The climate crisis – what’s the non-profit sector’s role?

As I write this article, I am looking out over my garden – drenched and soggy after weeks of rain. “Where has the summer gone?” is the constant cry. This follows the wettest winter in 130 years according to the Met Office and last summer where heatwaves meant temperatures exceeded 40 degrees (although it has just exceeded 50 degrees in Death Valley so you could argue we got off lightly…). Few people can doubt that the climate in the UK has changed and it is the same all over the world. These wild swings in our weather are impacting plants, animals and habitats across the globe and driving what is now considered the next big species extinction event. The impact for people and planet could be devastating if we don’t act.

You may think climate change and its impact is a weird topic for THINK to be covering – we are, after all, famed for our fantastic pieces about best practice and trends in fundraising and other charity matters. But this is a charity matter. It is something that should matter to all of us and all sectors of society – including charities – should be taking note and taking action. I don’t just mean those charities doing practical conservation work and tackling climate change directly (and there are many doing excellent work) but all of us. This is a global challenge and something we should all be addressing where we can personally and in our places of work.

For non-environmental charities, the challenge of responding to the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis can be difficult to get a grip on and it can be difficult to know where to start. Most charities (88%) say they are concerned about the impacts of climate change according to a report from Charity Digital (August 2023), but just half say it’s currently a priority for their organisation, with a quarter saying other pressing priorities are taking precedence over more climate action. But what is more pressing than having no habitable home in 50 years?

Many charities are doing good things. Increasing numbers calculate their carbon footprint and offset emissions, many have ethical buying policies and procedures that support sustainability, and lots have recycling programmes that reduce waste. These are great and we should as a sector be reducing emissions and environmental impacts in practical ways like this. In the words of one supermarket giant, ‘Every little helps’, but the impact of these initiatives is small compared to some others that could be considered.

Adapting to climate change and building resilience

Adaptation is about the need to prepare for the consequences of a global climate that will be at least 1.5° warmer (recent predictions suggest we will struggle to limit global increase to this level) and develop resilience to its effects. We know that those who are already poor, marginalised or disadvantaged are at most risk of suffering from climate impacts – and that these impacts are already being felt in the UK as well as overseas.

There is a role for charities to play here. It isn’t just charities helping older people or the homeless cope with extremes of temperature in their own homes or on the street. It’s about helping whole communities adapt their surroundings and lifestyles to cope with climate extremes. Better, cheaper public transport and more energy efficient homes will help address both poverty and climate change. Planting green spaces and encouraging walking or cycling rather than driving will improve well-being and also reduce carbon emissions.

So whether a charity is focused on supporting the elderly, the homeless or those with mental health problems, they should also consider themselves climate adapters and resilience builders and look at how core programmes can have ‘knock-on’ positive impacts. They should shout about it and encourage others to do the same.

Creating a better future in which people and places can thrive is what charities have been doing for centuries. Many of the changes they help drive already lead to improved outcomes for the environment as well as for the quality of life for the people and communities they support, but the focus can always be sharper. All charities need to:

• Recognise the relevance of climate change to their mission, whatever that is
• Be bold in describing how they are taking action that addresses it and its effects in all they do
• Find ways to highlight the climate-related benefits they can achieve through their core work and encourage others to do the same.

And to bring it back to the thing THINK is best known for – expertise and insight in fundraising –  these things are what increasingly sophisticated donors are needing to see in the organisations they support. Funders across the corporate sector, grant givers, and  major donors are wanting to understand how their support not only does good, but that it does no harm either. Those charities that can talk about how their programme work and wider ethos improves the future for all surely will have a competitive advantage when it comes to fundraising.

Simon Dickson, Director
July 2024

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