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2023-12-31-accounts

AnnuaL report 2023 ZERC) carbon guildford

Zero Carbon Guildford Registered Charity Number 1192880

Zero Carbon Guildford’s vision is a future where Guildford's wide and diverse community stands united and empowered to combat the pressing climate and environmental crises.

Our strategy combines climate change and environmental education, provision of practical solutions and tools to reduce carbon and environmental impact, and community building and support. Central to this plan is community cohesion; we aim to bring together individuals, projects and organisations and offers resources and platforms for collaboration to enable greater benefits than each individual project alone.

A core part of how we deliver our aims is through operating a town centre hub, which we call ZERO, where we can host a wide range of events, installations and exhibitions, talks and workshops, and lots more, to help drive engagement in climate action.

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A note from the Trustees:

As Trustees of Zero Carbon Guildford, we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped make 2023 such an amazing year for the charity. The first half of the year saw us expand our activities; drawing the public into our Friary Street Hub to attend events, to learn, share, volunteer, make friends and grow a community around our common goal of reducing carbon emissions and creating a more sustainable environment in Guildford. Come September we had to shut up shop and look for new premises, which we hope we have now found, but even during those last few months the activity continued with projects such as the Community Fridge and Water Rangers running, events still being held and collaborations with other organisations being developed. So, a big thank you to all our volunteers, we couldn’t do any of this without you, thank you to our funders including all the people who gave so generously to our Crowdfunder, thank you to our outgoing trustees for your expertise in steering the organisation so well, and thank you to all of our members and users for all your support over the year.

This Annual Report is an opportunity to reconfirm that we, as Trustees, recognise the duty imposed upon us by the Charities Act 2011 Section 17 and also the requirement to have due regard to the guidance provided by the Charity Commission in connection with Public Benefit. All our activities are charitable and in one form or other deliver public benefit. We invite all members of the community to volunteer with us, and anyone can attend our events, and access resources and information we provide. We aim to help the whole community to understand the challenges and changes associated with the net zero economy and to be part of a fair and successful transition.

Please read on to find out more about our charitable activities, the impact of our work and of course how we manage our finances.

Signed,

Zero Carbon Guildford Trustees

----- Start of picture text -----
David Stokes,
Carol Dunnett, Sustainable Business Kath Clowser,
Stuart Cook Isabel Volunteer and Environmental Sam Peters, Network representative Finance
Robson safeguarding officer
officer
Mark Stamp
Andy Kerry Lewis, Olivia
Maddie Steve Davis,
Giess Secretary Carpenter-Lomax, Evans Health, Safety and Smirti Prashant
Chair Kutaula, Kumar 3
Compliance officer
HR Trustee
----- End of picture text -----

Colin Summerhayes [not pictured]

Contents

Contents Contents
1 2023 in brief ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5
1 2023 in brief ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5
2 2023 strategy: how did we do? ……………………………………………………………………… 7
3 2023 Environmental report ………………………………………………………………………………… 9
4 2024 strategy: What are we doing next? ………………………………………………. 11
5 How we are structured …………………………………………………………………………………………. 13
6 2023 Financial report and charity info ……………………………………………………. 6 2023 Financial report and charity info ……………………………………………………. 16

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SECTION 1

2023 in brief

2023 was an eventful year for ZERO; from holding some fantastic events, engaging with people through outreach, moving premises, winning an award, and raising funds to take on our first staff member dedicated to the operations of the whole charity; not to mention the day to day running of the café and shop in ZERO and the ongoing work of all our projects.

The key charity activities shown to the right have been an ongoing feature of the charity throughout the year, with the notable exception of the task of running the physical hub, ZERO, coming to an end in September 2023 as the lease of our existing building ending. The hard task of finding a new building started in late Spring, and it is proving a formidable task, but Heads of Terms were agreed on a property in November 2023 (the lease is yet to be completed).

The next page shows a summary of some of the key events and activities throughout the year.

Our key charity activities include:

Running a physical hub:

Providing information and volunteers to engage the public, resources such as Terracycling, seed bank and baby clothes library.

