Veolia, the UK’s leading resource management company, is launching this year’s Sustainability Fund ahead of World Earth Day (22 April 2023) to help support people across the country to revitalise their local environments and communities as part of ecological transformation.
2022 was an incredibly successful year for The Sustainability Fund, supporting 96 grassroots projects with over £80,000 in funding. With an even bigger funding pot this year in partnership with more local authorities across the country, Veolia is looking to fund projects that make a positive, sustainable difference to local areas and deliver long-term social and environmental benefits.
With over £100,000 worth of funding as well as in-kind resources and volunteers available, Veolia aims to empower people to take positive action in their local area and deliver ecological transformation.
Projects are encouraged to apply at veolia.co.uk/Sustainability-Fund.
Applications open on 21 April, just in time to celebrate World Earth Day 2023. On this day, every year, people across the world are encouraged to act, innovate and implement and Veolia is investing in our planet by championing innovations within local communities.
If you’re unsure whether your project fits the criteria, here are some examples of previous projects that were successful in previous years:
Scrapbox, a charity in Reepham, Norfolk, reclaims waste materials from local businesses, commerce and individuals which would otherwise end up in the bin. These are re-purposed as resources for art and crafting activities within the local community and Veolia’s Sustainability Fund supported new lighting and signage to keep their shop up and running.
Southwark’s Bellenden Primary School teachers realised that without a garden at home, many students don’t have access to a green space where they can develop environmental awareness. Funding helped procure tools and compost and the gardening club of twenty children started planting in September 2022.
The Avenues Youth Centre’s Big Food Waste Build in Westminster wanted to teach the young members of the community about food waste recycling amongst other sustainable behaviours, as well as run a practical project to teach them metalwork and DIY skills. The Avenues set up the Big Food Waste Build project and The Sustainability Fund has gone towards overheads and the materials to build the food waste containers.
Buckinghamshire’s Lowland Search and Rescue team received funding for their Incident Control Unit Green Power project to mount solar panels on their refurbished Incident Control Vehicle, so not only are they saving lives but they’re saving the planet!
Veolia’s Sustainability Fund is open to not-for-profit organisations, community groups or individuals in areas where the company partners with the local authority to deliver waste and cleansing services for the community.
Applications can be made via Veolia’s website veolia.co.uk/Sustainability-Fund or via Spacehive spacehive.com/movement/veoliauk, Veolia’s crowdfunding partner until Friday 29th September.
Keep an eye out on Facebook and Twitter @VeoliaUK to discover other projects that may inspire you or that you can get involved with in your local community.
All applications will be considered, but projects should aim to fulfil at least one of the following criteria; enhancing biodiversity, promoting sustainable behaviours (reduce, reuse and/or recycle), protecting or preserving resources and the environment and using recycled, reused or reclaimed materials.
Pascal Hauret, Managing Director, Municipal at Veolia said:
“The Sustainability Fund was one of our greatest successes of 2022 and we’re so thrilled to see it growing again, with more local authority partners on board and an even bigger funding pot. As we work towards ecological transformation in collaboration with the communities we work with every day, we can’t wait to see the inspiring and innovative ideas they come up with in 2023.”
Marcus Leon from The Avenues Youth Centre said:
“It is great to have received funding from Veolia to run a project around sustainability! Allowing young people to put their ideas for a more sustainable planet into reality is vital for us at The Avenues Youth Project.”
