Together We Can Toolkit
The Carbon Neutral Cornwall 'Together We Can' Toolkit has resources and tools to help community groups and local councils in their response to the Climate and Ecological Emergency.
There is a huge amount of information and inspiration, even some of the answers to climate change, within Cornwall. Many groups, local councils and towns and villages are making a difference to Climate Change through their own Climate Action Plans, projects, schemes and initiatives.
The Carbon Neutral Cornwall 'Together We Can' Toolkit is for everyone.
If you have any resources or tools that we can share here, to help other groups and communities, please contact the Council's Carbon Neutral Cornwall team by email: climatechange@cornwall.gov.uk
Explore the Carbon Neutral Cornwall 'Together We Can' Toolkit below.
> Scroll to the bottom of the page for events and news.
Funding and grants
Please see the panel on the right of the page (or below on a mobile) for information about funding and grants available to support climate action.
If you know of funding that we can share here please get in touch
Carbon Calculators
- WWF Carbon Footprint Calculator
- Giki Zero
- Helston Footprints
- Mackay Carbon Calculator
- Carbon Footprint Ltd
- IMPACT Carbon footprint calculator
Carbon saving behaviour change pledges
Doing the things that are good for us and our planet can be hard. Here are some pledge schemes that will help you to save carbon:
Climate Change for town and parish councils
The Climate Change for parish councils leaflet has information to help councils put carbon reduction, carbon sequestration and the environment at the heart of policy and decision making.
The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) climate change booklet has case studies, for county associations or local (parish and town) councils, with chapters on: Carbon off-setting and reduction; Climate Change Forums; Community projects; Designing greener housing; Electric charging points; Energy and heating; Green travel; Plastic reduction; and Trees and tree management. designed to be used by county associations or local (parish and town) councils.
The Government Act on CO2 Guide (2007) has information for parish and town councils on ways to tackle climate change.
Climate Literacy Training
Cornwall Council's offer of access to our online Climate Literacy training and two free Learning Hub accounts closed on 31 March 2022.
We are excited to be offering virtual lecture style climate literacy training, for town and parish councils and community groups, in Autumn 2022. The training will be delivered by the Council's partner GEP Environmental.
Let us know you are interested in attending a training session using this form
Support for Town and Parish Councils to take Climate Change action
Cornwall Council is making training and potential mentoring available to town and parish councils, through the UK100 Climate Engagement scheme. The programme, delivered by Involve, will help eight local councils looking to develop their strategy or initiate projects around climate change. Following on from the training, some of these local councils will have the opportunity to receive one to one mentoring, from the Involve team, to support the delivery of their climate engagement plans. More information is available here
The training and mentoring can also be offered to community groups working in partnership with a city, town or parish council. We will be in touch with local councils during July with more information and dates.
Environmental policy template
Based on previous work done by Wadebridge Town Council and with the help of fellow CALC members, the Generic Environmental Policy Template is a comprehensive spread of ‘best’ environment policies which can help local councils clarify position, promote action and secure good outcomes on key issues.
Carbon Neutral Cornwall presentation
Our film of Cllr Martyn Alvey - Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change - giving the Carbon Neutral Cornwall presentation, is available for Community Network Panels, Town and Parish Councils and Community Action Groups to download and show at meetings.
You can view and download the film, presentation slide deck and speakers' notes below:
- Cllr Martyn Alvey film
- Carbon Neutral Cornwall presentation
- Carbon Neutral Cornwall presentation speakers' notes
Climate Change online library resources
Cornwall’s libraries offer books and resources containing some of the latest thinking and writing on climate change. The collection will appeal to people wishing to increase their awareness of environmental issues, and those looking to make practical lifestyle changes. To view the collection use the search term 'climatechange' (without a space) on the online library catalogue at http://capitadiscovery.co.uk/cornwall/
The Climate Change collection is available online, on Borrowbox and in local libraries.
