Sustainable business, communities and charities

Business Energy

Businesses Have Your Say: Your Energy, Your Future.

As part of a national effort to move towards cleaner, greener energy, Three Rivers District Council is working with local businesses like yours to understand how energy is currently used – and what’s needed in the future to keep businesses powered and competitive.

This is part of a Local Energy Plan being developed alongside work being completed for UK Power Networks (the District Network Operator) to help identify where the electricity grid needs upgrades to support local business needs – such as electric vehicles, solar panels, air conditioning or cooling, and energy-efficient buildings.

The Three Rivers District Council Energy Plan, and work with UK Power Networks seeks to ensure homes, public buildings, and your business can access reliable, affordable energy while supporting business growth, sustainability goals, and net-zero targets.

Why your input matters: 

Local businesses power our economy – and each one has unique energy needs. Whether you’re already making energy upgrades, planning to reduce costs, or simply keeping your operations running, your input is vital. It will help us:

• Understand what’s needed to support you
• Make the case for local infrastructure investment
• Unlock funding, grants, and business support

Sector Sustainability Guides

Please see our Sector Sustainability Guides below:

Charity Sector Sustainability Guide (PDF 1.7MB)

Construction Sector Sustainability Guide (PDF 1.7MB)

Healthcare Sector Sustainability Guide (PDF 1.7MB)

Hospitality Sector Sustainability Guide (PDF 1.8MB)

Manufacturing and Production Sector Sustainability Guide (PDF 1.7MB)

Professional Services Sector Sustainability Guide (PDF 1.7MB)

Wholesale Distribution Sector Sustainability Guide (PDF 1.8MB)

Sustainability Guide (PDF 2.6MB)

Community support

The Energy Saving Trust

The Energy Saving Trust provide advice and support to communities and businesses, enabling them to play their part in building a sustainable, energy efficient future.

Three Rivers Sustainability Fund

The Three Rivers Sustainability Fund in partnership with Watford & Three Rivers Trust provides funds of up to £1,650 for projects that seek to reduce, mitigate or help us adapt to the impact of climate change and enhance sustainability in the district.

The Sustainability Fund is open to applications from voluntary sector organisations in the district for projects that:

• encourage reducing, reusing and recycling waste within the district
• promote sustainability
• address the impact of climate change on our communities
• increase biodiversity and rewilding
• reduce energy use
• measure carbon emissions to inform climate change action plans and help organisations carry out such plans
• reduce littering and the use of single-use plastics
• lower water consumption
• help prevent the pollution of waterways

See who has been accepted for funding (PDF)

How to apply

To apply, email Watford & Three Rivers Trust at cvs@w3rt.org to request an application form.

Applications are considered on an ongoing basis.

Sustainable Hertfordshire Fund

The Sustainable Hertfordshire Fund from Hertfordshire County Council, Hertfordshire Community Foundation and Crowdfunder offers to match funds of up to 50% of your crowdfunding target (up to a maximum of £5,000) for community projects that improve sustainability in Hertfordshire.

Projects eligible for funding from the Sustainable Hertfordshire Fund must be local to Hertfordshire and support Hertfordshire County Council's ambitions to:

• become a net zero county before 2050
• create communities ready for future climates
• improve wildlife across the county by 20% by 2050
• provide access to clean air for all by 2030

For full eligibility and to apply for the fund, go to Crowdfunder.

Climate and Sustainability Organisations working in Three Rivers

Hertfordshire Climate Change and Sustainability Partnership(HCCSP) - The council is a member of this partnership. It comprises the ten local authorities in Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire County Council, and the Hertfordshire Futures. The partnership aims to share information, coordinate, and influence solutions, and bring forward proposals for joint interventions around climate change and sustainability across Hertfordshire.

Herts Waste Partnership - The Hertfordshire Waste Partnership (HWP) brings together the ten borough and district councils and the county council as the waste disposal authority. It works to reduce waste and increase recycling across Hertfordshire through a range of projects and collaborations. 

Grand Union Community Energy(GUCE) - Grand Union Community Energy  is a non-profit community energy cooperative based in South West Hertfordshire. Established to improve community resilience to increasing energy costs and climate change, by facilitating community-funded renewable energy projects and delivering local energy reduction initiatives such as Transition Streets.

The National Energy Foundation – is a non-profit that advocates for the alleviation of fuel poverty and the importance of sustainable housing for public health and climate change mitigation. They also provide free support and advice to residents on energy efficiency and domestic retrofit via their Better Housing Better Health helpline.

Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust - The leading voice for wildlife conservation across the area, taking practical action every day to help wildlife flourish.

Sustainable Three Rivers- Founded by a group of local residents to help people in Three Rivers to make lifestyle changes to protect the planet; encourage local residents to influence government on climate action; and kickstart new community events.

Watford Three Rivers Friends of the Earth – A local climate action group working towards a safer climate, flourishing nature, and healthy air, water, and food, now and for future generations. They campaign for change in the community to have influence on the environment locally, nationally, and globally.

S.P.O.K.E.S Cycling group, S.W. Herts - The local cycle group for Southwest Hertfordshire, formed to encourage cycling by organising rides and campaigning for better and safer cycling routes.

Maple Lodge Conservation Society - Maple Lodge Nature Reserve consists of 40 acres of lakes, marsh, hedgerows and woodland.  Owned by Thames Water who lease it to the volunteer members of the Maple Lodge Conservation Society.

Moth Group, Herts  (Part of Herts & Middlesex Moth Group) – The group started in Hertfordshire and its primary purpose is to support the County Moth Recorder (CMR) in gathering records of moths in Hertfordshire.

River Chess Association - Formed to protect and enhance the River Chess for future generations.

The Soil Association - is managing Woodoaks Farm and has plans to turn it into a model of biodiversity good practice, using regenerative farming methods with community involvement.

Community Learning Partnership (CLP) - is a registered charity, specialising in community learning. CLP run high-quality sustainability arts & crafts courses for adults and families at affordable prices.

Refill Scheme - Refill allows public places such as cafés, pubs, and restaurants, to register as Refill stations that will happily refill water bottles with free tap water. The  nearest Refill stations can be found on-the-go by downloading the Refill app or keeping an eye out for Refill window stickers.

'Friends of' and other resident groups - There are a number of active local resident groups that help look after green spaces in  Three Rivers District Area: Chorleywood Community Garden, Dig Deep Garden – South Oxhey, Friends of Chorleywood Common, Friends of Chorleywood House, Friends of Croxley Common Moor, Rickmansworth Community Garden and Friends of Stocker’s Lake. There are also several horticultural societies, including Chorleywood and district horticultural society, Carpenders Park Horticultural Society and Abbots Langley Gardening Society.

Funding Opportunities

APSE Energy - Funding Opportunities (PDF, 2.9 MB)

Training and Careers

If you'd like to make a difference in your job by helping to mitigate and adapt to climate change or protect and enhance the natural environment, a career in sustainability could be for you. Careers in sustainability are wide-ranging including roles such as solar panel installers, heat pump and wind turbine engineers, ecologists,  agronomists, countryside rangers, and business energy managers, to name a few. Even in sectors that may not be directly linked to sustainability, there are an increasing number of skilled jobs that involve aspects of environmental conservation and sustainability.

Learn more about careers in sustainability and relevant training opportunities by clicking the links below:

The National Careers Service hosts advice on different ‘green careers’ and how to access training:

Green careers | National Careers Service

The Hertfordshire Opportunities Portal hosts information on ‘green careers’ in Hertfordshire and retrofit training and upskilling programmes:

The Environment (hopinto.co.uk)

Careers in Retrofit | Hertfordshire Opportunities (hopinto.co.uk)

Business Support

Businesses play a vital role in helping to address climate change.

Have a look at the links below to learn more about how to make your business more sustainable or business opportunities in the sustainability sector.

For general advice to increase the energy efficiency of your business, from low and no-cost actions to longer-term investments:

Energy advice for businesses - Energy Efficiency for Businesses (businessenergyefficiency.campaign.gov.uk)

The UK Business Climate Hub provides net zero advice for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs):

UK Business Climate Hub - find advice on energy saving and net zero for SMEs

Through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, you could get a grant to cover part of the cost of replacing fossil fuel heating systems with a heat pump or biomass boiler:

Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Schools Support

Support for your school to tackle the climate emergency can be found here:

https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/microsites/sustainable-hertfordshire/sustainability-guide-for-schools.aspx 

Lets go Zero

Join Lets Go Zero Schools to help your school fight climate change.

"I can endorse this from Croxley Danes. I watched a webinar last term and have subsequently used their support to start auditing our carbon with a view to start using this to inform our action plan"

Helen Cox - Croxley Danes School.