Climate Change – Cynnal Cymru

Carbon Literacy Action Day (04 December)

Do you work for an organisation and want to know how to start tackling your effect on the climate?

Join us on 4 December 2023 and be part of the world’s largest climate education & action training event – Carbon Literacy Action Day, coinciding with Wales Climate Week and COP28.

What: a day of accredited training: “Carbon Literacy at Work”

Where: Sbarc|Spark, Cardiff

When: 4 December 2023

Commitment: From 09:00am to 17:30pm – to include networking, training and lunch

For who: organisations of all sizes and sectors who want to develop an awareness of the carbon cost of their activities and how to start on the journey to reduce their impact

Why: with the climate changing, all organisations need to identify their risks and know how to prioritise their climate action in line with national policies and legal requirements.

Led by: Cynnal Cymru-Sustain Wales

Ticket prices:

Cynnal Cymru Members	Conditions
FREE Member (One place per member organisation)	One place per organisation	FREE
Additional Member per person (Special discount)	Cynnal Cymru Member	£85 plus VAT
Non-members
Non-member (Early Bird) per person		£95 plus VAT
Non-member (standard price) per person		£130 plus VAT
sbarc\|spark Residents
FREE sbarc\|spark Residents	One place per organisation	FREE
Additional sbarc\|spark Residents	sbarc\|spark resident / organisation	£95 plus VAT

*Ticket includes official certification cost with the Carbon Literacy Project and a carefully sourced low-carbon lunch

Book Tickets >>

04 October | ‘Why Nature is Everyone’s Business’

If you plan to make nature your business, then our upcoming members event with WWF, Wales and West Utilities and Capital Coated Steel Ltd will demonstrate how objectives for nature are being incorporated by the corporate world with tangible – and replicable – results.

Book your place >>

Speakers

Clare Sain-ley Berry

Interim Director | Cynnal Cymru – Sustain Wales

Amy Kobelis

Business Advocacy engagement | WWF International

Rhodri Thomas

Sustainability Manager | Wales & West Utilities

Stacy Griffiths

Corporate Environment Lead | Wales & West Utilities

Simon Nurse

Head of Works & Operations | Capital Coated Steel Ltd.

Agenda

9:30 Arrivals & refreshments

10:00 Cynnal Cymru Welcome, Clare Sain-Ley-Berry – Interim Director

10:15 Amy Kobelis – Business Advocacy engagement (WWF International)

10:30 Rhodri Thomas – Sustainability Manager & Stacy Griffiths – Corporate Environment Lead (Wales & West Utilities)

10:45 Simon Nurse – Head of Works & Operations (Capital Coated Steel Ltd)

11:00 Comfort break

11:15 Q+A Session (Clare, Amy, Rhodri, Simon)

11:30 Networking time

12:30 Close

Nature Wise for business – ‘Give it a go, because the clock is ticking’

Tell us about Orangebox and your role

We design and manufacture office furniture and the company is sustainability-led. Our HQ and two factories are in south-east Wales, and three years ago we were bought out by Steelcase, a big American company.

I joined as a furniture designer around 20 years ago, but just over a year ago I became Head of Sustainability. I’m interested in minimising our carbon footprint and I also look after our energy efficiency.

Why is nature important to you and the businesses?

I do a lot of cycling, I’m a keen birdwatcher and part of a conservation group. So I’m passionate about biodiversity and I’m helping Orangebox acknowledge that climate change isn’t the only big risk.

Part of the Orangebox team volunteering at the Stump up for Trees nursery outside of Abergavenny.

How important is nature in your sector?

Increasingly so, but we are at the first rungs on the ladder. Orangebox prides itself on being environmentally-led, but it’s always felt like we’ve been pushing. Now customers are asking how they can reduce their carbon footprint. The biodiversity and nature discussion is nowhere near as mature, but as we see more media exposure of biodiversity loss that will increase exponentially in the next 5 years.

What do you think are the best things about nature in Wales?

