Doncaster’s Day of Action wins climate award – as council urges continued community commitment throughout 2023

These are all examples of small actions we could take throughout 2023, that would have an incredible impact on helping our climate.

In November last year, communities came together on Doncaster’s first Climate Day of Action to pledge to sustainable actions they were committed to taking in their communities.

Actions that residents pledged to on the day included walking to work, using public transport, growing their own vegetables, buying second hand clothing, switching appliances off when not in use, and carrying reusable bags, bottles and cups.

As a further consequence of the City’s first Climate Day of Action, the council was presented with a Carbon Literacy Action Day Catalyst Award – an award which is handed out to organisations which demonstrate dedication to tackling climate change through strong climate education and action.

Cabinet member for Sustainability and Waste, Cllr Mark Houlbrook, said: “What I am hoping residents will take away from this award, is just how dedicated the City of Doncaster Council is in tackling climate change. We will always look for innovative short-term and long-term methods we can bring in and introduce that will help us to reduce carbon within our communities and improve our local biodiversity.

“It can be easy to forget that we are living in a climate emergency in Doncaster but the unfortunate fact is this is the case. That is why I am hoping that last year’s day of action can be a catalyst for a continued collective, inspiring effort across the borough to help protect our climate, our wildlife and our green spaces right across the city.”

66 participants took part in Carbon Literacy training at City of Doncaster Council on the 7th November – a record number trained by our teams in one day. To put this into context, this figure for the 7th November represents 28% of the 234 participants that have now been trained in Carbon Literacy at City of Doncaster Council over the past two years.

Carbon Literacy training involves learning about the science of climate change and what steps individuals can take to improve and lower their own carbon footprint – with each individual committing to one sustainable action by the end of the programme.

Caelan Knight, Local Authorities Coordinator at the Carbon Literacy Project, added: “ Training 66 people in one day is a huge achievement - that means 132 significant carbon reduction actions, which will go a long way to helping (City of) Doncaster Council achieve their net zero targets.”

Cllr Houlbrook continued: “We really do hope last year’s day of action will be the catalyst for further local and sustainable joint action right across the city. Any action – big or small – can play its part – and together we can bring back our biodiversity, protect our wildlife and enhance our climate for future generations to come.”

To learn more and keep updated on the City of Doncaster’s climate schemes and initiatives for 2023, and for help finding sustainable actions to commit to, visit https://www.yourlifedoncaster.co.uk/tackling-climate-change