Building and supporting our community: Maintain our community of dedicated volunteers and supporters and empower them to act.

Outreach: :

Aiming to reach residents and organisations from all backgrounds by attending events, running exhibitions, and reaching out to groups and communities.

Project support: We facilitate and support a wide range of environmental projects, events and activities which empower individuals and groups to take meaningful action.

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2023 in brief

Section

1

Regular events Climate Cinema, Community Fridge, kilo sale, gamers’ lounge, climate fresk, volunteer socials, Sustainable Business Network, open mic night, climate fiction book club

Key events and activities in 2023

Sustainable 28 Feb Business Network 1st of 8 free events provided to 128 local businesses Fairtrade Festival 11 Mar Community event promoting awareness around fairtrade and climate justice

22 Mar Annual General Meeting 2023 Our second AGM updating our supporters and voting in Trustees

Environmental hustings Questions from 100 residents for 25 Apr local parties before the Guildford Borough Council election

17 Jun

Great Big Green Week Celebration of community action to tackle climate change

Raft Race 1 Jul Community outreach through our collaboration with Guildford lions

15 Jul

Surrey Wildlife Trust takeover day Nature activities, games and talks

Talk from Knepp estate Rewilding lessons in the context of 27 Jul extinction of 11% of Surrey’s species attended by 70 local residents

Community Fridge continues St Nicholas Parish Church and Guildford Quakers host the fridge

First ZCG employee Steph joined as a ZCG employee and Bex continued with the SBN

Sep

Nov

2 Sep

Oct

Dec

Closing event for ZERO 100 of us celebrated our time in Friary Street with an open mic night

Crowdfunder 262 supporters raised £37k to assist us in the new space and advertise paid roles

Launch of HEAT project Project providing free energy surveys and signposting to solutions across Surrey

Meeting in ZERO 2.0 5 Dec Our operations team met for the first time to discuss the new space

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SECTION 2

2023 strategy: How did we do?

Our annual report last year laid out seven strategies for 2023. These allowed us to focus on our charitable objectives and plan for the year ahead.

We focused on building community within our current supporters and making new connections with local residents, organisations and businesses. Our volunteers have run more than 13 projects in the year (and more to come in 2024) and logged more than 4,500 hours with many more outside of this.

For the climate-curious , our blog posts offered advice on sustainable parties, travelling in Guildford without a car, climate anxiety, electric cars, savings made using the Library of Things, pesticide use, holidays by train, climate-friendly diets, water quality testing, and a volunteer spotlight from Jen, Tom and Tom.

We supported more than 13 projects in 2023 which includes launching the Library of Things, Sustainable Business Network and HEAT (Home Energy Advice Taskforce). These pioneering projects benefit the local area and act as inspiration to similar groups across the country looking to open their own climate hubs. We are excited to support these groups and visit their hubs visit in the coming years.

Generous donations throughout the year, including the October 2023 crowdfunder, meant that we we able to make the most of our ZERO hub whilst we had it, and look for our next home. We would like to thank our volunteers and local organisations such as St Nicholas Parish Church and Guildford Quakers for supporting us while we found new premises.

Our environmental impact will increase as our volunteer-base grows and we support more projects and events. It was part of our 2023 strategy to reduce our impact where possible, and this will continue in future years.

The achievements of our volunteers was recognised by us winning the Innovative UK Community Project Award at The Climate Coalition’s 2023 event hosted at the Houses of Parliament. Zero Carbon Guildford will forever be an ‘ award-winning ’ charity!

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2023 strategy: How did we do?

2

Section

2023 strategy

To continue to build a community of volunteers and contributors who together run ZERO and support the huge amount of activity it hosts.

Be a hub and a catalyst for projects and activity for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

To reach out to the wider community beyond ZERO with particular focus on the climate emergency and the loss of biodiversity.

To make the most of the ZERO Friary Street premises while we have it, and to manage transition to the next steps after notice is given.

To ensure that our activities are achieved at the lowest possible carbon footprint, or a carbon benefit.

