Resource Futures’s Community Action Groups (CAG) project in Oxfordshire has launched a new report today (3 July) revealing data about the project’s community-based environmental efforts.
The CAG network runs throughout Oxfordshire supporting over 50 community groups to organise community events such as swap shops and Love Food Hate Waste workshops to raise awareness of and take action on environmental issues, including waste reduction, carbon reduction and sustainable transport, as well as food, water and energy efficiency issues.
The report reveals that 46,742 residents attended 1,051 events across the county between April 2013 and March 2014. The details are also described in an infographic (below).
From the events across the county, the cost savings for consumers was £178,933, and groups brought in over £443,000 in grants and social enterprise income.
In addition, over 30 tonnes of waste and over 46 tonnes of carbon emissions were saved thanks to the 68 swap shops held over the two years. Volunteers also put in £208,255 worth of free time, through a total of 16,057 volunteered hours.
A ‘leading area for community activism’
Co-operatives UK recently named Oxfordshire as the ‘leading area in the country for community activism’, and CAG claims that the release of data in its new report is ‘vital for securing continued support in Oxfordshire’.
Peter Lefort, CAG Project Officer, said: “This is an incredibly significant moment, and could mark the start of community action really getting the attention it deserves. Amazing things are achieved year on year, and not just in Oxfordshire, but up until now we have never had the ability to shout about the effects. The results from this report are just the start.”
New evaluation tool
CAG Oxfordshire has also announced the release of its new evaluation tool. The Community Impact Modelling Tool (CIMT) is designed to allow community groups to collect and store data from events. Combining data with up-to-date research from national bodies, the tool is intended to enable users to generate quantifiable outputs.
The project envisages that this tool will be used to support community environmental projects across the country as part of CAG’s interest to expand its community-based approach to sustainability to the whole of the UK.
CAG Oxfordshire’s website explains: ‘The community impact modelling tool is part of an innovative project which is not only unique to Oxfordshire, it is the first time the impact of community action has been quantified in terms of carbon, waste and cost reduction anywhere. The modelling project is also unique in the way it consistently collects and collates the information about group activities in the modelling tool, creating a more detailed analysis of the impact of community action.’
Read more about the CAG project.
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