New ‘Community Reporting’ Scheme Launched to Shape Richmond’s Climate Strategy
Richmond Council has launched an innovative ‘Community Reporting’ scheme designed to ensure that the voices and opinions of residents across the borough directly influence the new Climate Strategy for 2025-2030. To bring feedback opportunities directly into local communities, the council is recruiting 18 residents to serve as Climate Community Reporters. These individuals will be selected to represent the diversity of the borough and will engage with a wide range of people who live, work, and study in the area, gathering insights about their views and habits concerning climate change.
The role requires a commitment of up to 28 hours over a 10 to 12-week period between August and October. This includes several hours of specialised training on effective community reporting and engagement. Reporters will be compensated with vouchers equivalent to the London Living Wage for their time.
The insights gathered by the Climate Community Reporters will be crucial in shaping the council’s new Climate Strategy. By understanding the local community’s perspectives on climate-related issues, the council aims to create a robust and effective plan that reflects the diverse needs and concerns of its residents.
“The Climate Community Reporter scheme represents an important opportunity for residents to directly influence our developing climate strategy,” said Cllr Julia Neden-Watts, Chair of the Environment, Sustainability, Culture, and Sports Committee. “By hearing from local people who live, work, or study in each of our unique communities, we can create a more effective plan of action that addresses the diverse perspectives and needs of our borough. We encourage all interested residents to apply and be part of this significant initiative.”
Climate Community Reporters will explore the habits, beliefs, and attitudes of local people, focusing on key aspects of daily life that impact or are impacted by climate change, such as travel, home heating, shopping habits, and garden management.
These insights, combined with broader research by the council to identify measures needed to achieve Net Zero status by 2043, will inform the new Climate Strategy for the next five years.
The new Climate Strategy is scheduled for publication in June 2025. All Climate Community Reporters will submit their final insights by the end of 2024 to ensure their input is included in the drafting process. This initiative builds on the council’s previous Climate Emergency Strategy, launched in 2019, which was the first to outline the borough’s approach to tackling climate change and its commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
For more information and to apply for the scheme, visit the Climate Community Reporters page.
