Climate Change Statement
Barrow Cadbury Trust recognises that climate change is one of the biggest threats to the wellbeing of the human race and our planetary ecosystem. Unchecked, climate change will make much of our planet unliveable, will worsen economic and social divides and is likely to lead to social unrest over increasingly scarce resources. We also recognise the interconnection between climate change and the social justice issues on which we work, and the deep systemic issues that need to be addressed if we are to achieve a sustainable future. As a funder with both resources and influence, we recognise the role we can play both through our own actions and by working with others.
We can and are addressing the challenge in three ways: through how we manage our endowment; through decarbonising and minimising waste and pollution in our operations; and through supporting our funded partners to reduce their own climate impact. Our endowment represents the largest portion of our resources and we both design our investment portfolio through a climate impact lens through aligning it with the Sarasin & Partners’ Climate Active Fund and engage with others in shareholder action to press for change in business practice. We seek to minimise the carbon footprint of our operations, including those arising from our office location and our patterns of working, and have a programme of practical support for our funded partners. Details of our activities can be found in our annual Action Plan below.
We are a signatory to the Funder Commitment on Climate Change, and will be reporting on progress against our Action Plan each year through our Annual Report.
Climate Change Action plan 2025
This is the fourth of our annual Climate Change Action Plans. We have reviewed opportunities to mitigate climate change across all our areas of operations, considering what we can do ourselves, and what we can help others to do. Over the coming year we will undertake the following actions:
1. Educate and learn
1.1 Our staff Climate Group will continue to ensure climate change mitigation is a live issue in the Trust.
1.2 Investigate training opportunities
1.3 Continue to attend funder and investor networks to both learn and contribute.
2. Commit resources
2.1 Offer carbon literacy training and eco-audits to grantees.
2.2 Support our networks and coalitions to advance their work in addressing climate and environmental issues.
3. Integrate into existing programmes
3.1 Continue to encourage grantees to consider their climate mitigation actions while remaining mindful of imposing additional work on them.
3.2 Identify organisations that have curated resource banks and sources of help and signpost our partners to them.
3.3 Consider convening grantees to discuss climate approaches.
4. Steward our investments for a post-carbon future
4.1 Work with other investors through our networks and coalitions, including the Charity Responsible Investment Network, Church Investor Group, Investor Decarbonisation Initiative and International Investor Group on Climate Change, to engage with companies and regulators.
4.2 Continue to work with Sarasin & Partners and support their climate active approach.
5. Decarbonise our operations
5.1 Further investigate, both in the office and the Foundry as a whole, more efficient heating and lighting.
5.2 Continue to work towards a virtually paperless office.
5.3 Make use of virtual meetings where possible.
5.4 Continue to minimise air travel and avoid unnecessary travel.
5.5 Continue to reduce waste and improve recycling.
5.6 Recycle our decommissioned IT items, mobile phones and other hardware.
6. Report annually on progress
