This region has seen dramatic structural change over the past
decade. This has brought both major benefits and challenges - not
least to address serious urban and industrial environmental
degradation and to help build equitable and democratic civil
society. Alongside many other agencies working in this field
Groundwork has been invited to contribute its experience in
delivering partnership-based solutions to environmental and
regeneration problems in both the accession countries set to join
the European Union and in the Newly Independent States (NIS) of the
former Soviet Union – now known as the Eastern Europe,
Caucases and Central Asia (EECCA) countries.
In the accession countries, whose challenges include bringing environmental performance in line with EU legislative demands, we have contributed know how and expertise to help create the ‘Czysty Biznes’ environmental management programme in Poland targeting mainly SMEs in co-operation with the Polish Environmental Partnership Foundation (PEPF). This was replicated in the DFID funded ‘Eco-Business’ programme in Romania, a three-way partnership between PEPF, REPF (its Romanian counterpart), and Groundwork. Additionally a number of short-term exchanges have taken place with the aim of extending areas of co-operation to include community and school based projects. This has now resulted in the Groundwork UK managed Toyota Motor Europe funded Schools for Sustainable Development programme operating in the UK, Poland and Czech Republic.
In EECCA countries, Groundwork has focused on project development activity in Ukraine following an invitation to provide DFID funded consultancy input in 2000. This has led to our playing a leading role in promoting cross-sectoral partnerships for sustainable development and links with wider international initiatives, supported by Defra (this includes the Ukraine Sustainable Cities Network and a Youthworks programme in Donetsk). Our engagement with Defra has also included playing a key role supporting Defra in creating the Partnership for Environmental Co-operation in Europe environmental initiative across the EECCA region.
We have entered into a number of strategic partnership agreements with national partners in Poland, Ukraine and also with UK sustainable development organisations working in Central and Eastern Europe. Our key objective is to share experience of delivering partnership and community based joined-up solutions to a range of environmental and related economic and social problems, with an increasing emphasis on promoting environmental justice and anti-poverty measures.
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