It’s the variety. I love where I live because in half an hour I can be on top of a mountain, on a cliff looking out to sea, or at Newport wetlands surrounded by thousands of starlings.

I work in a design studio on the banks of the Taff, where I’m lucky to look onto woodland. Every time we see a species of bird we print out a picture and put it on the wall. You won’t believe how many species we’ve seen!

Why did you choose to do Nature Wise?

The minute I saw it, I wanted to deepen my knowledge of how ecosystems work and get a better understanding of biodiversity loss. Because I’m with Cardiff Conservation Volunteers my course was essentially free, as it was funded by GWR.

How was the course?

I really enjoyed it. The trainers knew the content and had passion for it, and it was just the right level in terms of complexity.

What changes are you making, following the course?

Personally, I’ve pledged to do more in my village and have been talking to my neighbours. But more impactful will be how I can help at Orangebox. We’re thinking harder about the materials we use and where they come from. For example, we use a lot of wood, and while that is low impact compared to plastics and metals, we still have to buy most of it from abroad. So we’re working hard on developing partnerships that allow us to source wood from well-managed forests in the UK.

Litter Gareth collected from a local stream.

What would you say to others about why they should sign up for Nature Wise?

Give it a go, because the clock is ticking.

Nabod Natur – Nature Wise is a science-based, action-focused course to help individuals to understand the relationships between people and natural systems. It shares knowledge, builds understanding and provide the tools to motivate and catalyse action.

What inspires you to take action on the climate and nature crisis?

“I’m really excited about the future if we tackle these crises in a positive way. We’ve lost so much biodiversity in Britain. And in my lifetime, if we could see that natural spectacle come back, what a wonderful future we could create.” (Dan)

“There’s a trillion planets but as far as we know, we are on the only one that can sustain life! It just proves how precise the conditions need to be for life. And you know, climate change, it’s not about the planet: it’s about life, here.” (Carys)

“As a kid, I enjoyed playing in nature. It’s so important for confidence, learning about yourself. And that’s only going to be possible for kids in the future if they don’t have to worry about how resilient the environment is.” (Gethyn, Ecologist)

“I was born in rural France and I can see all this change. If we don’t make a difference now, then the world we live in will be so different, so dangerous for the future generation. Think about that! We have to sort it out.”

“We’re helping to decarbonise Wales one business at a time so they can have a good carbon footprint and a solid carbon reduction plan because it just makes perfect sense.” (Dave, Auditel)

“I think the vegan movement and a more plant based lifestyle is a way that is going to help propel us into a more conscious future.” (Carly)

“It’s my duty of care as a teacher to have an interest in sustainability and make sure it has a direct impact in education and on future generations.” (Mary)

“I’m involved primarily for my and others’ future generations. But also because it’s the sensible way to live” (Ceri)

“I’m of the insect-splattered windscreen generation. My children have no concept of it; it’s declined by 80% in my lifetime. It’s the proverbial canary in the coalmine. Halting and reversing the moving baseline is what inspires me.” (Ben, Woop Woop Magazine)

“The time is now to think and work collectively to envision a brighter and environmentally just world. Join the conversation to realise a better planet and collective future. We need to move beyond doom and imagine what is possible.” (Louise)

“SMEs account for over half of the UKs economy and I feel a sense of honour and privilege in playing a part in a more sustainable commercial future.” (Louis, Web Marketer UK)

“My belief that we have a moral obligation to leave the world a better place was strengthened when I travelled & experienced the impact of climate change first hand. Now I use my unique skillset to try to reverse the damage that’s been done” (Ant, Motion Manor)

“When you have a home planet that has everything in it to help you live a good life, it makes sense to look after it. It’s self care – for us as a species who have the good fortune to exist in this bountiful ecosystem.” (Sylvia, Cynnal Cymru)

'It's important for people to disconnect from work and get out in nature' Julie Longton, Associate Director (Grasshopper Communications)

Nature Wise for Business – ‘being outside and close to nature is crucial for wellbeing’

What is your job at Grasshopper Communications?

