Local action, Global Impact
Spark Change“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
– Jane Goodall
Spark Change in Your Own Community
Ireland has pledged to become more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable by 2030. Play your part by starting a Spark Change project in your community. Together we can make our communities, Ireland and the world more sustainable.
Start a project
We have collected stories from dozens of successful projects that could be replicated in your own community.
The stories are grouped under three headings: Economic, Social and Environmental, reflecting the three dimensions of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Find your inspiration and spark change in your own community. You are welcome to contact the project leaders listed in the stories.
Share your story and inspire change!
Have you already completed a successful sustainability project in your community? If so, we would love to hear from you! We will share your insights with other communities who could learn from and be inspired by your experience. This is a great opportunity to showcase your work and to make an even wider impact!
What is Sustainability?
Sustainability simply means meeting our current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. While sustainability is often linked to environment, there are also economic and social sides to sustainable development. It is something everyone can work towards, whether it is picking up litter, planting a community garden, creating sustainable employment scheme, campaigning for gender equality or promoting health and wellbeing, anyone can help to make their community, Ireland and our planet more sustainable.
Our Supporters
The Wheel
Trinity College Dublin
Environmental Protection Agency
The Wheel is Ireland’s national association of community, voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises. We are a representative voice and a supportive resource that offers advice, training, influence and advocacy for the sector. Visit www.wheel.ie for more information.
The Sustainable Community Research Group has been funded by a number of organisations including the Irish Research Council, Interreg, Intelligent Energy Europe, the EPA and SEAI. The IRC funded the development of a novel Ecological Footprint for Irish communities and currently 95 Ecological Footprints (EF) have been carried out. The research embeds the EF measurement and its communication in the community.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s current Research Programme 2014–2020 is built around three pillars -Sustainability, Climate and Water. The EPA Research Programme is a Government of Ireland initiative funded by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment. Visit the EPA website for more information.
Our Supporters
The Wheel
The Wheel is Ireland’s national association of community, voluntary and charitable organisations. We are a representative voice and a supportive resource that offers advice, training, influence and advocacy for the sector. Visit www.wheel.ie for more information.
Trinity College Dublin
The Sustainable Community Research Group has been funded by a number of organisations including the Irish Research Council, Interreg, Intelligent Energy Europe, the EPA and SEAI. The IRC funded the development of a novel Ecological Footprint for Irish communities and currently 95 Ecological Footprints (EF) have been carried out. The research embeds the EF measurement and its communication in the community.
Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s current Research Programme 2014–2020 is built around three pillars -Sustainability, Climate and Water. The EPA Research Programme is a Government of Ireland initiative funded by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment. Visit the EPA website for more information.
