comms Manager at a New Zealand environmental charity I'd done some work with. She had brilliant news. They'd found out the day before that Hector's and Maui's dolphins around New Zealand are now better protected, following (though not exclusively due to) a long campaign by her organisation.
Andrew White provides some tips for charities on going green based on his experience with the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution’s new care home. With over 160 years experience dedicated to providing high quality retirement care, the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution (RMBI), is due to open its newly built luxury care home later this summer. Based in Northumberland, Scarbrough Court will be a 21st century home that is designed with residents’ health and well-being needs at the forefront. Featuring the latest renewable energy technologies and the highest standards in health and safety, it has been given a three-star rating for excellence in care from the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI).
The National Trust has been exonerated by the Charity Commission over complaints that comments on green spaces made by its chairman were too political.