To investigate building a community climate action plan across all sectors of the borough, which involves people from right across Guildford’s demographics.

ZCG will continue to fundraise to support existing and proposed projects both at ZERO and in the ZCG network, and in the wider Guildford area.

What we did in 2023

We have 222 volunteers, including 65 new volunteers in 2023. Over 4,500 volunteer hours have been logged and many more outside of this. 35 blog posts. Initial training for free home energy surveys (HEAT).

We won the Innovative UK Community Project Award at The Climate Coalition’s 2023 event hosted at the Houses of Parliament. Our volunteers supported and inspired many other UK groups looking to open climate hubs. We launched the Library of Things, Sustainable Business Network and HEAT projects.

Stalls at Car Free Day (Great Big Green Week) and Burpham Wellfest. We supported Guildford Lions organising the Raft Race, hosted an environmental hustings, and encouraged borrowing from the Green Read Share as well as hosting open mic nights. Initial training on communication with ‘persuadable’ Guildford residents.

104 events held and 1,462 tickets sold in 2023 from sorting clothes for the Baby Clothes Library to our Climate Cinema and volunteer socials. Terracycle remained popular for those tricky-to-recycle items. The 262 generous supporters of our crowdfunder in October 2023 enabled us to prepare for our new space.

We estimate that we saved over 361 tonnes of CO2e in 2023 - nearly 15% more than in 2022 despite the ZERO hub closing in September. More environmental information in Section 3 and in our Environmental Report.

Although we had previously felt this was an important strategy for ZCG, we pivoted our focus in 2023. Since Surrey County Council and Guildford Borough Council both have climate action plans (and ZCG is mentioned in Surrey’s!), it would not add significant value if we were to publish an alternative plan. Our 2024 strategy in Section 4 supports existing plans.

Specific funding for: Vertical Farming, Urban Greening, River Quality Testing, Community Fridge, Air Quality, HEAT, Sustainable Business Network. Other activities and projects were supported by generous donations throughout the year, the cafe and zero-waste shop.

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SECTION 3

Environmental report 2023

The volunteers and supporters of Zero Carbon Guildford care about the impact we have on climate change and the environment.

It is not an explicit aim of the charity to directly save carbon or protect the environment; we aim to enable the Guildford community to act on climate change, and make changes needed to protect the environment.

However, it is an important part of the Charity’s ethos to do what we can to undertake our projects in a way that has little negative impact on the environment. This includes operating the building as efficiently as possible (even if it means sitting in our hats and scarves to save on heating!), using exclusively second hand or refurbished furniture, or serving only vegan food and non-dairy milks in the cafe.

And many of the projects we support do make real, positive impacts on the environment - from the Library of Things preventing the purchase of tools and camping equipment that are rarely used, to water testing to monitor the health of our rivers.

These benefits are summarised on the next page, and expanded on in our full Environmental Report..

And then there are the benefits that can’t be measured - the impacts of the changes that our members, volunteers and supporters make in their own lives, and the people they influence along the way.

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Environmental report 2023

Section

3

Direct benefits of Zero Carbon Guildford activities and projects in 2023:

----- Start of picture text -----
Carbon saving:
Electricity saving: Water saving: Plastic saving:
361,101 kg
813 kWh 52.7 million L 644 kg
CO e
2
Equivalent to Equivalent to
Equivalent to Equivalent to
The CO Over 21
2 Boiling water Over 280,000
absorbed by Olympic
for 35,000 crisp packets
181,000 trees swimming
cups of tea by weight
in a year pools
----- End of picture text -----

Project highlights include:

Community Fridge

Water testing

Library of Things

Home Energy Advice Taskforce (HEAT)

Vegan cafe

Surrey Business Network (SBN)

Full details and methodology are available in our Environmental Report. Our overall impact is potentially much greater - we use very conservative estimates, and many projects have practical benefits that are currently impossible to measure or estimate accurately, so have been excluded.

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SECTION 4

2024 strategy: What are we doing next?