Infographics
Please see the infographics panel on the right of the page (or below on a mobile), with links to graphics you can download and use. If you use one of the graphic images, please credit Cornwall Council.
If you have graphics or charts that you would like us to share here, please get in touch
Films and videos
- Cornwall leading the way
- Cornwall's communities leading the way
- How we move around
- How we grow things and what we eat
- How we heat and power things
- How we buy and use things
- How we adapt and improve things
- Action planning
- The future is in your hands
- The future is in your hands (Climate Commitments version)
- Cornwall Climate Care films
- BBC How 1.5°C degrees of global warming could change the world
Schools resources
- Dive Project Cornwall
- My2050 Carbon Calculator
- Our Climate Our Future: COP26 Schools resources
- Schools Eco Pledges
- The MacKay Carbon Calculator
- Together for Our Planet
- University of Exeter SPIDAS project
- University of Reading information for schools
- University of Reading Climate Activity Pack
Repair Cafes
Repair Cafes offer a place where people can get together to alter or mend clothes, and fix broken furniture, electrical gadgets, bikes, toys, crockery and more - and reduce waste
- Cornwall Repair Cafe Network and on Facebook
- Cornwall Recycles
- Upcycle Kernow
- Bude Repair Cafe
- Falmouth and Penryn Repair Cafe and on Facebook
- Penzance Repair Cafe
- St Austell Repair Cafe
- Truro Repair Cafe
Call to action discussion sheets
The Carbon Neutral Cornwall Call to Action sets out a vision for where Cornwall needs to be, while making sure that we all have access to the things we need to stay connected, healthy and thriving.
The documents below breakdown the areas of the Carbon Neutral Cornwall Call to Action, offering ideas for actions we can all take together.
- How we create and use energy
- How we travel
- How we consume
- How we live
- How we enhance our environment
- How we work
- How we reduce waste
- Prosperity for one and all
What we can all do to help with climate change
There are lots of websites and apps with ideas for how we can all reduce our carbon impact. Here are a few:
- Carbon Neutral Cornwall Hive: Ideas Bank
- Coast project: Resources
- BBC: Ten simple ways to act on climate change
- BBC: Climate change - How to be more eco-friendly in everyday life
- David Suzuki Foundation: Top 10 things you can do about climate change
- Devon Climate Emergency: Top tips for everyone
- Imperial College London: Nine things you can do about climate change
- United Nations: 10 ways you can help fight the climate crisis
- University of Reading: What you can do
- WWF: 10 tips to eat more sustainably
If there is a website or app that you would like us to share here, please get in touch
Climate Action Plans
Cornwall Council declared a Climate Emergency and produced the Cornwall Climate Change Action Plan in 2019.
In addition Cornwall Council commissioned the University of Exeter to produce the Greenhouse Gas Inventory for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, 2009 to 2017 report and the Cornwall Climate Emergency: Pathways to “Net Zero” report.
Many town and parish councils and other organisations have declared a Climate and developed a Climate Change Action Plan, here are a few which we hope are helpful.
- Bude Climate Action Plan
- Camborne Climate Emergency Action Plan
- Cornwall Council Climate Change Action Plan
- Council of the Isles of Scilly Climate Change Action Plan
- Diocese of Truro Environment Vision and Strategy
- Helston Climate Action Plan
- Landulph Parish Council Climate Change Statement of Intent
- Portreath Parish Council Climate Action Plan
- Penzance Council Climate Emergency Action Plan
- St Austell Bay parish Council Climate Crisis Action Plan 2021
- Sustainable Penzance - Your Personal Action Plan
- Volunteer Cornwall Climate and Ecological Emergency Plan
If you would like your climate action plan listed here, please get in touch
Climate Action Groups
There are a number of community climate action groups in Cornwall.
The Cornwall Climate Action Network and Cornwall Climate Action Coalition bring many of them together.
