Mission Net Zero was a £5 million programme, funded by Innovate UK and led by Bristol City Council, to accelerate Bristol and the West of England’s transition to net zero by 2030. It aimed to cut the region’s carbon emissions in ways that reflect local priorities and follow Just Transition principles.

CSE’s main role was leading Transforming Energy Together. We supported three community anchor organisations to produce Community Climate Investment Plans for their neighbourhoods. Each plan turns local ambitions for climate action into practical projects ready for funding. This gives communities a clearer route to investment and a stronger say in how it is delivered locally.

The three organisations were Southmead Development Trust in Southmead, Eastside Community Trust in East Central Bristol and We Can Make in Knowle West.

Alongside the plans, the organisations co-produced a Community Investment Charter. It sets out the principles they believe should underpin long-term, community-centred climate investment.

Working with Bristol City Council, Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership and Bristol Energy Network, we helped the organisations identify and develop investible community energy projects. These focused on generating renewable energy locally and reducing energy use in homes and neighbourhoods. Throughout this project, our aims were to:

• Support meaningful participation in climate action.
• Identify locally relevant opportunities for investment.
• Help communities connect climate action with their wider priorities.

Why climate investment needs community priorities

A fair and effective transition to net zero will require significant investment in homes, energy systems and local infrastructure. Yet many investment processes struggle to connect strategic objectives with what communities actually prioritise.

Transforming Energy Together tested how community-led climate action could inform future investment decisions. It gave communities space to set out their priorities, identify opportunities and influence how investment is delivered in their area.

From local ambition to investment plans

The work built on Community Climate Action Plans developed through Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership’s Community Climate and Nature programme. Each organisation strengthened its existing plan through targeted community engagement and research, producing a needs assessment for its neighbourhood. Together, they identified three themes for their investment plans:

• Domestic street-based retrofit.
• Making the most of community assets such as buildings and spaces.
• Building skills and community wealth.

The resulting Community Climate Investment Plans set out practical opportunities for action, partnership working and future investment in each neighbourhood.

The process also gave the organisations something less tangible but just as valuable: time to reflect on the role they want to play in local climate action. They considered how it fits with their wider purpose and where they can add the most value.

In November 2024, the Mission Net Zero partnership spent a day walking around the three neighbourhoods. Each organisation showed what its community could bring to a just energy transition. We were joined by Bristol City Council, Retrofit West, Living Places, Bristol Energy Network and Jess Steele from Jericho Road Solutions. The group visited community centres, residential streets, shopping districts, allotments and cycle paths. The tours showed the added value of community organisations leading the energy transition from the ground up.

Download the plans (PDF):

• Southmead Community Climate Investment Plan.
• East Central Bristol Community Climate Investment Plan.
• Knowle West Community Climate Investment Plan.

A charter for investing with communities

The Community Investment Charter captures the partners’ shared view of what good place-based climate investment looks like. Its central argument is that investment should work with communities rather than to them.

It recognises community organisations as trusted local partners, translators for their communities and long-term stewards of local relationships. It calls for approaches that build community wealth, strengthen local capability, invest in trust and create lasting value in neighbourhoods.

Download the Community Investment Charter (PDF).

What makes place-based climate investment work

Every place is different, but three lessons emerged consistently across our work with community organisations, local authorities and project partners.

1. Community anchor organisations are essential infrastructure for climate action

Trusted community anchor organisations were central to enabling local people to take part. They brought far more than a route to engagement. They offered local knowledge, established relationships and a deep understanding of what matters to their communities. They also connected climate action with issues people care about, including health, housing, wellbeing and the cost of living. As climate investment increasingly focuses on neighbourhoods and places, these organisations should be recognised as a vital part of successful delivery.

2. Meaningful participation needs investment in capability and confidence

Climate investment brings together people with very different kinds of knowledge and expertise. Community organisations contribute local knowledge and lived experience, while discussions can involve complex technical, financial and governance questions. For people to take a real part in decision-making, projects need to create room for learning, dialogue and knowledge-sharing. They also need to invest in the capability and confidence that participation depends on.

3. Strong partnerships must come before project design

Perhaps the most important lesson was that successful delivery rests on strong partnership foundations. Community organisations, local authorities and technical partners often came to the work with different priorities, expectations and definitions of success. It pays to invest time in building trust, developing shared ambitions and understanding each other’s constraints before moving into project development. Where those foundations are in place, it becomes far easier to find opportunities that matter locally and can actually be delivered.

This learning continues to shape our work on partnership development, community energy and place-based decarbonisation. That includes our more recent work exploring what community organisations and local authorities need to collaborate effectively.

CSE also contributed to the wider programme by giving local authorities access to tools and data for sustainable energy projects. We also created opportunities for young people to take part in net zero decision-making.

To deliver this project, we worked alongside:

• Bristol City Council
• Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership
• Bristol Energy Network
• Bristol City Leap
• South Gloucestershire Council
• Bath and North East Somerset Council
• North Somerset Council
• National Grid Electricity Distribution
• Bristol and Bath Regional Capital
• West of England Combined Authority