OVO Foundation commits £1m funding to major new charity partnerships driving youth climate action

• OVO Foundation will be partnering with three youth climate charities: Ashden Climate Solutions, Apps for Good, and Students Organising for Sustainability UK
• The partnerships aim to create the next generation of climate advocates 
• OVO Foundation is funded by generous donations from OVO customers, and OVO matches every penny

London, 17th November 2022: OVO Foundation, charity arm of the UK’s third largest energy supplier OVO, today announces that it will be working with three new charities to deliver and develop their youth climate action goals. 

OVO Foundation believes that every child and young person should have access to nature and be able to learn about protecting the planet they love. The climate crisis will affect the next generation the most – that’s why since 2020 the Foundation has been funding climate action and education projects across the UK. 

This year, OVO Foundation launched a call for ideas and proposals for its Climate Changers programme. There was a total funding pot of £1,000,000 available and the potential to support up to three charity partners over the next three years – 100% of this money will go directly to the chosen projects.

OVO Foundation selected three charities to support out of a total 154 organisations that applied. The successful charities were:

• Ashden – giving 75 schools a cash prize to kick start their own nature projects. By inspiring climate action in these schools, the project will bring over 37,000 children closer to nature. The OVO Foundation Nature Prize forms part of Ashden’s brilliant Let’s Go Zero campaign, connecting nearly 2,000 schools aiming to cut carbon by 2030.
• Apps for Good – climate education meets creative technology in an innovative course from Apps For Good. Funding will enable 26,000 students to develop app prototypes that offer real solutions to the climate crisis. Guided by industry experts, young people will learn the practical skills they need to  shape their future – and fight the climate crisis at the same time.
• Students Organising for Sustainability UK – this project turns the tables on education: students are giving their teachers lessons about the climate crisis. Their classes show how climate action and education can be woven into all parts of the curriculum. From exploring themes like environmental justice to coping with eco-anxiety, the project will train over 4,500 teachers and support 900 young climate activists to become sustainability experts. 

Hannah Howard, Head of OVO Foundation, said:

“We were delighted to see so many youth organisations come forward with truly innovative ideas to help make this world a better one. We know there is a huge need for more funding in this space and we’re incredibly proud of the impact we’ve already made through our Climate Changers programme. We are thrilled to welcome our new partners Ashden Climate Solutions, Apps for Good, and Students Organising for Sustainability UK to build on this. Together, we can inspire and enable the next generation to become the green guardians of tomorrow.” 

Alex Green, Ashden and Let’s Go Zero campaign Schools Lead, said:

“We are delighted to be partnering with OVO Foundation to support climate action in schools across the UK through our Let’s Go Zero campaign. The new OVO Foundation Nature Prize will enable schools to increase nature and biodiversity – enabling children and young people to learn in and for nature, while also sharing their learning across their communities. “

Freddie Norton, Acting CEO of Apps for Good said: “The climate crisis means young people will inherit the most pressing social challenge of our time. By working in partnership with OVO Foundation, we’re able to expand our reach to more students, equipping them with a combination of climate knowledge and tech innovation skills so they can take positive strides towards a better, greener future.”

Jamie Agombar, Executive Director, Students Organising for Sustainability UK, said: “We are thrilled to receive this funding to scale up our Teach the Teacher project, which was created last summer by two of the amazing young people we support. Climate and nature education needs to be solutions-centred and integrated into all subjects. This funding will help us make that happen in 300 schools over the next three years ”. 

ENDS

For more information please contact:

media@ovoenergy.com 

About OVO Foundation 

We’re OVO Foundation, OVO’s climate-focussed charity. We exist to create a greener, brighter future for the next generation. We believe every child and young person should have access to nature – and be able to learn about protecting the planet they love.

It’s children and young people that the climate crisis will affect most. That’s why we’re supporting climate action and education projects for kids across the UK. It’s how we feel we can make the biggest impact.

To make real change happen, we partner with brilliant charities and fund their powerful projects. Here’s some of the work we’re doing:

• Planting tiny forests, which double up as outdoor classrooms and absorb up to 7.2 tonnes of carbon each year
• Helping students make their schools more energy-efficient, saving 6000 tons of carbon and £1.9m in energy bills
• Bringing 2500 young people’s nature projects to life in schools
• Giving 900 young climate activists a platform to educate others
• Teaching over 26,000 young people how tech can help the environment
• Campaigning for better climate education and action nationally

Everything we do at the OVO Foundation is funded by generous donations from our customers. 100% of that money goes directly to our project, and OVO matches every penny donated. So, together, we can do double the good.

For more information visit ovofoundation.org.uk, or contact media@ovoenergy.com

About Climate Changers

The Climate Changers funding area is how the Foundation is delivering against our two goals, and focuses on three key areas of work: 

1. Campaigning for better climate education nationally
2. Connecting children to nature and green spaces in and outside of schools
3. Supporting positive action on the climate crisis 

We have been working with three partners already in this area since 2020 (Action for Conservation, Energy Sparks, and Earthwatch Europe). 

About Ashden

Ashden coordinate the Let’s Go Zero campaign through which UK schools commit to be zero carbon by 2030. The Let’s Go Zero vision is that:

1. All young people receive a robust climate education and leave school ready to engage in zero carbon jobs and lifestyles; 2. The UK school estate is retrofitted – leading to the growth of local green skills and jobs and adapted to the changing climate to improve resilience to extreme weather; 3. All new school buildings built will be net zero carbon from 2022. There are now over 1700 schools, colleges and nurseries around the UK signed up to the Let’s Go Zero campaign.

About Apps for Good

Apps for Good computing courses give students the skills and motivation to shape their future through technology, while giving teachers the support and confidence to pick up and deliver high quality content and resources. We are an education charity committed to offering an opportunity for all. In the past 12 years, we’ve worked with almost 240,000 young people – with more than half of our schools in challenging circumstances. Thanks to the generous support of our partners, including Spotify, Google, DeepMind and most recently OVO Foundation, our courses are 100% free to schools, as well as volunteering their industry expertise.

Read more about our impact on our website: www.appsforgood.org

About Students Organising for Sustainability UK

SOS-UK is a student-led education charity focusing on sustainability. We believe in lifelong learning and work on sustainability across all forms of education from early years to workplace learning. We act as a support crew – facilitating, encouraging and mentoring people wherever they are on their sustainability journey. We see the power and potential in students and young people to be at the forefront of change. We work alongside them as equal partners in their sustainability leadership journeys.

Through our work we want to see more students leading on, and learning for, sustainability; an education system repurposed around the climate emergency and ecological crisis; and sustainability that is more inclusive, so it is for everyone.