The 2024 strategy is based on the same goals that Zero Carbon Guildford has been working towards over the past three years - see our Charitable Object, Vision, Mission and Values shown below. In developing the specific strategy for 2024, we incorporated input from across the charity’s volunteers, including dedicated volunteers and project leaders, to trustees.

This strategy will guide our activity over the course of the next year, enabling us to prioritise activity and resources and build momentum in our key focus areas.

Overarching foundations of our strategy:

Vision:

Mission:

Engage, facilitate, and support the Guildford community in addressing these critical issues, advocating for practical solutions, inspiring behaviour change, and encouraging them to become champions of climate change mitigation and adaptation.

At ZERO, we envision a future where Guildford's wide and diverse community stands united and empowered to combat the pressing climate and environmental crises.

Zero Carbon Guildford’s Values:

Environmentalism | Collaboration | Inclusivity | Adaptation | Empowerment

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2024 strategy: What are we doing next?

Section

4

The 2024 strategy includes three focus areas:

1 Engaging a wider audience including the majority of the Guildford population

What:

Engage a much wider demographic, to include those who do not consider the climate impacts of their decision-making but DO see the importance of protecting the people and places they love.

Why:

We understand that approximately 75% of Guildford residents fall into this category of people, so by reaching them we can have a much more significant impact.

How:

Physical presence in Guildford centre with effective displays and trained climate communicators

Outreach events tailored to target key demographics

Building relationships with a wide variety of groups and organisations.

2

Enabling our core community to increase their impact

What:

Why:

Continuing to support Our impact is amplified if our community of we can enable our volunteers and members growing and enthusiastic in their environmental community of goals, including volunteers, supporters supporting them in and visitors. Together we enabling the activities of can achieve so much Zero Carbon Guildford. more than if we each tried alone.

How:

Quality climate engagement training to help our community encourage behavioural change

Support projects to have maximum impact

Bring the community together to share skills and resources

Establish effective volunteer roles, processes and journeys.

3 Progressing towards future operational longevity for Zero Carbon Guildford

What:

Exploring and implementing solutions to enable the operational sustainability and longevity of the charity.

Why:

We are still a new charity, and are still learning every day. Real thought and action is needed to understand how we might continue to operate as long as our activity is valuable.

How:

Tackling the issues of:

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SECTION 5

How we are structured

Zero Carbon Guildford is structured into three main circles: governance, operations and project teams. This structure helps to draw clear mandates for those involved in the day to day running of Zero, improves efficiency and ensures control and accountability for those running projects.

Governance Circle (Trustees)

Have ultimate responsibility for governing a charity and directing how it is managed and run

Operations Circle

Run Zero Carbon Guildford.

Including coordinating volunteers, cafe and shop, events, marketing, website and more.

Project Teams

Projects are run by individual teams who report and interact with the Ops team. E.g. Sustainable Business Network, HEAT, Community Fridge and Water Rangers.

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Section

5

How we are structured

Governance Circle (Trustees)

The trustees are ultimately responsible for governance of the charity and directing how it is managed and run. Our Trustees guide the direction and decisions of the charity, including providing constructive challenge and review, in regards to the charitable purpose, financial decisions relating, resolution of conflicts, and ensuring accountability to the membership.

Zero Carbon Guildford Trustees meet at least quarterly to discuss and make decisions on behalf of ZERO. We also use Slack to share information and make decisions on a much faster timescale, enabling our decision making to be as agile as the rest of the charity’s operations. A decision is made if at least 50% of the Trustees confirm their agreement on Slack, and there are no disagreements raised. All decisions made on Slack are then formally confirmed and minuted at the following Trustee meeting.

In early 2023, we held open applications for places on Zero Carbon Guildford’s Board of Trustees. There were eleven applicants, who were interviewed and independently scored by a panel of three existing Trustees. The Board of Trustees then put forward recommendations for selected Trustees based on the skills and experiences that the Board would benefit from having. Through this process, we welcomed seven new trustees into the governance circle, taking the board to its maximum capacity of 15 trustees. The new trustees were elected into the charity by members of ZCG during last year’s AGM.

