Suffolk Climate Change Partnership wins national award

09 Apr 2026

The Suffolk Climate Change Partnership (SCCP) has won the Working in Collaboration Award at the prestigious 2026 Association for Public Service Energy (APSE) and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) Awards.

This national award celebrates the SCCP’s long standing ability to unite Suffolk’s local authorities, public bodies, businesses, schools, community organisations and residents to accelerate progress towards the shared ambition of achieving a Sustainable Suffolk.

For over a decade, the SCCP has provided a trusted, countywide platform for shared learning, joint project delivery and coordinated climate and energy action, delivering outcomes at a significant scale. With the backing of Suffolk’s local authorities, the Partnership’s dedicated team has accessed more than £17 million in external funding to deliver projects supporting our businesses, communities and residents.

The SCCP’s winning submission, ‘Collaboration in Action – The Suffolk Story’, showcased a diverse portfolio of countywide initiatives demonstrating the power of partnership.

Working with businesses:

• supported more than 2,700 businesses to improve energy efficiency
• identified £3.23 million in savings and 18,528 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) potential annual reductions
• delivered tailored decarbonisation support to 800 organisations through the Net Zero Suffolk Consultancy service.

Supporting schools and education providers:

• established the Suffolk Sustainable Schools Network, now engaging 150+ schools, colleges and trusts
• delivered free energy audits identifying £712,000 in potential savings and 1,287 tonnes of CO₂ reductions
• provided teacher training, sustainability conferences and outreach benefiting over 100 education staff
• hosted the annual Youth Climate Conference, attended by 550 students to date.

Empowering residents and communities by:

• created the Suffolk Community Network (over 160 groups) and Suffolk Community Energy Network (28 villages)
• deliveredthe ‘Keep the Heat’ thermal imaging project, enabling 1,818 home surveys, with 63 per cent of households taking action
• unlocked over £1 million in funding for community-led climate projects since 2023.

Driving innovation and shared learning:

• hosted quarterly best-practice forums, site visits and training sessions to strengthen cross authority collaboration
• developed a partnership-owned 30 kilowatt peak (kWp) solar photovoltaics (PV) array supporting research at the University of Suffolk
• introduced a new Climate Adaptation Officer working closely with the Suffolk Resilience Partnership.

David Walton, Programme Manager at Sustainable Suffolk said: “We are absolutely thrilled to win this national award. This achievement reflects the dedication of partners across Suffolk who work tirelessly to support residents, schools, businesses and communities. Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do, and this recognition shows what’s possible when we work together towards a shared purpose.”

You can find out more about what the Sustainable Suffolk team do and learn how to get involved at: Sustainable Suffolk - Home.

 

This press release was originally shared by Sustainable Suffolk.

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