£65,000 up for grabs as Veolia unveils new
Sustainability Fund
Make a lasting impact on your local community or environment
Veolia, the UK’s leading resource management company, has launched its new community funding scheme to help support people across the country to transform their local communities and environments.
After a challenging year where many communal spaces and services have suffered, Veolia is looking to back projects that make a positive, sustainable difference to local areas and deliver long-term social and environmental benefits. With over £65,000 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.
The Sustainability Fund will replace the community funding scheme known as the EnviroGrant scheme in Birmingham. £15,000 of the Sustainability Fund’s pot will be allocated to Birmingham groups to support projects encouraging biodiversity conservation, reduction in single-use plastics, and generally improving the community and environments.
Veolia has a long standing commitment to community funding and is looking for projects like those previously supported across the UK below:
- Running on sunshine; Solar panels have been purchased and installed to make the running of community centres more environmentally friendly.
- Caulibox; The UK’s first reusable lunchbox scheme, Caulibox tackled plastic waste and the throwaway culture of takeaway foods, by working with local vendors to swap disposable packaging to reusable boxes.
- EnergyGarden; This organisation transforms disused land around transport networks into communal gardens. This enhances biodiversity, brings together local communities and teaches residents about growing their own food and plants and eating seasonally.
- Paddleboard recyclers; Bringing together exercise and litter picking, Veolia supported paddleboarders to protect the cleanliness of rivers and waterways.
- EcoTots; Educational talks, lessons and activity clubs for young people to learn about sustainability and how to best preserve resources and protect the environment.
Applications are now open. Keep an eye out on @VeoliaUK to discover projects you could replicate, get involved with or inspire you to create your own.
Veolia’s Sustainability Fund is open to not-for-profit organisations across the country, however, they are particularly interested in areas where the company partners with the local authority to deliver waste and cleansing services for the community.
Find out more about the fund and how you can apply at: Veolia.co.uk/Birmingham/Sustainability-Fund
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.
Applications can be made via Veolia’s website Veolia.co.uk/Birmingham/Sustainability-Fund or via Spacehive spacehive.com/movement/veoliauk, Veolia’s crowdfunding partner. Spacehive is the most successful crowdfunding platform in the UK, with the previous 30 Veolia backed projects going on to raise £1million worth of funding. Hurry, the deadline for applications is 31 October 2021.
Mark Powell, General Manager, Veolia in Birmingham said:
“At Veolia, we are always looking at ways to give back to the communities we serve. The Sustainability Fund will help to transform local communities and environments into places that support a sustainable future for everyone. I look forward to seeing all the fantastic projects that pitch to the Fund and supporting successful applicants.”
Misha Dhanak, Chief Executive Officer, Spacehive said:
“Spacehive is proud to be Veolia’s crowdfunding partner and we can’t wait to see the projects people put forward to help their local area. Veolia-backed campaigns on the platform have raised over £1 million for their communities so far. Gaining support from Veolia alongside the crowd will help even more ambitious ideas take off."