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Government and third sector publish report on securing wider action on climate change and the environment across the sector

9 March 2010

A vision of how Government and third sector organisations will work together over the next five years to tackle key environmental issues such as climate change and sustainable development has been set out in ‘Shaping our future’, a new report published today.

The report is the work of the joint Third Sector and Ministerial Task Force, set up in April 2009 involving ministers and officials from Defra, the Office of the Third Sector, the Department for Energy and Climate Change, the Department for Communities and Local Government and 16 third sector organisations.

The task force’s secretariat was provided by the third sector through Green Alliance and NCVO in order to secure broad participation in the group’s work.

The task force’s role was to find new ways to secure further commitment and action on climate change and sustainability by the four Government departments involved and the third sector, which has a vital role to play in encouraging action and securing a transition to a low carbon society.

Leadership on climate change and environmental issues is needed across the third sector, from community level volunteers through to chief executives. The report highlights the opportunities for the third sector that will come from action on this agenda and their significant potential to contribute to a low carbon Britain by creating green jobs, providing sustainable public services, encouraging and supporting people in making pro-environmental choices and their central role in building resilient communities.

Developing actions and commitments on this agenda has been a key focus of the task force’s work. They jointly agreed a vision for 2015, which is: ‘The third sector shapes the future by mobilising and inspiring others to tackle climate change and maximising the social, economic and environmental opportunities of action.’ Key actions and commitments that have come out of the task force process include:

• A shared commitment by the four Government departments on the Task Force and all third sector members to that vision;
• A DECC commitment to developing a third sector strategy;
• New principles for leadership on climate change by third sector infrastructure bodies, which NCVO and all infrastructure bodies on the Task Force have committed to;
• The Office of the Third Sector will use its cross government networks to influence third sector strategies and commissioning frameworks in reference to climate change, sustainability and the environment.
• Charity Commission introduction of a new good practice standard on environmental responsibility into their guidance, ‘The Hallmarks of an Effective Charity’; and
• A Defra and ACEVO commitment to agenda setting research on sustainable public services.

Download the report

Go to the Office of the Third Sector's commitment to sustainable development 

Environment Minister, Huw Irranca-Davies said:

“This report breaks new ground. It is a genuine effort to join things up better across the third sector and government with four departments, the Charity Commission and 16 third sector representatives all committing to actions. However, we recognise that we have not been able to do full justice to all the aspects of climate change, the environment and sustainable development in this report but the important thing is that we’ve made a start.

“The other exciting aspect of this report is that two of the government departments involved and the majority the third sector representatives do not have climate change, the environment or sustainable development as their core focus. In this respect, the report has made a very good start bringing these issues into the mainstream and builds on the decades of work of the environmental third sector who will be a key part of the picture moving forward.”

Energy and Climate Change Minister Joan Ruddock said:

“There’s never been a greater need to act together on such an important set of issues as climate change, the environment and sustainable development. Climate change is already a reality for many people of the world and will continue to threaten communities and economies if we don’t act.

“Organisations and charities across Britain are already having a big impact in helping people take action in their communities to save energy and help reduce emissions. Decc wants to work with these organisations to make sure the transition to a low carbon economy is both effective and fair.”

Office of the Third Sector Minister, Angela Smith, said:

“The Third Sector’s unique position means it can tackle environmental challenges through their own organisations and by harnessing the support of local communities and networks which is where real change can be achieved. ‘Shaping our Future’ sets out a pro-active agenda for the Office of the Third Sector to work in partnership with the sector to lead the way in addressing climate change, the environment and sustainable development.”

Stephen Hale, Third sector chair of the Task Force and Director of Green Alliance, said:

“There has been a surge in third sector commitment and action on climate change in recent years. But we need to build a far broader movement if we are to shape a sustainable low-carbon future. Climate change and environmental issues will affect many of the causes that the third sector holds dear and motivate diverse organisations to take action in ways that are vital to success. ‘Shaping our future’ outlines the opportunities that action on climate change presents for the sector as a whole and ways of securing wider engagement with the agenda.”