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
I would like to receive notifications and updates about Go London!, Ashoka, Ashoka Changemakers, and other Ashoka opportunities.
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 Futures: Youth-Led Climate Action Through Sport
Lead Organization Name
London Borough of Newham
My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
1
Year that you started/ registered your organisation
1965
Website URL(s) or Social Media Handles
www.newham.gov.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
Active Futures is a youth-led, borough-wide initiative delivered by the Youth Empowerment Service that uses sport and physical activity as a powerful platform to build climate awareness, resilience and action among underserved young people in Newham, embedding climate literacy into everyday youth sport, training young people as Climate & Sport Leaders to co-design and lead local action, and adapting how physical activity is planned and delivered so that it remains safe, inclusive and environmentally responsible in the face of climate change, while reducing the environmental impact of youth sport settings, shifting behaviours around active travel, waste and sustainability, and creating a scalable, community-owned model of climate-resilient participation that can be sustained beyond the funding period and replicated across other services and communities.
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?
Climate change is already affecting young people in Newham in practical, everyday ways. Newham is one of London’s youngest and most densely populated boroughs, with limited green space, poor air quality and higher exposure to extreme heat. These conditions mean young people are more vulnerable to climate impacts while having fewer safe, climate-resilient spaces to be physically active. This matters because sport and physical activity play a vital role in young people’s physical health, mental wellbeing and social connection. During heatwaves or periods of poor air quality, sessions are often cancelled or restricted, reducing access for young people who already face barriers linked to poverty, health inequality and limited transport options. Without adaptation, climate change risks turning sport into a privilege rather than a universal offer, widening existing inequalities. Many young people care deeply about climate change but feel excluded from climate conversations and solutions, which are often disconnected from their lived experience. As a borough-wide youth service embedded in the communities most affected, our service sees these challenges daily. We are motivated to act because we believe young people should be supported not only to stay active and safe, but to understand climate impacts and lead practical, local solutions through the spaces they value
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 recognises that climate change is already disrupting young people’s ability to safely take part in sport and physical activity, while these same spaces remain some of the most trusted and inclusive platforms for engagement. Rather than treating climate action as a separate issue, we embed it directly into everyday youth sport and movement. We use sport as an accessible entry point to build climate awareness, linking learning to young people’s lived experience of heat, air quality, travel and access to space. Awareness is turned into action through youth-led behaviour change within sessions, such as promoting active travel, reducing waste, reusing equipment and designing low-carbon sports activities. This makes climate action practical, social and visible, rather than abstract. We also adapt how sport is delivered to enable sustainable participation in a changing climate. This includes flexible scheduling during heatwaves, safer use of indoor and outdoor spaces, hydration and shade planning, and training staff and young people to embed sustainability and climate safety into everyday delivery. These adaptations help ensure sport remains safe, enjoyable and accessible, particularly for young people who would otherwise be excluded. Our “aha” moment came during repeated heatwaves, when sessions were cancelled and young people lost access, while asking thoughtful questions about climate change and fairness. We realised the issue was not young people’s lack of interest, but the absence of climate-ready youth sport models. This initiative responds by redesigning programmes and leadership so young people are protected from climate impacts and empowered to lead practical solutions through the activities they value most.
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?
This initiative is built with young people and communities closest to the impacts of climate change, not for them. Young people play an active role at every stage, from shaping the focus of the work to delivering and sustaining it within their own communities. We begin with co-design sessions embedded into existing youth clubs and sports activities, where young people identify how climate change affects their ability to be active — including heat, air quality, lack of green space and transport. These insights directly shape programme design, ensuring activities respond to lived experience rather than assumptions. Young people then take on leadership roles through a Youth Climate & Sport Leaders cohort, supporting them to design and lead climate-aware sports sessions, model sustainable behaviours and influence peers. For example, young people will co-create low-carbon sports events, promote active travel routes that feel safe and realistic, and redesign sessions to adapt to heat and weather conditions. The wider community is involved through delivery in trusted local spaces such as youth hubs, estates and schools, and through family-inclusive sports activities that demonstrate sustainable participation in practice. Community feedback is built into delivery, with young people gathering insights from peers and families and adapting activities in response. By placing young people at the centre as designers, leaders and advocates, the initiative strengthens local ownership, reflects community realities and ensures solutions are practical, inclusive and rooted in the neighbourhoods most affected by climate impacts.
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?
This initiative is designed to deliver both immediate, measurable impact and long-term, embedded change by integrating climate action into everyday youth sport and physical activity. In the short term, the programme will raise climate awareness among over 4,500 young people aged 10–25 through universal and targeted youth provision. Climate learning is embedded into sports sessions young people already attend, linking issues such as heat, air quality, transport and waste directly to their lived experience. Pre- and post-session surveys and youth-led reflection tools will evidence increased understanding, confidence and motivation to act. Behaviour change is driven through participation rather than instruction. Young people practise sustainable behaviours within sessions, including active travel, reuse of equipment, low-waste delivery and climate-aware decision-making. At least 30 Youth Climate & Sport Leaders will be trained to model behaviours, influence peers and lead local action projects, creating ripple effects beyond direct participants. Environmental impact is achieved by changing how youth sport is delivered. Climate-resilient scheduling, safer use of indoor and outdoor spaces, hydration and shade planning, and sustainability training reduce disruption during heatwaves and poor air quality while lowering the environmental footprint of delivery. Long-term impact comes from systems change. Skills, leadership and delivery models are embedded into standard practice, ensuring sustained behaviour change, resilient participation and community ownership beyond the funded period. Impact will be evidenced through participation data, behaviour tracking and qualitative case studies capturing changes in access, confidence and leadership.