Here are links to some other groups:
- Bude Climate Partnership
- Chacewater Energy Group
- Climate Action St Austell and Facebook
- Climate and Ecological Emergency Cornwall
- Constantine - Transition Constantine
- Falmouth - Community Climate Cafe Falmouth
- Sustainable Hayle
- Helston Climate Action Group and HCAG Facebook
- Penzance - Sustainable Penzance
- Porthleven - Climate Action Porthleven
- Portreath Climate Action Network and LovePortreath Facebook
- South East Cornwall Climate Action Network and SECcan
- St Austell - Climate Action St Austell
- St Day and Carharrack Climate action Group
- The Climate & Ecological Emergency Cornwall
- Truro - Transition Truro
- University of Exeter SWECAN
If you would like your climate action group listed here, please get in touch
IPCC Reports
- IPCC AR6 Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change
- IPCC AR6 Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
- IPCC AR6 Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis
- All IPCC Reports
Cornwall Council has produced a summary briefing paper of the IPCC Climate Change 2021 Report.
The Chatham House Climate change risk assessment 2021 Summary of research findings report summarises climate risks and their consequences for people, food and water security.
The UK Universities Climate Network Climate Papers podcasts offer an insight and introduction to climate risk and why it is so important to understand, quantify and mitigate it as far as possible.
Cornwall Council schemes and initiatives
- Climate Commitments: Low carbon choices
- Drive EV2: Electric vehicle charge points on Cornwall Council owned land
- Solar PV: Cornwall Council owned installations for organisations
- Love Where You Are: Crowdfunder public donation fund | Love Where You Are Poster
- Forest for Cornwall: The right tree in the right place, for the right purpose
- Local Nature Recovery Strategy: Conserving and growing nature
- Making Space for Nature: Supporting wildlife and people
- Making Space for Sand: Sustainable sand dune systems
- Renewable energy: Cornwall's first smart grid connected wind turbine
- Planning: Cornwall's Climate Emergency Development Plan Document (DPD)
- Housing: Council social housing retrofit programme
We are also working in Cornwall with partners on world leading initiatives:
- Geothermal energy: United Downs deep geothermal power project and Eden geothermal energy project
- Clean energy: Bennamann clean energy revolution, turning methane into renewable fuel
Useful websites / information
- Another Way
- BBC - How to be more eco-friendly
- BeFloodReady
- Carbon Brief - clear on climate
- Carbon Buddy Project
- Carbon Copy
- CDP Worldwide
- Climate Action Resource Hub
- Climate Change Committee (CCC)
- Climate Lab Book - visualisation resources
- Coast - good change for one and all!
- Cool Earth
- Cornwall Climate Care
- Cornwall Council - Carbon Neutral Cornwall
- Cornwall Wildlife Trust
- Climate Outreach - Britain talks Climate
- Eden Project pledges
- Freegle - don't throw it away, give it away
- Inclusion Cornwall 'greener heating - better heating'
- Inclusion Cornwall - Winter Wellbeing
- MSC / MSC certified contractors
- National Lottery Community Fund Climate Action Hub
- Scientists Warning Europe
- SW Net Zero Hub
- SWMAS - Make it Net Zero
- Take the Jump - six shifts to protect our earth and live with joy
- UCL Climate Action Unit
- University of Reading - Partnering for the planet
- WWF - 22 ways to help the planet
Energy
- Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) - home energy advice
- Community Energy Plus (CEP) - energy advice for householders
- Community Power Cornwall
- Eco energy providers
- Energy Saving Trust
- REACT - Roseland Environment Action Community Team
- Simple Energy Advice
- Western Power Distribution - guides and information
- Western Power Distribution - useful information
- WREN - Wadebridge Renewable Energy Network
If you would like us to include links to information, resources, groups, websites, or events on the Together We Can Toolkit, please get in touch: climatechange@cornwall.gov.uk
Visit the News and Events Board below for information about what community groups and local councils are doing to respond to Climate Change and events.
If you have an event that you would like us to list please get in touch