Project to help local organisations tackle climate change

The council has partnered with Climate Essentials as it leads on a project offering local businesses, charities and social enterprises a year’s worth of support to cut their emissions and play their part in achieving a net zero carbon borough by 2030.

The one-to-one support offered to these organisations by team behind the Climate Essentials for Basingstoke and Deane project includes assisting them to measure their carbon footprints, audit their operations and make realistic plans for reducing their emissions.

Beyond cutting carbon, they also help them to explore the other benefits of becoming more sustainable. This includes increasing their appeal to environmentally conscious residents and saving money over the long term.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible, businesses, social enterprises and charities must have:

• their main office in the borough of Basingstoke and Deane
• the equivalent of at least one full-time employee and fewer than 250 full-time employees; and
• started operating on or before Tuesday 1 February 2022

How to apply

Apply for a place on the Climate Essentials project

All applications are welcome and will be considered against the project criteria and to ensure there is a diverse range of organisations taking part.

By applying you agree that, if you are successful, your organisation will work with the council during and following the pilot project to help publicise how your organisation has made changes as a result of the project. This will likely include using your testimonials, photographs and videos related to the project in your organisation’s communications as well as providing them for use in council communications including its social media, news releases, websites and case studies.

Testimonials

The organisations below have given testimonials about their experiences of the project so far.

Established in 1862, Clarke & Son is a Basingstoke-based law firm providing legal services to clients in Hampshire, London and beyond.

Digital Marketing Apprentice Emily Allen said:

“Our experience using the Climate Essentials platform has been great. It is very simple to use, and the Climate Essentials team were very knowledgeable and clear when explaining how to use the platform.

It is easy to calculate the carbon emissions using the scope 3 carbon emission measurements especially when we use the google drive form to collect the data monthly.

We are more aware of areas that need improvement and educated on how much carbon emissions we are producing.”

Queen Mary’s College is an inclusive, vibrant and high-achieving sixth form college for students aged 16 and over.

Assistant Principal Caroline Watson said:

“The tool has been easy to use and is excellent for making us think about our data as well as collate it.

I would recommend it as a tangible way of working towards understanding data and deciding next steps.

This isn’t everyone’s priority, although it should be, so we need to keep the pressure on to move forwards. Having a friendly face helped incentivise me and the process.”

Zeal Live is an experiential production house operating within the creative industry. Working with partners, it combines imagination and technology to design and produce imaginative experiences and emotive moments.

Production Coordinator Sarah Brown said:

“We quite literally wouldn’t have known where to start without the support sessions and are exceptionally grateful for the time and support that have been offered.

The platform itself is clear and easy to use.

So far it has been really positive. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to any other business partners.”