With match funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), The Community Foundation for Ireland has added €100,000 to its commitment to support sustainability through their Environment and Nature Fund. In total the fund will award €300,000 to community groups tackling environmental issues.
On Friday 21st June applications were opened to the community and voluntary sector to focus on creating Sustainable Communities through the Circular Economy and Sustainable Consumption and Waste.
Sustainable communities are ones that are economically thriving; environmentally healthy; and socially resilient. The circular economy aims to reduce waste at all stages of the economic cycle and ensure materials are used as efficiently as possible. In a circular economy, growth is separated from the use of scarce resources through production models based on long life products that can be renewed, reused, repaired, upgraded or refurbished.
The benefits of reducing consumption and improving waste practices will assist communities socially, environmentally and economically by increasing the significance of all reusable resources. This grant has been developed with the Sustainable Development Goals in focus specifically Goal 12 which seeks to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Dr Eimear Cotter, Director of Office of Environmental Sustainability said:
“Across Ireland, people are increasingly aware of local and global environmental impacts caused by how we consume resources to fuel our lifestyles. The EPA looks forward to working with The Community Foundation for Ireland to support groups developing community solutions to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. These projects will immediately benefit their local environment and have the potential to bring about national change when shared and spread across the country.”
As part of the Environment and Nature Fund a further €200,000 was made available to non-profits to engage an ecologist and develop a Community Biodiversity Plan for their local area.
Speaking on receiving match-funding from the EPA, Tina Roche, Chief Executive of The Community Foundation for Ireland remarked-
“Responding to the devastation of over consumption and biodiversity loss is a critical challenge for all sectors of society, and one that must be met in our lifetimes if we are to ensure the integrity of the web of life on which we all depend. It is especially important for communities to engage with environmental issues at the local level, and this is what The Community Foundation for Ireland wants to support. In doing so, we hope to find out what community-based conservation work is taking place in Ireland and better understand what needs to happen to bring about real change in this area. We are delighted that the EPA has partnered with us on the Environment and Nature Fund and we hope more donors join with us.”
Traditionally there has been minimal philanthropic funding prioritised for environmental issues. According to the Environmental Funders Network, UK trusts and foundations direct between 0.93 per cent and 2.2 per cent of their giving to address climate change. In comparison to the funding other social issues receive, environmental funding is lacking and does not begin to meet the demand for capital.
The Community Foundation wants to change this to encourage other donors and trusts and foundations to start directing more funding to tackle the environmental crisis we are now facing.
To read the full criteria and apply for grants click here.