Climate Action Hubs and the Public Sector
What are Climate Action Hubs?
In order to provide a strategic regional approach to climate change action, Climate Action Hubs (CAH’s) were established to encourage transformational change across all our communities and support them to be climate ready.
The hubs are run by local experts connected to community organisations and cross-section partners such as council’s, health boards and education providers. They vary in size, scale and employ different ways of working specific to the communities they represent.
The Climate Action Hubs network now consists of 24 hubs covering all of Scotland, providing place-based support for communities to take forward climate action initiatives at the heart of the communities they represent.
The hubs focus on innovation, building resilience and inclusivity in addressing climate challenges, supporting communities in making meaningful contributions to Scotland’s net zero goals.
SSN, Climate Action Hubs and the public sector
Our project aims to improve understanding of the role of Climate Action Hubs, their ambitions, and to use this understanding, along with our knowledge of the public sector, to boost collaboration and support better ways of working that benefit both the hubs and the public sector.
Some key milestones of the project are:
- Raise awareness of the Climate Action Hub programme amongst the public sector
- Run network events between the Hubs and public sector to connect and support knowledge sharing
- Explore and build further opportunities for collaboration for existing and future climate actions
- Support the relationships between the Hubs, the public sector and the Scottish Government in a meaningful and mindful way
SSN Climate Action Hubs and the Public Sector Gathering, 3rd March, Edinburgh,
Our initial research and conversations with Hub managers and public-sector officers identified a clear need to bring people together.
We identified that while many of the hubs had good relationships with their councils, some would benefit from the opportunity to meet and network with their counterparts.
The Gathering was an opportunity to showcase best practice where hubs and their councils are working together, delivering real change and offered the opportunity for audience Q&A on practicalities and delivery – presentation slides below.
Our ‘fireside chat’ between Forth Environment Link and their Council’s – Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire each described what their excellent working relationship means to them and how this benefits their organisation and what they need to deliver.
The session by Sherilyn MacGregor, Director of the Centre for Joined-Up Sustainability Transformations (JUST: Welcome) framed the role of the hubs in the national picture and celebrated the achievements that Scotland is making in the community space.
The afternoon was used to gain insight and inspiration, with SSN Steering Group members working directly with hub and public sector officers to build our support work plan for 2026-27. Delegates worked alongside their regional counterparts on our key areas of:
- Raising the profile of climate action hubs
- Extending the reach of climate action hubs within the wider public sector
- Joint funding and collaboration opportunities
- Creation of resources, communications and SSN support
The event was attended by around 60 hub and public sector officers. Our feedback survey following the Gathering identified that everyone who completed the survey made a connection they wouldn’t have made had they not attended in person, with over half saying this is going to lead to future collaboration.
For further information on the Gathering or on the project, please contact ssn@ed.ac.uk.