My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
Yes
I am 18 years of age or above, by the application deadline.
Yes
My organisation is a registered UK entity and has a London-based address.
Yes
My organisation is a non-profit (e.g. school, university, or local authority) — not a for-profit, which can only join as a partner.
Yes
If there is a for-profit organisation as a partner in my initiative, they work on a cost-recovery basis only.
Yes
My solution is implemented at scale, or if not, I have a clear business plan, a minimum viable solution (prototype, pilot, or proof of concept), and evidence of work or impact in London within your coalition.
Yes
I am aware that, if I am submitting more than one application to a Challenge run by Ashoka and Go! London, only one of them is able to progress through the stages.
Yes
Are you an employee (and their children and grandchildren) of Ashoka or any of its respective affiliates and participating advertising and promotion agencies?
No
I have read and accepted the Challenge Terms & Conditions
1
First Name
Last Name
Pronouns
Email address
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Are you an Ashoka Fellow?
Are you applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow?
If you are applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow, please specify the name and organisation of the fellow below.
Initiative Title
Active for Climate
Lead Organization Name
Steve Browne Foundation
My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
1
Year that you started/ registered your organisation
2018
Website URL(s) or Social Media Handles
https://stevebrownefoundation.co.uk/
Initiative Stage
Idea (You have a solid concept and are hoping to get started in the future)
Sectors/Themes: What topic does your project most directly relate to?
Children & Youth
Initiative Summary: Describe your initiative in one sentence
Steve Browne Foundation (SBF) develops young leaders through Community Champions and Sports Leaders who design and lead our programme of sporting events and activities, creating a progression from participation to leadership and wider community impact. We will embed climate leadership directly into our existing Aspire 2 B (A2B) pathway by introducing a Climate strand within each Community Champions cohort. Young people will assess the environmental impact of the event and activities e.g. travel, facilities, equipment and event delivery, and design practical, youth-led solutions to reduce that impact. Alongside this, we will establish a Youth Climate Action Working Group (YCAWG), drawing from our Youth Advisory Panel, Community Champions and Sports Leaders. This group will shape SBF’s Climate Action Plan, oversee delivery of climate-focused interventions, and produce an annual youth-led review of environmental impact across our programmes. This approach enables us to support the development of sport and climate leaders, embedding sustainability into youth leadership. We will pilot this scalable model in one Barking & Dagenham in year one, refine it through review and reflection, and then expand into additional boroughs in years two and three.
Challenge Focus: What topic does your initiative most directly relate to?
Climate action through awareness and engagement
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve and who will benefit the most from your solution? How close are you to the problem and/or community impacted?
Young people in underserved London communities are are disproportionately affected by environmental inequality, from polluted air around busy roads to a lack of safe, welcoming green spaces. This affects where they can play, how safe it feels to be active outdoors, and whether sport and recreation are even appealing options. At the same time, these young people are too often missing from local climate conversations, even though they live with the day-to-day reality. When you’re navigating pressure at school, family stress, low income, or feeling unsafe in your area, climate change is - for most - something other people get to lead on. This matters because environmental inequality reinforces social inequality. Poor air quality and limited green space can undermine physical health, mental wellbeing, and community connection, while reducing access to the very spaces that help young people thrive. SBF is close to these communities. We work through long-standing school and community partnerships across East and North-East London, supporting young people who face disadvantage, exclusion, and low confidence. Active for Climate responds to what young people tell us eg safer spaces, purpose, and practical ways to make a difference. By using sport as the hook, and our Community Champions model as the engine, we make climate action local, achievable, and young people led.
Your approach: How are you addressing the problem outlined above? How are you using the power of sport and physical activity to build awareness, shift behavior, and enable sustainable participation for all in response to the climate crisis? We'd love to know about the origin of your idea, and what was your "aha" moment" that led you to take action?
Our approach tackles environmental inequality by using sport as a platform to engage young people in climate action. Through years of delivering A2B, we’ve seen that sport builds connection, confidence and belonging in ways that formal environments don’t. Our “aha” moment came in summer 2025 when extreme heat disrupted our outdoor sessions, and in doing so, discussions naturally evolved and young people spoke openly about feeling anxious about climate change. We realised that sport is therefore a powerful platform for action. Our approach combines event-based action with longer-term organisational change. For each Community Champions-led event, we will appoint a dedicated Youth Climate Lead who will work alongside the Champions team to shape the environmental focus of that event. Their role is not to do it alone, but to make sure climate action is built into the planning and delivery, and to capture ideas that emerge through doing, not just discussion. These insights will then be brought into our YCAWG, who will take responsibility for the more holistic improvements across the charity, such as reducing the environmental footprint of our sessions, strengthening low-carbon delivery choices, and influencing how we work with schools and community partners. By embedding climate action into sport leadership pathways, we shift behaviour from passive concern to collective responsibility. Sport becomes the bridge – transforming climate anxiety into practical, youth-led change while enabling more sustainable participation for all.
