The role of behaviour change in mobilising community action on climate change

The Fund’s Policy and Public Affairs team recently submitted evidence to the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Select Committee inquiry into mobilising action on climate change and environment through behaviour change. We are always looking for opportunities to raise awareness in Parliament of the work we support communities to undertake thanks to National Lottery Players. One way we can do this is by responding to calls for evidence to help share community practice. Here, we share insights from some of the National Lottery funded projects already helping change behaviour on climate action.

Behaviour change has an important role to play in finding solutions to the climate crisis. According to a 2019 report from Imperial College London on behaviour change, public engagement and Net Zero, household consumption accounts for almost three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions.

As a significant funder of environmental projects for over 25 years, we support communities to take action against climate change and, since 2016, have awarded £397 million through more than 6,000 grants which involve environmental action. From both small, grassroots projects to large-scale programmes with an explicit focus on sustainability and building resilience to climate change.

This year, as part of our annual Community Research Index (CRI), we asked survey respondents about their attitudes to the climate crisis. The findings demonstrate that awareness of climate change is increasing along with individuals’ sense of personal responsibility and wanting to take action, both individually and collectively.

Specifically, while almost nine in ten (88%) say the UK Government is responsible for tackling climate change, there is very high recognition for the role of individuals and communities too. Over eight in ten (82%) say individuals have a responsibility, while 79% say the same of local communities. It is clear that there is an understanding that for positive impact to be made this needs to be a join effort between the state, communities and individuals.

Our environment funding has demonstrated that simple steps from motivating or finding fun and engaging ways to measure progress can help sustain people’s energy and interest. Dire warnings may be counterproductive and induce a paralysing effect but showing what individuals can do has helped encourage people to act. Tangible ideas can help influence positive actions whereas messages of fear do not necessarily help people to change their behaviour. Grantholders have learned that aligning their work to people’s values is an important motivator.

Our grantholders have found aligning their work to what matters to their communities is important for motivating them to take action on climate change. Engaging people in activities to reduce their carbon footprint can be difficult, particularly if communities feel like the messaging does not necessarily resonate or if they feel the issue of climate change is significantly bigger than they can change through their own behaviour or lifestyle choices.

The unexpected benefits of community-led climate change beyond reducing carbon emissions, known as co-benefits.

These include reducing bills and saving money, reducing waste, gaining new knowledge and skills, a greater sense of belonging and connection, and reducing or avoiding carbon emissions.

Through our funding insights here at The National Lottery Community Fund, it is evident that many community groups have already developed practical examples of how to tackle climate change, from waste food cafes, to community energy schemes. The largest contributions to household come from diet, energy and transport.

According to the charity WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), the average UK household wastes the equivalent of eight meals a week and, in 2018, annual food waste amounted to around 9.5 million tonnes, 70% of which had been intended to be consumed by people.

In the last five years, we have awarded £58 million in National Lottery funding to over 600 projects involving waste and consumption. £32 million was awarded to 381 projects focused on growing and £12 million to 65 projects focused on food waste. From meat-free-Mondays to community farms, individuals and groups across the UK are taking a more sustainable approach to food consumption and raising the issue of food waste.

Our grantholder, Footprints Women’s Centre in the Colin area of west Belfast, Northern Ireland, runs a Community Food Shop and Support Service Hub. This is helping local people experiencing food poverty to access healthy food at low prices and use advice services and development programmes. Some of the produce for the Community Food Shop is supplied through a partnership with FareShare NI, and in 2020/2021, over 23 tonnes of surplus good food were diverted from landfill to families using the social supermarket. This equates to 54,000 meals using WRAP calculations.

Over the last decade there has been an increase in community energy projects. Engaging people in activities to reduce their carbon footprint can be difficult as they can feel that the scale of the challenge is too big for their personal behaviour or choices to have a positive impact.

Alongside the numerous environmental benefits, community energy projects often bring a range of other such co-benefits including reducing fuel poverty through the availability of lower-cost energy, creating jobs and improving community cohesion and health and wellbeing.

Our funding is helping to support local energy solutions including solar power, wind turbines, biofuels, waterpower and energy storage. Our grantholders have installed a variety of new electricity sources, from the UK's smallest commercial hydroelectric energy producer at Welcome to Our Woods in Wales, to wind turbines that brought 24-hour power to Fair Isle, the remote Scottish island, for the first time.

Transport produced 27% of the UK’s total domestic greenhouse gas emissions in 2019. Of this, the majority (91%) came from road transport vehicles.[1] Across the country, community-led projects are finding ways to encourage sustainable transport, from safer walking routes and affordable cycling to car clubs and community transportation. The potential co-benefits are significant and include positive changes to health and wellbeing through improved fitness and improved air quality.

We awarded the Charge Up Wales project £500,000 to create electric vehicle car clubs across numerous communities in Wales. Seven community-owned car clubs are being established and the initiative will help to significantly reduce carbon emissions across Wales, provide more transport and connection opportunities for those without cars, and help families on lower incomes.

As we continue to fund more environmental projects across the UK and support community-led climate action, we’re also looking towards HM the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 and have launched a £3.5 million Platinum Jubilee Fund. One of three key areas of focus is ‘Our Shared World – Growing our care and action locally for the natural world.’

What is clear is that mobilising communities and encouraging positive behavioural change will be an effective tool and it is one that as the largest community funder in the UK, we will continue to champion and support.