Innovation: What is different about your initiative compared to other solutions that are already out there? How is your approach original and innovative?
This initiative is disruptive because it challenges a core assumption in both youth sport and climate work: that climate action is something added on, taught separately, or delivered through awareness campaigns. Instead, we redesign youth sport itself as a climate-responsive system. Most existing solutions focus on educating young people about climate change or greening individual activities. Our approach goes further by rewiring how sport is planned, led and experienced, so climate resilience and sustainability become non-negotiable operating norms. We are not asking young people to change behaviour in isolation; we are changing the conditions that shape behaviour in the first place. The innovation lies in shifting power and practice simultaneously. Young people are not participants in a pre-designed programme but co-designers and leaders who decide how sessions adapt to heat, air quality and environmental impact. This moves youth sport from a fixed model that breaks under climate pressure to a flexible, youth-led system that responds in real time. We also disrupt the delivery model by embedding climate resilience into everyday decisions: when sessions run, where they take place, how travel is organised, what equipment is used and how waste is avoided. These changes normalise climate-aware decision-making and redefine what “good” youth sport looks like. By changing structures, leadership and expectations at once, the initiative shifts community norms around sport, sustainability and youth voice. It creates a replicable model that moves beyond awareness to transform behaviour, access and power in climate-vulnerable communities.
Roles and Responsibilities: Describe how responsibilities are shared among your team or partners.
The initiative is delivered through a clear, shared responsibility model that brings together strategic leadership, frontline delivery and youth leadership. The Youth Empowerment Service (YES) provides overall leadership and accountability. YES is responsible for programme governance, safeguarding, budget management, monitoring and evaluation, and ensuring the initiative is embedded across the wider youth service. Senior leaders oversee delivery quality and alignment with wider youth, climate and equality priorities, while operational managers coordinate delivery across youth hubs, schools and community settings. Youth workers and sports leads are responsible for frontline delivery. They embed climate-aware practice into sports and physical activity sessions, support climate-resilient adaptations (such as scheduling, space use and safety planning), and mentor young people into leadership roles. Staff also collect participation data and support reflective learning. Youth Climate & Sport Leaders play a central role in shaping and delivering the initiative. Young people co-design activities, lead peer sessions, model sustainable behaviours and design local action projects. They act as ambassadors within their communities, ensuring the work remains relevant and grounded in lived experience. Community partners (such as schools, local venues and sports providers) support delivery by providing space, access to participants and local insight. They collaborate on adapting environments, promoting active travel and embedding sustainable practice beyond YES-led sessions. This shared model ensures the initiative is youth-led, professionally supported and community-rooted, with clear accountability and collective commitment to long-term impact.
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?
We’re setting this up for success by building it into existing YES delivery, not running it as a standalone pilot. Climate-aware practice is embedded into our current sport and physical activity sessions, using established youth hubs, schools and community venues, plus existing safeguarding, supervision and data systems. That keeps delivery viable from day one and avoids creating a model that collapses when funding ends. Sustainability comes from investing in capability and operating practice. Grant funding trains staff and young people, and embeds climate-resilient methods (heat/air-quality safe planning, flexible indoor–outdoor delivery, hydration/shade protocols, low-waste operations and active travel norms). Once embedded, these become “business as usual” with minimal ongoing cost. A Youth Climate & Sport Leaders cohort creates a leadership pipeline that sustains peer influence and behaviour change. For scale, we will codify what works into a simple, transferable “toolkit” (session formats, safety triggers, checklists, youth-led evaluation) so it can be adopted across more sites and partners. Next-level growth relies on partnerships with local sport providers, schools, public health and environmental organisations, and aligning to wider borough climate/health strategies to unlock co-funding and replication across other settings and boroughs.
Upcoming Milestones: Please provide an overview of the milestones that are required for your initiative to come to fruition/ to grow.
Months 1–2: Set-up and co-design Confirm project governance, delivery leads and reporting arrangements Recruit Youth Climate & Sport Leaders cohort Run co-design sessions with young people to shape priorities, activities and delivery adaptations Baseline data collection on participation, awareness and behaviours Months 3–5: Training and pilot delivery Train youth workers and young people in climate literacy, climate-resilient sport delivery and sustainability practices Pilot climate-aware sports sessions across selected youth hubs and community sites Test adaptations such as heat-safe scheduling, indoor–outdoor flexibility, active travel promotion and low-waste delivery Gather early feedback and refine the model Months 6–9: Full rollout and community action Expand delivery across additional sites and programmes Youth Climate & Sport Leaders design and lead local action projects and low-carbon sports activities Embed behaviour-change practices into regular sessions Ongoing monitoring, learning and adjustment Months 10–12: Consolidation and scale planning Evaluate impact using participation data, surveys and case studies Capture learning into a transferable toolkit Identify partners and funding pathways for scale Produce a sustainability and expansion plan These milestones ensure the initiative moves from co-creation to embedded practice, with clear checkpoints for learning, impact and growth.
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 would be highly valuable, but it would create additional cost pressures for our service due to staff time and delivery backfill. As a frontline youth service, releasing staff capacity without additional resource can be challenging. If support funding were available, we would use it to cover: Staff backfill costs to release a senior project lead and delivery manager to fully participate in programme sessions and learning activities Sessional youth worker cover to ensure continuity of frontline youth sport and physical activity delivery during participation Travel and subsistence costs associated with in-person sessions or events, where applicable Materials and tools required to apply learning in practice (e.g. facilitation materials, evaluation tools) This support would ensure we can engage fully in the programme without reducing provision for young people. It would directly strengthen our ability to apply learning, build organisational capacity and maximise the long-term impact and scalability of the initiative.
