Groundwork also welcomed the setting up of a Social Investment Taskforce to encourage the establishment of new social enterprises but stressed that sustainable development should be at the heart of such schemes. We are already providing training to long-term unemployed people in the fields of recycling, energy insulation and organic food production and using these schemes to set up community businesses. These new businesses stimulate the local economy and create new jobs but also help improve the quality of life in local communities. This approach revolutionises the world of work. Up to now the environment has always been the loser, suffering at the hands of industrial development.
Social enterprises creating new 'green collar' jobs represent a real win-win situation.
479267 Groundwork is a leading environmental regeneration charity. From small community schemes to major regional and national programmes, Groundwork's network of over 40 local Trusts works in partnership with local people, local authorities and business to promote economic and social regeneration by improvements to the local environment. Groundwork believes in using the environment as a tool to engage and motivate local people to improve their quality of life. Groundwork's activities reach over a third of the population and are increasingly focused on the most deprived and disadvantaged groups within society. Groundwork involves 60,000 adults and over 120,000 schoolchildren in sustainable development projects each year.