I’m a communications professional at Grasshopper, a communications agency with an office in Cardiff. Our work is all about social value, we create campaigns that change attitudes and actions in positive, lasting ways. We partner with like-minded organisations, such as renewable energy companies, environment agencies and local and Welsh Government, supporting campaigns on active travel, regeneration, net zero and conservation.

What are the best things about nature for you?

I work remotely and I’m usually in front of my laptop, so it’s critical I spend any free time out by the beach, or in the woods walking with my kids and spotting birds and beetles.

I want to bring my children up so that they’re really fond of nature. Our local beach, Maenporth (near Falmouth), has lots of craggy rocks and little tunnels which kids love. We can go whatever the weather – they just love it!

How important is nature to your sector?

I think that for communications – for most industries – people have realised that the environment is important for staff wellbeing. The pandemic was a bit of a turning point, when we realised that we need human connection but also that being outside and close to nature is crucial for wellbeing.

Why is nature important to you and the business?

Personally, being closer to nature was part of the motivation for moving with my family from London to Cornwall. I wanted my children to be close to the woods and the beach, to have more work-life balance and be closer to wildlife.

As for Grasshopper, wellbeing is a real focus for us – it’s part of our culture. It’s important for people to disconnect from work and get out in nature. In fact, this year we’re hopefully starting some team voluntary work to support a local conservation charity.

Grasshopper Communications team on a wellbeing day.

Why did you do the Nature Wise course?

I was keen to do it because at the time I was putting together a communications strategy for a project for Natural Resources Wales, called Natur Am Byth. The aim is to bring people closer to nature and protect endangered species. So Nature Wise was really helpful for that role, particularly for the work I was doing on how to inspire people.

How did you find the course?

I thought it was brilliant. The trainers were really good and it really was a two-way course with lots of discussion. Doing it over two days meant you could go away and digest it before coming back to the next phase.

What would you say to others about doing Nature Wise?

Go for it! Whether you’re a junior member of staff or a senior manager, it’s relevant for anyone with an interest in the environment who wants to take a more active role.

Save our Wild Isles

The experience was organised by WWF Cymru, RSPB Cymru and National Trust Cymru together with experts from the Open University that brought to life the Save Our Wild Isles campaign and television series, demanding an immediate halt to the destruction of nature here in the UK and urgent action for its recovery.

The event outlined the challenges facing us and how everyone has a part to play in supporting this recovery – something Sylvia and Jason know first-hand from their experience teaching Cynnal Cymru’s Nature Wise | Nabod Natur course. It brought together nature ambassadors advocating on behalf of our precious grasslands, freshwater areas, woodlands and oceans in a combination of film screenings, panel discussions and interpretation boards, all accompanied by a delicious sustainable vegan meal provided by local caterers Wild Thing Cardiff.

This fantastic opportunity to network and share experiences with others working in the sustainability sector did, however, make clear just how much work still needs to be done. The statistics are deeply worrying: 30 million birds have vanished from our skies over the last 50 years and as many as 1 in 6 species is at risk of extinction here in Wales. And this is something humanity has caused: in the words of Sir David Attenborough, “this starts and ends with us”.

But all is not lost – part of the event was to promote the People’s Plan for Nature created by thousands of people across the UK in an inclusive participatory process calling for “urgent, immediate action from everyone to protect and restore nature for future generations”. The Plan is an ambitious vision which aims to bring the nature crisis and nature conservation to the forefront of decision making while maintaining the delicate balance between human and non-human needs. Add your voice now to the People’s Plan for Nature and make it too big to ignore any longer.

Wales Net Zero 2035 Challenge Group Launches First Challenge: How could Wales feed itself by 2035?

The world is experiencing the disastrous impacts of the climate crisis and is currently off track to avert further impacts. Leading scientists recently issued what they called “our final warning”. The Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru have jointly invited an independent group to explore how the country can speed up its transition to net zero, and how amending its target to 2035 from 2050 could be made possible.

