Eco Audits
Advice on how to green your spaces and operations
Eco Audits set out ways organisations can be more sustainable and reduce their carbon footprint. They are free and available to all eligible organisations wherever the building is owned or with a lease over two years.
Once you have an Eco Audit from one of our approved consultants you can apply for funds to carry out the building work it recommends through our capital funding grant (further details at the bottom of this page).
Grant details
- Area: Greater London
- Open to: New applicants and previous and all current grant holders
- Deadline: Applications accepted on a rolling basis
Who will we fund?
You do not need to already be funded by us to request a free Eco Audit, but to qualify your organisation must be based within and chiefly serve the people of Greater London and must be one of the following:
registered charity
registered community interest company limited by guarantee
registered charitable incorporated organisation
charitable company
exempt or excepted charity
registered charitable industrial and provident society or charitable BenCom.
We can support audits of religious centres when they serve the wider community. For example, we could fund an Eco Audit for a church hall, mosque or temple that provides services that are open to people of all faiths.
We cannot fund Eco Audits for buildings exclusively used to advance the promotion of any specific religion.
Before applying
To apply for an Eco Audit online you’ll need to confirm:
that your building and its activities benefit the wider community and do not exclusively advance the promotion of any of specific religion
the building is owned by your organisation or has a lease of over two years
What do we ask you to do?
Eco Audits vary according to the size and nature of an organisation, but in most circumstances it will include one of our approved Eco Audit consultants visiting your premises and talking with staff and trustees to map and review policies and decision-making around:
energy and water use
waste, travel and purchasing practices
The consultant will then draw up a detailed report and action plan covering your current environmental performance and listing recommendations for how your organisation can:
adopt practices that will cut your carbon, waste and overheads
spread environmental good practice among staff, communities and the wider sector, for example through training, awareness-raising and workshops
All organisations will then receive a follow-up visit after a year to help staff and management keep up momentum and to answer any queries that may have arisen during the first year of implementation. You will also be provided with a final report on the changes and savings you’ve made.
Successful Eco Audits rely on an active collaboration with our approved consultant and the host organisation. Please only apply when you are certain your organisation and staff will be able to participate fully in the process.
How to apply
If we approve your request, we will contact you to discuss the appointment of a suitable consultant and agree a brief for the work.
If you have any questions about our Eco Audits initiative, please email citybridgetrust@cityoflondon.gov.uk or telephone 020 7332 3710.
Related funding
Capital funding for building works identified through an Eco Audit
Once one of our approved consultants has carried out an Eco Audit of your office, community building or charitable space, you can apply for capital funding of up to £150,000 to carry out its recommendations to reduce that building’s carbon footprint.
Works could include (but are not necessarily limited to) insulation, solar panels, heat pumps, on-site biodiversity schemes, and energy efficient lighting systems.
Please allow sufficient time in your project for the Eco Audit to take place before approaching us for capital funding. If you have already received a grant for an Eco Audit, you may apply at any time for funding towards associated capital works once the audit has taken place.
You must await confirmation of funding before commencing building work. We cannot reimburse organisations for building works that have already been carried out.
Applications for capital funding will usually only be considered where you either own your building or (if rented) the lease on the building has at least 10 years to run.
To apply for capital funding you must be able to provide evidence that an Eco Audit has been conducted by one of our approved consultants in the last three years.
If you had an Eco Audit from City Bridge Foundation more than three years ago, you can apply for a free Refresher Eco Audit using the Eco Audit application link above. Once you have had a Refresher Eco Audit you can apply for capital funding.
Refresher Eco Audits
The Refresher Eco Audit includes a meeting with your CEO and the person responsible for your environmental performance, to go over the recommendations from the original Eco Audit, a summary site walkabout, carbon footprint analysis and an updated recommendations report.
The Refresher Eco Audit can also include workshops such as Cost-of-Living Eco-tips for those on Low Incomes and how to reduce employees’ home carbon emissions.