Collaboration with young people and the community: In what ways does your initiative engage young people and community members closest to the problem? What role do they play in building the solution you deliver?
Young people are central to the design and delivery of Active for Climate. The initiative builds directly on our existing A2B leadership pathway, particularly the roles of Community Champions and Sports Leaders, where young people already shape events, influence activity design and take responsibility for peer engagement. Within each A2B community event, a designated Climate Lead will be appointed from the Community Champions group. This young person will work collaboratively with their peers to ensure environmental thinking is embedded into the planning and delivery of the event — whether through sustainable travel messaging, reducing waste, rethinking equipment use or introducing climate-themed challenges. This creates space for creativity and real-time innovation at grassroots level. These ideas will then feed into a YCAWG, drawn from our community, including our Youth Advisory Panel, Community Champions and Sports Leaders. This group will take a broader organisational view, identifying patterns, shaping longer-term priorities and recommending sustainable changes across our programmes. In this way, climate action moves from one-off activity to embedded practice. Young people have already raised concerns about heat affecting sessions and lack of green space / opportunities outside of schools. These lived experiences will shape the priorities they choose to address. They will identify practical improvements and lead local responses. Young people will also present their ideas to school staff, community partners and our charity’s leadership, including trustees, helping strengthen accountability and embed climate action within organisational decision-making. We also aspire to involve strategic sport and place stakeholders eg council, Active Partnership etc.
Potential for/Evidence of Impact: How do you imagine your initiative will make a difference in raising climate awareness, shifting behaviors, or reducing environmental impact or harm? If you have already implemented it, what difference have you made so far? What is the impact your initiative has had¡, and/or what impact do you envision having in the future?
Active for Climate will create immediate behaviour shifts and longer-term system change by embedding climate action into our existing sport leadership pathway. In year one, at least 1000 young people will engage directly through A2B events and follow-on sessions, with a dedicated Climate Lead at each event. Their ideas will feed into a YCAWG, shaping organisational and local responses. Concrete outputs will include youth-led environmental review and analysis of SBF delivered sport, equipment use and reuse initiatives, and low-waste community events. We anticipate at least one youth-designed climate social action projects delivered within year one, increasing by one each year i.e. two in year two and three in year three. We will measure change through pre-and post-session surveys assessing awareness and confidence, alongside reduced single-use plastics at events, and improved sustainable event planning practices. Our A2B model already demonstrates impact – 73% of participants report increased confidence and 82% improved wellbeing. By applying the same structured framework of leadership, reflection and accreditation to climate action, we create conditions for sustained engagement rather than one-off activity. The longer-term impact we hope to see is that climate awareness becomes embedded in how sport is delivered, not treated as an add-on, for which SBF (and our direct school and community partners) will be the primary focus. Young people influence peers, trustees and local partners, while our organisation adapts practices around travel, equipment and event planning. This creates a scalable, youth-led model where environmental responsibility becomes part of everyday participation in sport.
Innovation: What is different about your initiative compared to other solutions that are already out there? How is your approach original and innovative?
Active for Climate is innovative because it does not treat climate action as a separate educational strand. Instead, it embeds environmental responsibility directly into an existing youth sport leadership pathway where climate engagement is typically low. Our approach starts in spaces young people already trust and use i.e. on the pitch, in the gym, and through community sport. Climate action is built into how events are planned, how sessions are delivered, and how leadership roles are defined. What makes this distinctive is the structural integration. Each community event includes a designated Climate Lead, ensuring environmental thinking shapes decision-making in real time. The role of the YCAWG influences organisational practice, trustee discussions and partnership engagement. This moves climate from awareness to governance and ensures a long-term strategic approach. We are creating a leadership system where climate responsibility becomes part of what it means to lead in sport. By changing how sport is organised, we address attitudes and behaviours and embed sustainability into everyday participation.
Roles and Responsibilities: Describe how responsibilities are shared among your team or partners.
Active for Climate will be led by SBF, in partnership with schools, young people (through Community Champions and Sports Leaders), and a small group of strategic sport and place-based partners. SBF will lead overall programme design, coordination, safeguarding, delivery quality, and reporting. Our delivery staff (youth workers, coaches and volunteers) will run the sport sessions and facilitate the climate elements, supporting young people to shape ideas and plan. A named programme lead will oversee partnerships, ensure consistency across schools, and coordinate monitoring and evaluation. As is normal practice for A2B, partner schools and community groups will support recruitment by nominating Community Champions and helping engage wider participants. They will also provide facilities for sessions and events and support scheduling, and play a key role in shaping local insights. Our ambition would be to have a partner representative within our YCAWG. Young people will drive the initiative through two connected leadership routes. Community Champions will lead the design of each event, including appointing a dedicated Climate Lead per event to ensure environmental thinking is embedded in planning and delivery. Sports Leaders will support delivery on the day and during follow-on sessions, helping capture feedback and reflections. The YCAWG will then take ownership of the bigger-picture learning and organisational changes, shaping priorities, reviewing what’s working, and feeding recommendations directly to our trustees and senior leadership. Strategic stakeholders will be engaged to strengthen delivery and impact. This will primarily involve local sport and community delivery partners who can support pathways and help embed sustainable practice beyond the programme. This may also include council public health teams and Active Partnerships.
