Sustainable Communities
Sustainable Communities CIC is a pioneering social enterprise that provides training and advice for community and youth organisations across the UK, charity governance expertise, business support, project management and carbon reduction advice for local communities.
We began in 2009 as a small consultancy and training company specialising in supporting the development of NGOs and in EU-funded twinning reform projects.
In 2021, we became a community interest company (CIC). We grew into a group of specialist UK-based associates delivering improvements in governance, project management and organisational and partnership development to NGOs, businesses and UK statutory authorities with an added focus on helping others to take steps to reduce their carbon emissions.
As well as project management, the specialisms of our growing group of associates include designing low-energy buildings and retrofitting existing ones, promoting a botanically diverse natural environment, human resources management to get the best from your staff and volunteers, devising IT and digital technological solutions, organisational governance development and change management specialising in charities and community enterprises. We have extensive project management and governance expertise and are working to deliver ISO 14064.
We are committed to:
- developing the core skills and capacity of organisations
- reducing the carbon footprint of all of the clients we work with
- supporting and empowering more local communities
to build brighter futures for us all.
Our approach
- We will all need to make both big changes and small steps if we are to reduce our carbon emissions enough to save our beautiful planet, as well as address other man-made emergencies such as the pandemic.
- We can develop our organisations, communities, our professional skills and capacity whilst using the latest technology to reduce our carbon footprint.
- Organisational change is and will be increasingly necessary, and can be designed to complement reductions in our carbon emissions.
- Digital technologies and locally produced natural products, with quality designed to last, can both make a big difference.
- No one person or organisation has the solution, but we can learn from each other and be informed by the latest research by applying best practice.
- Engaging and consulting others at all levels of the organisation – applying a whole system approach so that individuals and organisations work together to understand, ‘own’ and devise their own changes.
- Clarifying expectations from the start and meeting agreed deadlines throughout.
- Understanding and using the Joharis Window Model of learning and development, where issues are either:
- Known to you – Known to others. …
- Unknown to yourself – Known to others. …
- Known to yourself – Unknown to others. …
- Unknown to yourself – Unknown to others.
Our Values
- Work with and manage differences to provide the best solutions
- Engaging, respecting and understanding others
- Working for inclusivity and equality
- Being firm but flexible
The SC Team
We are an established core group of consultants and trainers, plus a wider group of specialist associates and partners with whom we work on different projects. Our linked specialists include architects, construction companies, ecologists, environmental engineers and academics, charity and company governance, policy and HR practitioners, all of whom have expertise in implementing carbon emission reduction measures. We also work with a range of partner consultancies regionally, nationally and internationally.
Dr Rob Eagle is the current Chair of the Board of Directors. He has previously led on projects for Sustainable Communities as a documentary film-maker and media workshop instructor. Rob has 20 years of experience in film-making and teaching all ages. With a passion for socially-engaged art and telling stories that contribute to social change, he balances a career between academic research and maintaining a creative practice in film, audio documentaries and large-scale public installations.
- Stephenie has worked in the voluntary and community sector for 32 years, working nationally for charities, local authorities and housing associations and has 30 years front line experience as a volunteer, manager and Chief Officer for buildings based community organisations and community development.
- Stephenie was the senior assessor for an accredited quality standard for community based buildings to ensure they meet legal requirements and best practice.
- She has developed her work and approach to help organisations reduce their carbon footprint. She qualified as a trainer and buildings auditor for Every Action counts for energy conservation and is a trainer for the 2-day training programme – Community Assets Matter – that again includes governance and all legal requirements to run a community building.
- Stephenie has 14 years’ experience as a trainer for the Directory of Social Change and has run courses on Employment Law, Moving into Management, Support and Supervision levels 1 and 2 and the 3 day Managing for Managers course.
Norman is an experienced project manager and has undertaken some acclaimed international prison and probation criminal justice reform work in Turkey and Eastern Europe, as well as bespoke support and development for charities and social enterprises across most parts of England. His background is in adult and child education, probation orientated social work, youth work and work as a family and systems therapist. He was an Assistant Chief Probation Officer in London prior to becoming a freelance consultant in 2005.
For the past 15 years he has worked as a consultant and trainer specialising in international project management, charity governance, business planning, change management, community engagement and building and policy development. From 2009 -19 he was a national assessor for the VISIBLE quality standard for charities who manage their own buildings.
He is a passionate environmentalist , amateur documentary film maker and musician and a lifelong organic gardener and committed to further implement ISO 14064 within all organisations
Kuljit is an experienced project manager and trainer in social work and criminal justice. She is CEO of RISE Staff Mutual C.I.C., which specialises in work with offenders and victims of crime and on empowering young people to achieve their full potential. see risemutual.org
Mani is an experienced web developer. Digital projects include small companies and charities supporting children i.e. Tabla Works and Amuru. As well as creating a bespoke case management systems e.g. for Veterans and their families, bespoke e-commerce platform for Mobile Testing Solution (IELTS college), development of MY SOS FAMILY APP and api, merging several websites together – MK Dental.
Our Partners
RISE MUTUAL CIC
RISE is a specialist agency in designing and delivering behavioural change programmes specialist in providing group and individual and new approaches for children , young people and adults . RISE works closely as a close key partner in Sustainable Communities to address domestic violence and abuse and working with families. It has developed several interventions working with young people and reducing incidents of serious violence driven by the belief that young people can make better decisions, given the right support. Its experienced team of professionals (trained in trauma informed techniques, Non-violent Resistance methods at an Advanced level work and Cognitive Behavioural methods) work with families in criminal justice and social care sectors, to guide parents and young people through process of change, and helping them to obtain new skills to rebuild the whole family unit again.
RISE has delivered Child to parent violence interventions in the London borough of Barnet for the last 4 years. Recently, awarded the Youth Endowment Fund to deliver Child to parent violence work in London borough of Croydon, Bromley and Bexley as well as being awarded the Young Londoners Fund for this work in London Borough of Waltham Forest. RISE is also working to achieve the Youth Quality Mark.
The CPV programme uses an innovative new approach called Non-Violent Resistance (NVR). This means we work with the parents, aiming to reduce the risk of harm, by teaching them techniques to de-escalate situations, as well as re-integrate the young person back into the family and the community.
We engage parents and children in their home through a programme of up to 20 sessions:
- Sessions with parents utilise and teach NVR techniques, including reconciliation methods
- Sessions with young people use AVERT (Adolescent Violence & Emotional Resilience Toolkit), they are skills- based, trauma-informed and teach CBT techniques to break negative cycles