Operations Circle

The operations team comprises 20+ volunteers who dedicate their time to keeping the day-to-day activities of Zero Carbon Guildford running. These activities include the operation of the building (including the cafe and shop), events, marketing for the charity via social media channels, our website and displays.

The team meet fortnightly to discuss anything that may impact the operational effectiveness of the charity. Attendance tends to vary in line with the purpose of each meeting and availability of volunteers, and these meetings are often a good way to allow keen volunteers to meet others and more involved.

In order to operate effectively, our operations team need to interact effectively with the Governance Circle and Project Teams . This is enabled by the fact that there are many shared members of the three circles.

The decision-making process for the Operations team is less formal than with Trustees. It tends to include either discussion and decision amongst the attendees of a particular meeting, or a discussion on Slack with input from the informal group. As the charity grows, there is scope to increase clarity and transparency by formalising these processes.

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Section

5

How we are structured

Project Teams

Because we are a volunteer-driven organisation, and our projects are run and carried out by a wide variety of individuals with varying amounts of time, different experience and a range of skills, there is no single way in which our projects are run. It is important to be able to adapt the approach taken to the abilities and preferences of the volunteers willing to donate their time.

Our projects are generally led by one or two volunteers and aim to address a specific area or topic relating to climate change. Formally, a project team must develop and submit a proposal to the Trustee board for review against charity objectives, and the Operations Circle to ensure projects are practical, achievable and are supported by resources (for example, finances, marketing, volunteer resource…). In reality, it is often the case that a Trustee or member of Operations Circle supports volunteers to put forward a project proposal, and advises on how a project might be implemented successfully.

Once approved, the team must continue to highlight the impact of their project and report back to the trustees on how it aligns with Zero Carbon Guildford’s charitable objectives and strategy.

Project teams are encouraged to have autonomy with respect to project execution while still benefiting from Zero Carbon Guildford’s support. We don’t always get this balance right, but we are learning to evolve our framework so ZERO can continue to grow the volume, scope and impact of projects.

Members

Membership is open to anyone who supports the aims of Zero Carbon Guildford and is obtainable through registration on the charity website. The aims exist to help and empower Guildford’s community to reduce our contribution to climate change and environmental harm and act positively for the environment.

We enable this through:

Members receive occasional emails about the Charity, and are eligible to vote at Annual General Meetings.

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SECTION 6

2023 Financial report and charity info

Financial Review and Policies

The Trustees are delighted to record a surplus of £39,820 (2022: £27,010). This was significantly better than the budget set in December 2022, largely as a result of the generosity shown in the crowdfunder campaign held in October 2023. We also report that Reserves increased in the period by the same amount of £39,820 (2022: £27,010).

Reserves policy and future developments

The policy of the Trustees is to maintain free reserves at a level of 9- 12 months of current expenditure. As of 31 December 2023, Zero Carbon Guildford had free reserves of £89,986 (2022: £55,188) as a result of its first two periods of activities. The Trustees believe that this level of free reserves is in line with our policy and necessary to achieve the sustained provision of our objects.

Investment policy

Zero Carbon Guildford’s Constitution gives the Trustees the power to invest money not immediately required for its purposes in line with the Trustees Act 2000.

Nearly all funds to date have been held in an interest bearing current account with a bank, Triodos Bank, which has met our ethical criteria.

Contribution by Volunteers

The charity is overwhelmingly grateful for the varied and unstinting efforts of over 100 volunteers who have been and continue to be involved in a large range of the charity’s activities. ZERO would not be operating or meeting the objects of the charity without the amazing and varied contributions of all our volunteers. In 2022 salary payments totalled just £6,769 and volunteer expenses just £1,286.

To encourage further volunteer support, we have a volunteer co-ordinator and hold regular volunteer meetings and social events. We welcome ideas to make the involvement of our volunteers even more enjoyable.

