Whitley Bay Big Local is a community-led charity which aims to make Whitley Bay an even better place to live, work and visit. 

The team is currently converting a former job centre building into a new community eco-hub and CEO, David Carnaffan, took part in NBSL’s ToNetZero programme, which gives employees and business owners access to training and one-to-one support to help them join the North East’s drive to reach net zero, to learn more about measuring the building’s energy efficiency. 

“We bought the former job centre building, which is in the centre of Whitley Bay, a year ago and we’re converting it into a sustainable base for all sorts of community activities, from after-school drop-ins to Deaf meet-ups and arts groups,” said David Carnaffan. 

“We know the environment and sustainability are really important to people in Whitley Bay so we wanted to make sure that the new hub we’re creating is environmentally sustainable – and therefore financially sustainable as well. 

“By using renewable energy like solar panels and heat pumps, we are creating a space that is cheaper to run and keep warm and which we hope will help to inspire everyone who uses it to be more environmentally conscious.” 

So what did David hope the charity would gain from taking part in the ToNetZero programme? 

“I hoped we’d get a better awareness of what we can do as a charity to become more sustainable and I also wanted to come up with a way to track our progress and demonstrate our impact to funders,” he said. 

“For me, the most important outcome was that we now have a way of measuring our carbon reduction. This was something I worked on in our one-to-one sessions and it’s what we’re using to establish our 2022 baseline of carbon emissions. This means we can now track our progress over the coming years. 

“The session on marketing and how we can talk about what we’re doing was also especially good. We now talk very differently about our ambitions and it’s helped us to shape how we inform and inspire people. 

“Overall, I’d say I learnt something new every single week.” 

If you’re involved with a charity that wants to take steps towards carbon reduction, NBSL’s ToNetZero programme could support you.

Find out more and register at www.tonetzero.org. 

The programme is organised by Northumberland-based enterprise and business support organisation, NBSL, and funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority. ToNetZero is open to residents of the North of Tyne area who are aged 19 or over, whether they are employees or business owners.

Whitley Bay Big Local is just one of hundreds of organisations helping the North East reach its net zero targets and make a difference on a global scale. 

If you’ve a story to share or would like to find out more how you can start your decarbonisation journey, please email [email protected].