March 5, 2023

Sustainable Engagement Fund – Results of the first round

The European Youth Parliament (EYP) recently concluded the first round of its Sustainable Engagement Fund. The fund is part of the Climate Youth Action Plan and is kindly sponsored by the E.ON foundation.

The Sustainable Engagement Fund offers opportunities to all National Committees (NCs) to support sustainable activities that have a long-term impact on carbon neutrality, both for the individual NCs and the EYP network as a whole.

A competitive application process saw 11 NCs submitting 13 applications. After carefully considering the main criteria of grading the applications, including the project’s innovativeness, focus on environmental sustainability, and possibility for other NCs to benefit from the concept, among others, eight NCs were selected to receive support. These include Austria, Cyprus, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, and the United Kingdom.

Successful projects

Austria – NSC Graz 2023

EYP Austria’s biggest session this year aims to be paperless, only offer vegetarian or vegan food, and encourage sustainable travel. Sustainability coordinators and the organising team will develop sustainability goals derived from UN Sustainable Development Goals and support their implementation.
Cyprus – Sustainable storage materials

EYP Cyprus will avoid loss, damage to, or ineffective management of materials by purchasing durable storage boxes and paying for secure storage solutions.
France – 50th National Session

EYP France aims to support sustainable means of transport for officials planning on attending the National Session in Angers in 2023. They will offer travel reimbursement to those who will include train/bus in their trip instead of travelling by plane.
Greece – 44th and 45th NSCs

EYP Greece promotes environmental consciousness through sustainable practices and academic and session visions. The umbrella project, “Wind of Change: Youth Initiatives towards environmental consciousness,” has been and will be implemented at the NSCs in Thessaloniki and Athens.
The Netherlands – Electric Vehicles for EYP sessions

EYP the Netherlands will rent an electric van to transport materials and groceries for the duration of their national session, as a trial project for sustainable means of transportation.
Portugal – Oeiras RSC 2023

EYP Portugal has purchased durable cooking equipment and utensils to be used for Oeiras 2023 and future events, to promote sustainable and eco-friendly practices.
Serbia – Outreach Weekend Conferences

EYP Serbia will promote sustainable practices such as waste management, reusable equipment, and locally sourced food at three annual Outreach Weekend Conferences, which serve as the first step for young people across the country to get involved in EYP activities.
United Kingdom – Carbon-neutral Events

To prevent any material losses, damages, or mismanagement, EYP UK will jointly finance the rental of a centralized storage facility for all reusable materials belonging to EYP UK.

The selection process was especially difficult as it was the first introduction of the Sustainable Engagement Fund to the network. The eight funded projects focused on various sustainability streams and covered the areas of storage, mobility, and sustainable practices at events. Due to the number of strong applications, the amount received by each project was reduced from the initial application amount. The International Office is happy with the results and excited to fund as many sustainable projects as possible.

In conclusion, this first round of the Sustainable Engagement Fund was a great success. The EYP network is committed to the long-term goal of carbon neutrality, and the funding of innovative and sustainable projects will support that. The new round of the Sustainable Engagement Fund will open in April, and we can only expect that the process will improve even further as the initiative continues to expand.

Read more about the Climate Youth Action Plan at the link below.

Climate Youth Action Plan