Support Net Zero as a community

You can reduce your carbon footprint by choosing to buy local which also supports your local economy and community.

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Leicestershire County Council, Green Fox Community Energy and Community Energy South (CES), are working in partnership to deliver a climate action programme called Community Energy Pathways. Community Energy Pathways is part of GreenerFuture, formerly know as Leicestershire Collaborate to Accelerate Net Zero (Leicestershire CAN), which has been awarded £2.56m from Innovate UK, as part of their Net Zero Living Programme.

The aim is to establish community energy champions across the county that can work collaboratively and support each other to meet their ambitions for a locally driven energy system. We will be offering a free mentoring programme and community energy support network. This is a real opportunity to play a part in the future of energy in Leicestershire. To find out more and get involved please visit GreenerFuture.

Leicestershire town, parish and community groups Net Zero toolkit

This resource aims to provide a starting point for town and parish councils and community groups to address net zero in their local community.

Find out more at Leicestershire Communities | Net Zero Toolkit

Volunteer

You can apply to become an Environment Action Volunteer if you are aged 18 years or over and have an interest in helping Leicestershire residents or communities to reduce their waste, recycle more, protect and improve the environment and to live more sustainably. You do not need any previous knowledge of waste or environmental topics to apply, just a keen interest.

 

To find out more and to apply, visit our Environment Action Volunteers page.

Talks and education

The Council offer a wide range of free talks to community groups in Leicestershire focussing on waste prevention, recycling, and composting.

 

Visit Lesswaste to find more on how to access these talks and learn more about the steps you can take to reduce your carbon footprint.

Schools

Leicestershire County Council has put together a page full of information and resources covering waste and environmental topics for schools. Visit Waste and environmental activities (Leicestershire Traded Services) to find out more.

Let’s Go Zero is a national campaign that provides schools with free support and advice on their journey to net zero.

National Education Nature Park is a platform supplying free programmes for educators to embed climate and nature into learning.

We also offer a range of free interactive engagement activities for schools on reuse, recycling, composting and household food waste.

We have created a handy booklet for help, advice and support with your green efforts:

Sustainability and climate change guidance to support nurseries, schools and colleges PDF, 7.46 MB Opens new window

Further support for sustainability can also be found in our new network below.

Sustainability Network

Schools in England contribute a quarter of public sector carbon emissions, making them crucial in achieving the UK's net zero goals. Education Effectiveness, working alongside departments across the county council and key external parties, is offering a sustainability network for all nurseries, schools and colleges in Leicestershire.

It aims to:

  • create a network of sustainability leaders at each school, who continue to share knowledge and best practice when teaching about sustainability and implementing initiatives within the school
  • connect with peers to share ideas and resources around climate change, sustainability, nature and the environment
  • learn from each other and network with other like-minded schools
  • become more sustainable, through advice, support and best practice shared across schools
  • positively impact and inspire our communities by improving the sustainability of the environment in and around education settings and the knowledge and understanding of children and young people

For more information regarding the Sustainability Network please email: educationeffectiveness@leics.gov.uk

Local Community Groups

 

Join one of the various environment actions groups around Leicestershire, where you can meet like-minded people and work together to make our communities more climate friendly.

Some of the many groups that exist in Leicestershire include:

If you would like your environmental action group adding to this list please contact us at netzero@leics.gov.uk

Carry on the conversation

We'd love to hear about what you're doing already, or if you have any ideas on how you can support us, or how we can work together on our journey to net zero.

 

Follow the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using #NetZeroLeicestershire or get in touch using our enquiry form.

Further reading

For books related to climate change, check out our climate change booklist with links included to find out which Leicestershire library near you, has a copy.