Nathaniel Spain is the Project Coordinator for Going Green Together – an initiative run by the Voluntary Organisations’ Network North East (VONNE). He sat down with SmartCarbon to explain more about what the project entails and how he hopes it will act as a catalyst for more organisations in the region to take meaningful steps towards tackling the Climate Emergency.
The Going Green Together project has been designed to support the North East and Cumbria’s VCSE sector to take climate action, support nature and accelerate the transition to a green economy. It is delivered by a partnership of the VONNE Climate Action Alliance (VCAA) members, which includes VONNE, Cumbria CVS, Cumbria Action for Sustainability, Genee, SmartCarbon and SIDE Labs.
Within the project’s remit, a broad mix of action areas have been identified, including energy consumption, waste management, travel, food, engagement and advocacy. As Project Coordinator, Nathaniel Spain, explains,
“Going Green Together came out of a need to establish the best way for the voluntary and social enterprise sector to respond to the climate crisis. The aim was to do so in a way that was practical, tangible and would have a meaningful impact.”
At the outset, it was identified that there was a lack of knowledge in the sector that needed to be remedied. But, just as importantly, it was established that there should be ways for organisations to collaborate and find support on the journey towards greater sustainability. Nathaniel says,
“It was immediately clear that working as a community could achieve far more than implementing small-scale measures in isolation. Building knowledge together and greening the economy in collaboration can have a much greater impact.”
Once the parameters of the project had been established, VONNE looked to bring in appropriate expertise in the field of sustainability to support on areas such as measuring and reporting on carbon footprints, and implementing sustainability strategies.
A key feature of the project involved crafting an intensive training cohort, known as “Become Green Together”. Aimed at making workplaces greener, gaining participants meaningful accreditation, and embedding environmental best practice, Become Green Together represents a practical step-by-step programme for sustainability strategy.
Nathaniel explains,
“The initial goal was to get together a number of voluntary community organisations of varying sizes and geographies to benefit from 12 months of support – including free access to the SmartCarbon Calculator, so that organisational carbon emissions could be measured.
“This approach involved the delivery of regular workshops to the cohort – enabling them to learn together and support each other. These were delivered by team members from the likes of SmartCarbon and Genee. Through Genee, participating organisations gain membership of Investors in the Environment (iiE) and their nationally recognised Bronze level accreditation.”
Since the start of the initiative, over 40 organisations have enrolled on the programme with another cohort to be onboarded by May 2023. These organisations may vary greatly in terms of their sustainability credentials and current environmental strategy. Nathaniel comments,
“The Becoming Green Together programme is designed to add value, no matter the size of the organisation or where it is on its journey. In our first cohort we had organisations just starting to think about developing a sustainability strategy, alongside those with a clear strategy in place but perhaps a lack of knowledge about implementing efficient, consistent changes.”
Where next for “greening” projects in the North East and Cumbria
The Going Green Together pilot is set to run until 2024. At this time, the project’s impact will be assessed and plans for longer-term sustainability support identified.
Although it is too early to say how any future support to organisations in the North East and Cumbria will take shape, Nathaniel suggests that the initial feedback from the first cohort has been extremely positive. And there is no doubt that more needs to be done if regional organisations wish to become greener.
“It’s clear that there is real value in providing organisations with access to training, support and best practice in the area of environmental sustainability. Certainly, the comments we have received in relation to Investors in the Environment and SmartCarbon suggest that the project is enabling organisations to put the right foundations in place.
“We are hopeful that this pilot will go some way towards creating a blueprint for future initiatives. What we do know is that the Climate Emergency isn’t going anywhere soon, so much more work needs to be done in this area if we are to hit green targets – as a region, a country, and across the world.”