Sustainability Service explores the possibilities of partnerships
The Positive Impact Partners programme nurtures community, civic and university partnerships – creating and building a shared vision of the net-zero city.
Positive Impact Partners (PIP), a Sustainability Service initiative, connects third-sector and civic organisations with researchers and students to support the region’s sustainability and net zero goals. It’s funded by the University of Leeds’s Climate Plan, as a part of the “Supporting a Net Zero City” principle.
By partnering with community groups, third sector and civic organisations, PIP supports equitable approaches to a sustainable city. It focuses on just, person-centred activities that make sure sustainable actions are created by and for the people they affect.
Community collaboration
In November 2023, Jane Dickinson and Dr Rebecca Brunk led a discussion with the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures, the Horizons Institute, and twelve community organisations, about ways that the university and community groups could work together to create positive action towards net zero.
The community organisations had focuses including food systems, land use, waterways, and sustainable arts and culture. Understanding their expertise, ambitions and barriers helped the university and community groups come up with ways to support each other.
Representatives of the community groups emphasised the need for net zero goals to consider the social, political, economic, and cultural aspects of the city and the people living in it.
They discussed the challenges and barriers they’d encountered during previous collaborations with the university, and what they wanted from working with staff and students. This discussion helped shape the Positive Impact Partner programme in an evidence-based way to address these barriers.
Partnerships in Leeds
To support a sustainable transition that includes community knowledge, PIP has facilitated research partnerships with a range of community and civic organisations. These include Hyde Park Source, Leeds City Council, Climate Action Leeds, SAIL (Sustainable Arts in Leeds), Incredible Edible, and Wildlife Friendly Otley.
Imagining Alwoodley: A map created by community members during the disused land collaboration
Reinventing urban spaces
Leeds sustainability researchers have collaborated with Hyde Park Source and Leeds City Council on multiple projects to create community-led spaces with disused land.
Previous research showed that communities in Leeds were interested in accessing disused land in Leeds. Representatives from the partners came together to look at models of urban co-production and its potential benefits and barriers.
People from these sectors shared insights, research, and policy updates on how communities could access council-owned land for nature recovery and urban regeneration.
In communities in Seacroft and Alwoodley, the team trialled a creative method for mapping land to develop community-led nature recovery.
As the Nature Transition Partner for Climate Action Leeds, Hyde Park Source led community walks, encouraging people to notice spaces they could improve, and re-imagine their neighbourhood.
These projects highlight the importance and effectiveness of combining community, civic and academic knowledges to uplift environmental and social causes.
Sustainable cultural events
SAIL (Sustainable Arts in Leeds) is the sustainability partner for Bradford 2025.
Through PIP, they’ve partnered with researchers and professional services at the Universities of Leeds and Bradford to understand the emissions associated with the yearlong City of Culture festival.
The partnership has supported Bradford 2025 by evaluating SAIL's data collection framework that records emissions associated with events; for example, electricity consumption, transport and audience travel.
The research will provide a sustainability benchmark for future Cities of Culture and could contribute to improved sustainability in arts and cultural events.
Group discissions at the third sector engagement event
Climate hubs
With funding from the Research England Policy Support Fund through Policy Leeds, PIP supports a collaborative research partnership between researchers in the Schools of Geography and Earth and Environment, Leeds City Council’s Climate, Energy and Green Space initiative, and community organisations Climate Action Leeds and Otley 2023.
The project investigates the impact of climate hubs on sustainable behaviour change and community empowerment.
The project aims to demonstrate the value of climate hubs as ‘one-stop shops' for working collectively on climate strategies across the city, and the impact that communities can have when they have access to physical spaces to organise.
Climate education in primary schools
PIP and the volunteering team in Global Opportunities are supporting Leeds students to share their knowledge with local primary schools.
Two groups of students from the Conservation Society and the Sustainability Society at Leeds University Union visited local primary schools, where they ran interactive activities that engaged children with themes of sustainability and biodiversity.
One group created bug hotels with pupils, teaching them about the importance of insects and looking after local wildlife. The other decorated tote bags while talking about what sustainability means to them.
PIP has also supported a ‘primary schools living lab’ partnership between researchers in the Sustainable Research Institute and Leeds Development Education Centre (LeedsDEC), the Education Transition Partner within Climate Action Leeds.
The project explores how primary school climate education can affect household sustainability. The team will design a carbon action tracker for two schools in Seacroft.
Children engaging with the Sustainability Service at Be Curious Live
Nurturing lasting partnerships
PIP nurtures relationships between community and civic organisations and the university, making sure that research partnerships are equitable and mutually beneficial.
It’s important that everyone’s voices are heard in collaborative processes so that the outputs have positive impacts across communities.
As well as building the net-zero city, this person-led approach centres on different kinds of knowledge, underrepresented voices, and a broader perspective of sustainability.
It aims to empower people and communities to take action on the climate, and to counteract feelings of eco-anxiety and powerlessness.
PIP supports a net zero city that is created by and works for its diverse communities.
