Helping communities driving real change to a greener society

WE are more aware than ever before of the responsibility we have to address the climate and biodiversity crises. There has been a rapid increase in awareness of how nature and biodiversity are very much fundamental to life as we know it, providing many “ecosystem services” like food, and medicine, whilst asking for nothing in return.

Encouragingly, it’s also becoming a critical element of the corporate sustainability agenda. This is something that was evident in the number of businesses showing up at the recent Convention on Biological Diversity - COP15 - in Montreal.

To accelerate the change needed to transform our societies and economies to live in harmony with nature and the planet, we need new levels of collaboration. And our local communities, which are built on the spirit of collaboration, have the power to be catalysts for real change.

So many incredible NGOs and non-profits have been driving change underpinned by this secret sauce – collaboration - at the community level for many, many years. One of these non-profits is ChangeX, an organisation and platform that successfully connects local groups to tried and tested ideas and funding.

This is the second year of Accenture’s partnership with ChangeX as we launch the 2023 Accenture Sustainable Community Challenge in Ireland. 

The goal is to provide an opportunity for individuals to come together to create more resilient, engaged and sustainable communities, while accelerating the transition to a greener society and economy at a local and national level.

Now open for applications, the initiative supports local groups with the resources, seed funding and help needed to kickstart sustainability projects. Groups can choose from a portfolio of proven and scalable ideas that have already had a positive impact in Ireland and around the world. Project ideas include Community Fridge, which supports the sharing of surplus food and the reduction of food waste, Open Orchard, which connects communities through the planting of fruit trees in public places, and Repair Café, a meeting space where people come together to repair items rather than throwing them away.

Last year the programme supported 22 projects across Ireland and benefitted over 2,200 people. Feedback from last year’s participants has been really encouraging, as it enabled neighbours and friends to come together, build relationships, and learn new skills, with the added benefit of protecting and enhancing the local environment. This year we have doubled the total fund to €70,000, so that hopefully funding can reach more communities who want to take part.

Everybody’s Responsibility In the age of social responsibility and corporate citizenship, questions around ‘who’ ‘what’ ‘where’ and ‘how’ still arise. How can we do this? What resources do we have? Who will help us? It’s safe to say that while we don’t have all the answers just yet, we do have some of them.

 And it’s clear that we can’t tackle big challenges like climate change and nature loss alone. The responsibility lies with all of us, and we have to work together.

At Accenture, we’re working to embed sustainability into everything we do, and with everyone we work with, including communities. My role involves bringing our ESG commitments to life and a large part of the work we do under ‘S’ or social, is partnering with organisations like ChangeX to bring the best of both organisations together to create lasting positive impact.

ChangeX’s work demonstrates innovation at speed and a scalable way to create that real and tangible impact. We learn from them about what works on the ground, and we take it back into our business to inform decisions on how we can make a difference.

We also aim to add value to our partnerships by tapping into our own skills and capabilities to advise and guide the organisation with whom we work, including ChangeX.

Our people too are passionate about feeling a personal positive impact and partnerships like this one can create an excellent opportunity for our people to share their time and skills through our company’s volunteering programme, creating yet another layer of value and impact.

To put a twist on a quote from Helen Keller - Alone we can do a little, together we can do so much.

Taking collective action has become an imperative, rather than an option. We cannot forget that as individuals, communities, businesses and society at large, we are dependent on nature and the environment.

I came across a striking statistic recently from the World Economic Forum, which said that over $44 trillion of economic value generation is either moderately dependent or highly dependent on nature. That’s over half the world’s total GDP. If businesses can work alongside government, NGOs, and other organisations to respond with urgency to the environmental crisis, the results could benefit all areas of life as we know it.

There is much to do, but through community action, we can make real changes by taking small but very powerful steps.

For more information, visit: https://www.changex.org/ie/funds/accenture-sustainable-community-challenge-ireland