Image courtesy of NCVO

The National Council For Voluntary Organisation’s (NCVO) Vulnerable People and Climate Change project (Apr 2011 - Mar 2013) worked with 51 non-environmental voluntary and community organisations (VCOs) to explore how climate change could affect their work and beneficiaries. The project targeted 4 cohorts of VCOs supporting people in England who could be particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.  These were: older people’s organisations in London; disability and mental health organisations in London; black and minority ethnic (BME) organisations in Greater Manchester and organisations supporting people on low incomes in Hull and Portsmouth.

NCVO’s undertook this work in light of its role in championing and strengthening the voluntary sector in the UK.  NCVO recognises that climate change has society-wide implications and all voluntary and community organisations - whatever their mission - need to consider and prepare for the likely impacts this will have on their work and those they support.

This case study provides an overview of NCVO’s approach to working with voluntary and community sector organisations to  enable them to become more knowledgeable about climate change impacts, better prepared to adapt to the changing climate and more motivated to reduce their carbon emissions. It may be useful for public agencies (e.g. local authorities, Healthwatch) charged with developing national and local responses to climate change; voluntary and community sector organisations and voluntary sector support organisations.