Viability and Scalability: How are you setting your organization up for success, and what is your plan to ensure operational sustainability of your solution and its impact? What are your ideas for scaling your initiative to the next level?
Active for Climate is designed as an embedded strand within our A2B pathway, not a standalone project. By integrating climate leadership into Community Champions events and establishing a YCAWG, we are building this into our core youth leadership infrastructure rather than layering something temporary on top. We are intentionally designing this as a pilot with year one being a clear learning phase. The findings will inform a refined Phase Two model, supported by a practical “Active for Climate Toolkit” including session frameworks, climate lead guidance, and evaluation templates. This will enable structured replication across additional schools and boroughs. To grow sustainably, we will look to strengthen relationships with strategic partners such as local authority public health teams, Active Partnerships, and sport delivery networks. Aside from learning, these partners can also help embed sustainable practice within local sport systems. Internally, the YCAWG will feed recommendations into our trustees and senior leadership, ensuring climate resilience becomes part of our organisational strategy. With the right partnerships and continued investment, Active for Climate can evolve from a pilot into a scalable, borough-wide model that integrates sport, youth leadership, and environmental responsibility in underserved communities.
Upcoming Milestones: Please provide an overview of the milestones that are required for your initiative to come to fruition/ to grow.
Months 1–2: Planning & Youth Climate Leadership Setup Secure formal agreements with partner schools and community organisations. Recruit Community Champions and identify dedicated Climate Leads for each event. Establish the YCAWG. Deliver consultation sessions to identify priority environmental themes and finalise session frameworks and monitoring tools. Months 3–6: Pilot Delivery & Climate Integration Embed climate leadership into Community Champion events, with Climate Leads shaping sustainable event practices and youth-led challenges. Begin behaviour tracking (e.g. travel methods, waste reduction, event adaptations). Month 6: Midpoint Learning Review Conduct structured reflection with young people, school partners and staff. Review engagement, behaviour shifts and feasibility. Adapt delivery where needed. Months 7–10: Youth-Led Action & Systems Influence Support the YCAWG to implement focused social action interventions. Present recommendations to SBF trustees and selected strategic sport stakeholders. Months 11–12: Evaluation & Scaling Blueprint Measure impact through quantitative and qualitative reflection and review. Produce a learning summary and develop an Active for Climate toolkit to support replication and organisational embedding. Plan for year 2.
Capacity-Building Participation and Support Funding: If you were to make it as a finalist, you will be required to participate in an 8-week capacity building programme. If funding/ cost is a barrier to your participation, we may be able to offer up to 10,000 GBP of grant money available to support you. Please break down below, if it is the case, what costs you would incur and you would need covered. (Please note that there are restrictions on how the grant money may be used; please refer to the T&Cs for further details (LINK).
Participation in the 8-week capacity-building programme will require focused project development, external expertise and structured learning time to ensure we can meaningfully translate learning into a strengthened and scalable Active for Climate model. As the exact time commitment in days is not yet confirmed (or at least we couldn’t find it in the T&Cs), the figures below are provisional estimates and can be refined once further information is provided, and if we are successful. We anticipate the following eligible costs: External expertise and facilitation – £6,000 (Estimated at £750 per week over 8 weeks) To engage a specialist consultant to support research, political education integration, programme design refinement, and structured action learning documentation. This will ensure that insights from the capacity-building programme are embedded into a robust and credible delivery model. Monitoring, evaluation and systems development – £1,000 External support to strengthen impact measurement tools, behavioural tracking frameworks, and climate audit templates, ensuring we can evidence behavioural shifts and organisational change. Materials and learning resources – £1,000 Workshop materials, facilitation tools, and documentation linked directly to project development. Travel and participation costs – £500 Associated travel and in-person engagement costs connected to the capacity-building programme. Total estimated support requested: £8,500 These costs are directly linked to strengthening the project design, systems, and evidence base rather than covering core salaries. The investment would enable us to fully engage with the capacity-building programme and convert learning into tangible organisational improvement and scalable climate leadership practice. This support would allow us to fully engage in the capacity-building process without reducing delivery to vulnerable young people, while strengthening the systems and leadership infrastructure required to scale Active for Climate responsibly.
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