The ‘Group’, led by former Environment Minister Jane Davidson, is tasked with:

finding the best examples of transformative change from Wales and around the world and bringing them to Wales;
challenging the Welsh government and Senedd (Welsh Parliament) to go further and faster;
imagining what a fairer, more sustainable future looks like for the Welsh nation.

Will Evans, 10^th generation farmer from Wrexham and member of the Group said:

“I am deeply concerned about the impact of climate change on farming in the UK and across the world, that’s why I am proud and excited to be part of this national conversation on how Wales can blaze a trail for action and adaptation to safeguard a future for our children.”

10^th generation farmer Will Evans, is proud of his work. Yet he has grave concerns about the future of farming in Wales and the future for his daughters in the face of climate change. He is aware that farming needs to change and this provides a huge opportunity. He has recently joined the newly formed Wales Net Zero 2035 Challenge Group, chaired by ex-environment minister Jane Davidson to help ensure farming and the food system in Wales is fit for the future. The Group is formally launching its work today, with a first challenge to explore how Wales could feed itself by 2035.

Jane Davidson, Chair, said:

“Setting up the challenge group shows that the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru “get” the graveness of our global situation and are serious about how we can lessen the impacts and prepare for the future.”

The Group is looking for the most imaginative solutions to inform 10-year deliverable plans from 2025 to 2035.

It will be seeking views from Wales and the world; making draft conclusions public to openly put them to the test in Wales and beyond, before making recommendations to the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru in summer 2024.

Jane Davidson added:

“I challenge anybody with big ideas about how to reach net zero by 2035 – whilst also making sure that we support communities in Wales and deliver better outcomes for nature – to respond to our calls for evidence.”

The Group will be wanting to hear from people and communities across Wales and the world to listen to their experiences and ideas, across a range of key challenges. The first challenge, being launched today, is How could Wales feed itself by 2035?

The first challenge’s call for views and evidence also launches today and is expected to run for two months, closing on the 30^th June. The launch dates for further challenges will be announced in due course. The Group’s work is scheduled to run until summer 2024.

The Group is made up of 25 independent, unpaid members and includes representatives from the Welsh Youth Parliament.

The five Net Zero 2035 Challenges are:

How could Wales feed itself by 2035?
How could Wales meet energy needs by 2035 whilst phasing out fossil fuels?
How could Wales heat and build homes and workplaces by 2035?
How could people and places be connected across Wales by 2035?
What could education, jobs and work, look like across Wales by 2035?

Visit the new website netzero2035.wales for more details >>

For more information, contact Stanley Townsend

Please follow the new Wales Net Zero for updates on their work at:
Twitter @WNZ2035
Mastodon @WNZ2035@toot.wales
Linkedin Wales Net Zero 2035

Mind and Local Minds – linking mental health with sustainability

The challenge

Mental health charities are increasingly interested in issues around climate change and are eager to know what role they can play and how they can positively contribute to the sustainable development goals, and the seven wellbeing goals here in Wales. However, as with many other organisations, local Minds in Wales do not always have in-house experts, sustainability professionals, or the appropriate capacity to help them integrate sustainability into their operations. As a result, there is often concern and worry about not knowing where to start and what to do.

The challenge was to create a shared understanding of what sustainability means to local Minds in Wales, so that as a federation they are all on the same page. Local Minds in Wales are in the process of implementing their Network Strategy for 2023 to 2026, where plans around environmental sustainability feature within implementation plan tasks, and they have reached out to us for help.

The session came about from interest expressed by local Mind leaders to find out more about this subject area.