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2023 Financial Policies

6

Section

Financial Review and Policies (continued)

Risk management

The Trustees regularly monitor the major risks to which the charity is exposed, in particular those related to the operations and finances of the charity, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate its exposure to the major risks. Wherever possible, Trustees and volunteers have been trained in food hygiene and first aid, amongst other aspects of training.

The key risk of Zero Carbon Guildford is the difficulty in managing short term leases. We aim to make the most of premises while we have them, and for periods where we are without a building, we adopt a flexible operating model to allow us to continue to meet our objectives.

Recruitment and Training of Trustees

Trustees are competent persons who through residence, occupation or employment or otherwise have specialist knowledge of the area of benefit.

Members can nominate themselves for a Trustee role, Trustees are then voted in by members at the AGM.

New Trustees will, upon appointment, be provided with an Induction pack which will cover:

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2023 Charity info

Section

6

Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

Chair

Olivia Carpenter-Lomax

Treasurer

Katherine Clowser Appointed 22 March 2023

Secretary

Kerry Lewis

Stuart Cook Appointed 22 March 2023

Andy Geiss

Isabel Robson

Stephen Davis

Smirti Kutaula Appointed 22 March 2023 Mark Stamp

Carol Dunnett Maddie Evans Appointed 22 March 2023 Appointed 22 March 2023

Prashant Kumar

Sam Peters

Colin Summerhayes Appointed 22 March 2023

David Stokes

The following Trustees resigned on 22 March 2023:

Susie Campbell

David Carpenter-Lomax

Ben McCallan

Adrian Thompson

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2023 Charity info

Section

6

Charity Information for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER

1192880

REGISTERED OFFICE

Zero Carbon Guildford 46, Broad Street Guildford Surrey GU3 3BG

BANKERS

Triodos Bank UK Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS

Metro Bank PLC One Southampton Row London WC1B 5HA

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

Helen Lee FCA 55 Wodeland Avenue Guildford Surrey GU2 4LA

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2023 Charity info

6

Section

Charity Information for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements

The Trustees are responsible for preparing a Trustees’ annual report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the charity trustees to prepare financial statements for each period which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, of the charity for that period. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011 and, where relevant, the Charities Act 2022, the applicable Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations, and the provisions of its constitution. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity and financial information included on the charity’s website in accordance with legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements.

Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by

Olivia Carpenter-Lomax - Chair

4 March 2024

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2023 Financial report

6

Section

Report of the Independent Examiner to the Members of Zero Carbon Guildford

Independent examiner’s report to the Trustees of Zero Carbon Guildford CIO

I report to the Trustees on my examination of the accounts of Zero Carbon Guildford CIO (“the Charity”) for the Year Ended 31 December 2023.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the Charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 and, where relevant, the Charities Act 2022 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the Charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Name: Helen Lee

Relevant professional qualification: FCA

Address: 55 Wodeland Avenue, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 4LA

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Date: 4 March 2024

2023 Financial report

6

Section

Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

The notes on pages 25 to 33 form part of these financial statements.

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2023 Financial report

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Section

Balance Sheet at 31 December 2023

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 4 March 2024 and signed on their behalf by

Olivia Carpenter-Lomax - Chair

The notes on pages 25 to 33 form part of these financial statements.

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2023 Financial report

6

Section

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

1. Accounting Policies

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these financial statements.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the second edition of the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011 and, where relevant, the Charities Act 2022.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.

Going concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis as the Trustees believe that no material uncertainties exist. The Trustees have considered the level of funds held and the expected level of income and expenditure for 12 months from authorising these financial statements. The budgeted income and expenditure is sufficient with the level of reserves for the charity to be able to continue as a going concern.

The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied unless otherwise stated.

Income

All income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) when the charity is entitled to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.

Income is deferred only when the charity has to fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to it or where the donor has specified that the income is to be expended in a future Period.

Legacies are included when the charity is advised by a personal representative of an estate that payment will be made and the amount can be quantified.

Gift aid receivable is included in income where there is a valid declaration from the donor. Any gift aid amount recovered on a donation is considered to be part of that gift and is treated as an addition to the same fund as the initial donation unless the donor or the terms of the appeal have specified otherwise.

