Our work

Climate Ambassadors help every education setting in England to develop and implement a climate action plan, funded by the Department for Education.

Our role

The Climate Ambassadors programme supports every early years setting, school and college in England to develop and implement a climate action plan required by the Department for Education by:

  1. Recruiting and training volunteers with expertise or interest in sustainability or climate to provide their time to education settings for free
  2. Providing volunteers with training and support, including safeguarding checks and the connections to education settings, to allow volunteers to maximise their time helping education settings
  3. Working with education settings to help them quickly find the support they need for effective climate action planning from Climate Ambassadors and from the National Education Nature Park, Sustainability Support for Education, Let’s Go Zero Climate Action Advisors and other organisations
  4. Helping and supporting national and regional networks of education settings to work together on climate action planning and share expertise

Our nine regional hubs in England support the development of the peer-to-peer networks for both our Climate Ambassadors volunteers and education settings, enhancing the capacity for climate action across the whole education system.

Funded by the UK Government, we work in partnership with our consortium members and dozens of supporter organisations to help education settings in England take action to become more environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient – and to better prepare young people to live in a world with a changing climate.

What does it involve?

Volunteer Climate Ambassadors are DBS-checked and trained on the fundamentals of climate action planning in education. We support our volunteers to connect with education settings across England through our Regional Hubs. Hosted on the STEM Learning platform, requests for support from settings are matched with volunteer interests, capacity and expertise to provide free, bespoke support for every sustainability journey.

The Climate Ambassadors programme is delivered by a consortium of 13 organisations. Nine universities host our regional hubs, and our national partners – EAUC, University of Reading, STEM Learning UK and Change Agents UK – support the delivery of the programme through our digital and training infrastructure, programme management and national and regional engagement planning. Regional hubs also help education settings connect with each other and with other support available across the sector.

The programme supports the UK Government’s ambition for all education settings to have a climate action plan and sustainability lead in place – covering four key areas: adaptation and resilience, biodiversity, climate education and green careers, and decarbonisation.

Volunteer Climate Ambassadors are recruited to inspire climate action planning in education settings and help develop and deliver impactful plans and broader behaviour change. Ambassadors are enthusiastic individuals who want to see climate action embedded in education, and are drawn from a broad range of sectors – universities, the public and private sectors, charities and the government.

What is the Department for Education Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy?

The Climate Ambassadors programme is proud to be part of the Department for Education Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, which was launched in April 2022.

The strategy sets out the expectation that every education setting should have a climate action plan and a sustainability lead. Initiatives funded by the Department for Education are working together to inspire settings, to support planning and to take the action needed to meet the challenges climate change presents in education settings.

National Education Nature Park

National Education Nature Park empowers young people to make a positive difference to both their own and nature’s futures and provides educators with the resources, support and guidance needed to embed it in teaching and learning.

Nurseries, schools and colleges that join the National Education Nature Park become part of a vast network of spaces across the country being transformed for both people and wildlife.

By exploring, mapping out and caring for their spaces, young people make improvements to turn the ‘grey’ areas a little bit greener, boosting biodiversity while developing connection to nature and vital skills for their futures.

Sustainability Support for Education

Sustainability Support for Education, Logo

Sustainability Support for Education is a digital hub, making it easier for education settings to start or progress their environmental sustainability journey.

It helps each education setting:

  • build their own awareness of climate action planning and steps they can take to begin their journey
  • determine next steps based on what they’ve already done, the time and resources available, and what will make the biggest impact
  • navigate to trusted resources and funding opportunities that support them to take those steps.

Climate Action Advisors

Let's Go Zero Climate Action Advisors Logo

As part of the Let’s Go Zero campaign, Climate Action Advisors support nurseries, schools and colleges looking to become zero carbon, by giving free and tailored advice to help schools green their buildings, transport, menus and more.


The Climate Ambassadors and Climate Action Advisors’ networks collaborate to ensure that all education settings in England can access critical expertise and free climate action resources from across our powerful coalition network.

History

The Climate Ambassadors programme was initially developed by the University of Reading and STEM Learning UK in response to the National Climate Education Action Plan.

Originally launched in 2022 with the support of more than 20 UK institutions, the programme started to unlock and connect world-leading climate and sustainability expertise in the UK with schools and colleges across the country at no cost to the education setting.

Climate Ambassadors was explicitly referenced in the Department for Education’s Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, published in April 2022. The strategy states: “By 2025, all education settings will have nominated a sustainability lead and put in place a climate action plan” and Climate Ambassadors are identified as supporting settings in the delivery of these plans.