Veolia, the UK’s leading resource management company, has launched this year's Sustainability Fund, in partnership with Westminster City Council, ahead of World Earth Day to help support people across Westminster to transform their local environments and communities.
2022 was an incredibly successful year for The Sustainability Fund, supporting eight grassroots projects with £5,000 in funding. They’re looking to back projects that make a positive, sustainable difference to the local area and to deliver long-term social and environmental benefits.
With funding as well as in-kind resources and volunteers available, Veolia aims to empower people to take positive action in their local area and deliver ecological transformation.
Projects are encouraged to apply at veolia.co.uk/Sustainability-Fund.
Applications officially opened 21 April, just in time to celebrate World Earth Day 2023. On this day, every year, global residents are encouraged to act, innovate and implement and Veolia is investing in our planet by championing the innovations of local activists.
If you’re unsure whether your project fits the criteria, here are some examples of previous projects that were successful in previous years:
- The Family Hub School Uniform Bank is a community initiative that collects donated uniforms, cleans them, and sells them at a lower price. They are therefore able to provide a more cost-effective option for families and also reduce textile waste by reusing old uniforms, having a positive impact on the environment as well as the community.
- West Central London Fixers is a community-based organisation that brings together volunteer repairers to fix broken electronics for free at events throughout the year. By doing so, they help alleviate the pressing issue of e-waste, which is the fastest growing waste problem in the UK.
- The Avenues’ Big Food Waste Build is a youth-focused initiative, teaching young people about the benefits of food waste management and helping them construct six food waste recycling bins.
- CauliBox provides award-winning, tech-enabled reuse solutions to disrupt the disposable food packaging market. It connects eco-conscious businesses and customers to embrace reusables, while bringing positive environmental, social and economic impacts to the local community.
Veolia’s Sustainability Fund is open to not-for-profit organisations, community groups or individuals in areas where the company partners with the local authority to deliver waste and cleansing services for the community.
Applications can be made via Veolia’s website veolia.co.uk/Sustainability-Fund or via Spacehive spacehive.com/movement/veoliauk, Veolia’s crowdfunding partner until Friday 29th September.
Keep an eye out on Facebook and Twitter @VeoliaUK to discover other projects that may inspire you or that you can get involved with in your local community.
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.
Pascal Hauret, Managing Director, Municipal at Veolia said:
"The Sustainability Fund was one of our greatest successes of 2022 and we’re so thrilled to see it growing again, with more Local Authority partners on board and an even bigger funding pot. As we work towards ecological transformation in collaboration with the communities we work with every day, we can’t wait to see the inspiring and innovative ideas they come up with in 2023.”
CauliBox Representative:
"Veolia has been supporting Cauli since the beginning when we were developing our popular reusable scheme at street food markets, providing us with incredible insights into waste management and advice that helped Cauli's growth and development immensely. We are excited to receive further support from Veolia's Sustainability Fund, which will be used to develop our CauliCup scheme to help our users ditch disposables and make a positive environmental impact."