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A young man with brown hair wearing an orange button-up shirt and glasses is decorating a tree branch with fairy lights and handwritten notes.

Sustainability

As an organisation, we are integrating environmentally responsible and restorative practices into our operations and programmes.

The Journey to Environmental Justice

As a youth organisation, we are committed to working responsibly and sustainably to look after the next generations’ planet.

We believe that the environment is the foundation for young people’s future, but the climate crisis is affecting young people across the world, disproportionately impacting people from:

  • Communities that experience discrimination
  • Low income families
  • Small island communities

Women and children are the most affected among these communities.

This inequality is a product of social injustice, rooted in capitalism and colonialism. A movement called Environmental Justice seeks to resolve inequality while tackling the climate crisis by:

  • creating equitable access to green and blue spaces
  • shifting focus from economic growth to social progress
  • supporting disproportionately impacted communities to adapt in response to a rapidly changing climate

60% of young people feel climate change and inequality are impacting their generation's mental health
A young college student walking a catwalk for a fashion show in the town centre, dressed in clothes made from upcycled clothing

Today we need about 1.75 planets to provide the resources humanity consumes and absorb the waste we produce. As a collective population, a nation, a business and as individuals, we all have a responsibility to take notice and take action against climate change.

In the UK, children and young people are witnessing the impact that climate change is having on their communities and ecosystems.

In 2019 the UK government set a goal to achieve net zero by 2050, and in 2021 at the COP26 conference the UK government set an additional goal to reduce emissions by 68% by 2030. These goals are in line with the 1.5°C Paris Agreement target, which states that to reverse the effects of climate change, greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 at the latest and decline 43% by 2030.

However, according to the Climate Change Committee, the UK is off-track to achieve Net Zero by 2050, and 39% of required emissions cuts remain without adequate planning.

We are already experiencing the effects of climate change in the form of extreme weather, wildfires, and flooding. 2025 was the hottest year on record in the UK, and 2024 was the hottest year on record globally at 1.55° above the pre-industrial baseline.

In addition to the physical effects of climate change, 26% of young people feel that eco-anxiety affects their daily functioning, a UK Government survey found, which is why we are making it a priority to take action against climate change.

We are responding to the climate and biodiversity crisis through:

  • Our policies

    Updating our Environmental Policy, and Action Plan for 2023 – 26 in line with ambitious reduction targets

  • Measuring our footprint

    Continuing to measure our own environmental footprint and find ways to reduce it and create net-positive impacts

  • Reporting our impact

    Staying accountable by reporting quarterly our Board of Trustees and annually to Arts Council England and being transparent about our own impact

  • Youth engagement

    Supporting children and young people to explore their local environment and environmental challenges as part of our Placemaking and schools programmes

Taking Action with Julie's Bicycle Creative Climate Tools 2026

Our Environmental Impact

We use Julie’s Bicycle Creative Climate Tools and Clean Growth Calculator to measure our environmental impact. Our data for 2025 /​2026 shows that our measurable scope 2 emissions for the year were 18.32 tonnes CO2e, and our scope 3 emissions for the year were 93.15 tonnes CO2e.

Our scope 2 emissions are from homeworking energy requirements and business travel. Our goal to reduce these emissions partially relies on external factors such as decarbonisation of the national grid and transport sector. However, our individual and team actions also have a significant impact on reducing our emissions.

 

Scope 3 emissions are from purchased goods and services, and where we have the greatest environmental impact.

 

We must take significant action to meet our ambitious emissions reduction targets.

Scope 2

  • We have adopted an ‘online first’ approach to meeting partners to reduce business journeys
  • We have maintained our organisation’s ‘no fly’ status since 2020
  • We promote active and public transport through:
    • Capping staff car mileage claims at 70 miles
    • Paying for railcards for employees who travel by train
    • Offering tax-free bicycle purchase through the Cycle to Work scheme
    • In 2025 we offered cycle confidence training to our employees

 

Scope 3

  • In 2025/26, 1 / 3 of our Young Cultural Changemakers commissions were delivered in partnership with local environmental organisations to empower children and young people to engage with their local environment and enhance biodiversity
  • In 2025/26, we planted 100 trees in our placemaking areas through Carbon Footprint’s tree planting programme
  • In 2025, we increased our staff volunteering allowance from 2 to 3 days, to support employees to undertake volunteering specifically for environmental causes
  • We have developed an Ethical Procurement Guide to support our team to procure at least 10% of materials from second hand and ethical sources

We are developing our new Environmental Action Plan and emissions reduction targets for 2027.

Our Environmental Policy

Including scope, responsibility, objectives, monitoring, reporting and review.

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