Green Footsteps Guide to help community organisations become more climate resilient
7 March 2025
A practical toolkit has been launched to help community organisations across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly improve their sustainability and build resilience to the impacts of climate change.
The Green Footsteps Guide was produced by the work of our Climate and Environment Alliance – a consortium of voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations working together to tackle the climate emergency.
In June 2023, at the inaugural Climate and Environment Alliance, Cornwall VSF declared a climate emergency for the VCSE sector on the basis of ecological and climate damage, social justice and inequalities, and to address equity and fairness. The declaration was made in line with anchor organisations including the NHS Trusts, Cornwall Council and the Universities of Exeter and Falmouth.
The guide is divided into chapters to enable users to digest and develop ways for their organisation to take their first steps in becoming more ‘eco-friendly’.
As well as having a crucial positive impact on the environment, other benefits to organisations looking to reduce their carbon footprint and improve their sustainability include attracting talented workers and volunteers, cutting costs in the long-term and being changemakers – leading the way for others to follow and learn from.
The project was funded by Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board, Devon and Cornwall Local Resilience Forum and Cornwall Council.
Local illustrator Holly Astle, based in Falmouth was commissioned by the project and her deep love and appreciation of the natural world and campaigning activity made her the natural choice to bring the guide to life.
Through the work of the Climate and Environment Alliance, it became apparent that sector colleagues working in the climate and environmental space within Cornwall, held a huge volume of useful expertise that could and should benefit wider organisations in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
This project was in part, to say thank you for all the work our VCSE organisations do in our communities – for us to help in return, by taking this wealth of collective knowledge held by climate and environmental professionals and make it available to all.
Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum
Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Local Resilience Forum are delighted to support voluntary sector partner agencies in our shared work to develop greater resilience.
The Green Footsteps Guide is a valuable resource to support organisations as we seek to tackle the challenges of Climate Change and increase resilience and preparedness.
Cornwall Council and Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Local Resilience Forum
We welcome Cornwall VSF’s Green Footsteps Guide, which truly demonstrates the enthusiasm and commitment of the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector to engage in local climate action.
They play a key role in responding to climate change within our local communities across Cornwall. The guide directly supports the ambition set out in Cornwall’s Climate Change Action Plan by inspiring organisations to embed sustainability into their ways of working and build their resilience to the impacts of climate change.
Cornwall Council