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2023 Financial report

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Section

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

1. Accounting Policies (continued)

Income (continued)

Donated goods, services and facilities are only recognised where practicable and the measure can be measured reliably.

The value of any voluntary help received is not included in the financial statements but is described in the trustees’ annual report.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis.

Capitalisation and depreciation of tangible fixed assets

All tangible fixed assets are included at cost. Items of fixtures, fittings and equipment with a cost of less than £500 are not capitalised.

Depreciation has been provided as follows:

Fixture & fittings - 50% per annum, straight line basis

Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

Inventories

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Provision is made for damaged, obsolete and slow moving stock where appropriate.

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2023 Financial report

6

Section

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

1. Accounting Policies (continued)

Debtors and creditors receivable/payable within one year

Debtors and creditors with no stated interest rate and receivable or payable within one year are recorded at transaction price.

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged against the expenditure heading for which it was incurred.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the Trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The charity operates a defined contribution plan for its employees. A defined contribution plan is a pension plan under which the charity pays fixed contributions into a separate entity. Once the contributions have been paid the charity has no further payment obligations.

The contributions are recognised as an expense in profit or loss when they fall due. Amounts not paid are shown in accruals as a liability in the Balance Sheet. The assets of the plan are held separately from the charity in independently administered funds.

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2023 Financial report

6

Section

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

2. Income

We are hugely indebted to all parties in respect of our donations, grants and contracts.

3. Charitable Activities Cost

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2023 Financial report

6

Section

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

4. Income

Many volunteers provided and continue to provide a significant amount of time and materials on the store presentation of ZERO and with the ongoing day-to-day activities. We are very grateful indeed for the amount of time and skill that has been given by all our volunteers. These have not been recognised in the accounts.

5. Net Income / (Expenditure)

Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):.

6. Trustee Remuneration, Expenses and Related Party Transactions

None of the Trustees have been paid any remuneration or received any benefits from an employment with Zero Carbon Guildford or a related entity. Some Trustees are very involved with the day-to-day running and take responsibility for the operations.

Trustees' expenses

Trustees' expenses of £2,552 were paid during the Year Ended 31 December 2023. All expenses were incurred directly in the course of the charity’s operations and repaid on production of appropriate vouchers and authorisation.

Related Party transactions

There were no related party transactions in the year to 31 December 2023, other than the note included in Note 10 related to creditors.

Donations from Trustees or other related parties

The total amount donated by Trustees and other related parties (all without conditions) was £1,335 (2022: £560) (gross donated amounts not including Gift Aid).

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2023 Financial report

6

Section

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

7.

No employees received employee benefits for the year of more than £60,000 (2022: nil).

The charity had an average of one employee (2022: 0.4), working on charitable activities

8. Tangible Fixed Assets

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2023 Financial report

6

Section

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

9. Debtors

The deposit to secure the lease was repaid in the year following the termination of the lease.

10. Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year

The deferred income relates to £19,316 received in advance from the University of Surrey in relation to the contract for managing the Sustainable Business Network in 2023, as well as £23,000 deferred in relation to an insulation project with Surrey County Council.

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6

Section

2023 Financial report

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

11. Movement in Funds

Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

The restricted funds are wholly represented at the balance sheet date by cash at bank.

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2023 Financial report

6

Section

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

11. Movement in Funds (continued)

Money was received on the following projects during the year:

Zero Carbon Guildford is hugely indebted to local individuals and organisations for their generosity, which has enabled these projects to become established in ZERO and developed for the future benefit of the community

12. Financial Commitments

There are no financial commitments at the year end.

13. Post Balance Sheet Events

Since the year end, the Charity has been awarded a grant of £350,000 over 4 years as restricted funds to support projects aligned with its objectives.

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Website: zerocarbonguildford.org

Volunteer here: zerocarbonguildford.org/volunteer

Become a member here: zerocarbonguildford.org/membership

More info on the Sustainable Business Network: surreysbn.org

Socials:

zerocarbonguildford zerocarbonguildford zero-carbon-guildford

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