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DEFRA launches Third Sector Strategy and £6 million Greener Living Fund

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has launched its Third Sector Strategy along with a new £6 million fund to help third sector organisations support and develop environmental projects throughout England.

Defra’s Third Sector Strategy is part of the Government’s wider commitment to working with voluntary and charitable organisations and demonstrates the department’s commitment to helping third sector organisations promote environmental sustainability .

The report sets out how the department will improve the way it works with third sector groups and includes:

• A variety of new opportunities for Defra to work more closely with the third sector with independent advice from a new board, practical good housekeeping actions and a new social enterprise partnership.
• A new task group to look at ways of helping national level third sector programmes promote environmental sustainability. This group will be jointly chaired by ministers from Defra, Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Cabinet office and include third sector stakeholders.
• Promoting a new campaign to encourage environmental volunteering to help biodiversity locally

The Greener Living Fund will help third sector organisations promote positive environmental changes to individuals and communities, helping them reduce their carbon footprints, make greener lifestyle choices and find new ways to rely less on our natural resources.

You can find further information on the strategy and the fund on the DEFRA website:

• DEFRA website [external website]