Sheffield City council is investing half a million pounds to help support schools and other educational institutions to take action on climate change.
Built for Change will provide support to help those taking part to become more resilient to our changing climate, in ways that will benefit the wellbeing of children and young people experiencing health and other disadvantages.
Built for Change will also provide support for nurseries, schools and colleges to reduce their carbon emissions.
The impacts of our changing climate are becoming more and more obvious each and every day and we all have a role to play to respond to this, both by reducing our emissions as a city, and by adapting to the changes. Young people are at particular risk both from worries about what the future means for them and from the changing weather we are already experiencing. If their schools overheat or are affected by flooding, this affects their learning and health and wellbeing. This project aims to support educational establishments and young people themselves to act, through providing expert support identify the best actions they can take and and by providing funding for changes to buildings and playgrounds.
Cllr Ben Miskell, Chair of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee at Sheffield City Council
Sheffield City Council has secured £505,000 from the Public Health Reserves Fund for the programme with the money being used to help schools, nurseries and further education providers across the city complete climate action plans and to help them to protect themselves and their pupils from overheating and flood and to reduce carbon emissions. The programme also hopes to engage with the wider community around the educational settings, supporting them to save money and reduce the impact of heat and flood in the home.
The Council will be working with several partners including Ashden Climate Solutions’ schools campaign Let’s Go Zero, flood resilience partnership Connected by Water and Business in the Community’s Pride of Place Board to offer the best possible package of funding and expertise for the schools involved.
Schools have a vital role to play in tackling the climate crisis—not only by reducing their carbon footprint, but by inspiring and equipping young people to build a greener, fairer future. We’re thrilled to be part of the Built for Change programme in Sheffield, helping schools and nurseries create climate action plans, strengthen resilience to extreme weather, and put sustainability at the heart of their communities. This project shows what’s possible when public health, education and climate goals come together—and we hope it becomes a blueprint for action across the UK.
Alex Green, Head of Ashden's Let’s Go Zero campaign
There is no bigger challenge facing our people, our city, and the planet than climate change. Currently no UK city is climate resilient. To ensure Sheffield remains functional as a city under the extremes of weather, we will require a combined effort across sectors, and the Sheffield Pride of Place (PoP) Board recognises the key role business has to play.
Infrastructure, particularly green infrastructure, is the backbone to our ambition to be a resilient city. One of our key objectives is to deliver collaborative re-greening projects in under-resourced communities and schools, to provide parity of access to green space which restores pride, improves health, social cohesion and climate resilience. In partnership with built environment businesses in our network, we have already completed several projects. By installing green barriers, sensory and vegetable gardens to mitigate the impact of air pollution, we aim to improve the health and wellbeing of our young people and teach them about sustainability. We are therefore delighted to partner with the Built for Change Project to scale this work. Children are 20% of our population but 100% of our future. We need to ensure their school environment is resilient to our changing climate to enable them to thrive, whilst educating and empowering them to be our next generation of nature champions and environmental stewards.
Tim Roberts, CEO, Henry Boot and Chair of the Sheffield Pride of Place board
We are doing all we can, as a Council, to try and tackle climate change but we can’t do it alone. Sheffield is a fantastic city, a city that has proved many times in the past that its residents, business owners and workers can bring about incredible change. The climate crisis is something we all need to come together to try and limit the impact of and it is important that the voice of the city’s young people is heard in this. Their input will shape the city for decades to come and this fund is a great way to start listening to the next generation, empowering them to take action and improve the city’s climate.
Cllr Miskell