Our approach

We find that the best way to approach such complex challenges is to make their everyday impacts relatable within our clients’ own experiences and areas of operation. Their concerns and frames of reference need to shape what we are delivering and have space to be aired and explored. That way the priorities or solutions that emerge are tangible and relevant rather than theoretical or out of touch. In this case, we chose to show Local Minds that the current crises their clients are facing are only going to be exacerbated by the impacts of climate change. Since Local Minds are specialists in mental health, we approached the challenge by referring to emotions and lived experiences. That said, rather than showing statistics, we asked them to imagine what it is like to live in spaces affected by climate change and inequalities such as housing, access to public transport, costs of living, community spaces, and job insecurities – the structures that they and the people they work with are already having to navigate.

To deliver this interactive session we relied on key reports: The Links Between the Environment and our Mental Health and What Europe Could Do About It; The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change; and Health and wellbeing impacts of climate change by Public Health Wales (pdf)

How we helped

The CEOs of local Minds in Wales already knew about the importance of green spaces, such as the role they played during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our presentation widened this understanding to the connection between the wider environment and mental health. Attendees left with a full understanding that the challenges that climate change poses to mental health are unlike any experienced to date. Some of the impacts of the climate crisis are already being experienced by Mind clients and people new to the organisations are also accessing their services due to climate anxiety. They also understood that they have a key role to play in society in advocating for climate action as a necessary component of preserving and protecting public mental health.

The impact

The local Mind CEOs have already committed to integrated sustainability into their network strategy so that together they can take actions to lower their footprint on the environment, and make decisions that ultimately benefit the communities they operate in, their staff; their suppliers and contractors, and the environment.

They also decided they needed another session with Cynnal Cymru to support them do achieve this.

It was great to have Karolina join us to provide her expert knowledge, understanding and expertise into environmental sustainability and its connection not only to the third sector and our work, but also the prominent links to mental health.

We have made a commitment to developing plans around environmental sustainability as part of our Strategic Plan, and will very much look forward to working with Karolina and the team at Cynnal Cymru to realise these plans. Simon Stephens, Head of Networks (Wales), Mind Cymru

To find out more about the local Mind network and how you can access support through one of our 18 local Minds in Wales, visit the Local Minds web page.

Heading for Net Zero? Our new partnership can help

We are seeing a growing demand for services not just to help organisations make sense of sustainable development, but more specifically to measure their impact relating to climate change and the Net Zero ambition. Identifying robust and scientifically accurate data is a barrier to many organisations and so to assist with this challenge, Cynnal Cymru is joining forces with Compare Your Footprint to provide an enhanced carbon accounting consultancy.

Compare Your Footprint is a B Corp based in the UK which provides the best quality tools to consultants and businesses; and expertise to support organisations to make a just transition to a sustainable future. Their carbon software will allow us to measure scopes 1, 2 and 3 emissions and generate a comprehensive analysis of a company’s footprint. This in turn will allow us to work with clients to find the most appropriate and effective strategies to decarbonise.

Our license agreement kicks off in April 2023. Please look out for our carbon accounting service launch and if you think this service may be of value to you in the future please contact consultancy@cynnalcymru.com.

DEC Turkey-Syria earthquake appeal

DEC launched the Turkey-Syria earthquake appeal in response to the devastating impact of two earthquakes that struck south-earth Turkey and north-west Syria on 6th February 2023. Turkey has declared a state of emergency, and both countries have appealed for urgent international assistance, with estimates emerging that 17 million people in total are exposed.

14 of the 15 DEC member charities are planning on or already responding to the earthquake directly or through local partners in Turkey and Syria. These member charities have strong local connections with the community, religious leaders, and elders, and have negotiated access locally to ensure they can get aid to the people who need it most. These relationship help ensure that aid reaches intended recipients. The DEC plays an oversight role to ensure accountability and transparency, and it’s ‘helicopter view’ of the response enables them to spot duplication, plug gaps in programming, and support cost-effective procurement.

DEC charities and their local partners are among the first responders. Immediate priorities are search and rescue, medical treatment for the injured, shelter for those who have lost their homes, heaters for safe spaces and winter kits with blankets, and warm clothes, and ensuring people have food and clean water.

If you can, please help. Donate today: Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal