2012–2013 Review
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The Sunrise Project 2012–2013 Review The Sunrise Project Australia Limited ABN 65 159 324 697 Table of contents Letter from the Board Chair 3 Letter from the Executive Director 4 Overview of The Sunrise Project 5 Objectives 6 Highlights from 2012–2013 7 Protecting Water 7 Protecting Farmland 8 Protecting Health 9 Protecting the Great Barrier Reef 10 Protecting Precious Natural Places 11 Hastening the Clean Energy Transition 12 Community Organising Fellowship 13 Our Land, Our Water, Our Future – Beyond Coal and Gas conference 14 Our Land, Our Water, Our Future campaign 16 Community Grants 17 Organisational Report 18 Governance 18 Financial Statements 20 2 The Sunrise Project 2012–2013 Review Letter from the Board Chair Since The Sunrise Project was founded in mid 2012 it has been an amazing journey. The Sunrise Project was conceived as a response to two critical threats. Firstly the reality of global warming and the imperative to cut greenhouse pollution as soon as humanly possible. Secondly, the growing sense that decision-makers in Australia are increasingly prioritising short-term vested interests ahead of the longer-term community interest. limate change not only threatens the environment, left In less than two years we’ve established an effective and unchecked it poses an existential threat to humanity itself. influential new organisation that is playing a vital role in CAs the International Panel on Climate Change released its protecting our natural heritage and in the struggle for a stark warning and call to action in March 2014 I was struck by a safe climate. Sydney Morning Herald headline: “Climate change could make humans extinct, warns health expert”.1 That’s a pretty big news ’d like to thank all those who have made The Sunrise Project story, but it’s one many of our political leaders would prefer possible. Our members and donors who have supported remained under wraps. Iour vision, my fellow Board members who have contributed enormously to building an organisation with strong governance, However, our world is changing rapidly and there is also reason and all the staff and volunteers at The Sunrise Project. And of for optimism. course I’d like to thank our inspiring founding Executive Director John Hepburn. As the engine room of the organisation, our staff The renewable energy revolution has arrived. It is forever altering have worked tirelessly and skillfully since day one. Thanks to all of the energy pathway of both developed and developing nations. these efforts, The Sunrise Project has a strong foundation upon When it’s cheaper to build and operate a wind farm or solar which to build in coming years. plant than a polluting coal-fired power station, finance will flood to renewable energy projects and abandon fossil fuels. That Finally I’d like to acknowledge those communities and individuals moment has already arrived for many parts of the world and is throughout Australia who are working together to protect their arriving in a new community each day. homes and the places they love, and to create a safer and better future. We stand with you, are inspired by your vision, and Local communities are also getting organised and active, respect your work deeply. articulating their own vision for a fair, safe environment and a clean energy powered world. And in many cases these communities are winning significant protections for their communities and the climate. At The Sunrise Project, we’re proud to be playing a key support role for these communities. Mark Wakeham Board Chair, The Sunrise Project 1 http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/climate-change-could-make-humans-extinct-warns-health-expert-20140330-35rus.html The Sunrise Project 2012–2013 Review 3 Letter from the Executive Director For many of us who are deeply concerned about climate change, the denialism, stop-start policies and power-politics of vested interest groups can be pretty depressing. To make things worse, while our elected representatives delay taking action to cut emissions, they are allowing the destruction of many of the most important assets needed for our community to be resilient in a changing climate – clean water, good farmland and healthy ecosystems. But the world is changing. And there are two unstoppable forces of history on our side. ust as nobody uses typewriters anymore, our children will The Sunrise Project has taken a “collective impact” approach not rely on burning coal to boil water for their electricity – to supporting these genuinely disparate grassroots social Jthey’ll just plug directly into the sun via panels on their roof movements, working with them to build common ground like over three million Australians are already doing. Through the between local and global, environmental, social and economic convergence of technological innovation, economies of scale concerns. These movements came together for the first time at and innovations in finance, renewable energy has finally hit the inaugural “Beyond Coal and Gas” movement gathering at critical mass. It is rapidly becoming a disruptive and unstoppable Kurri Kurri in the Hunter Valley in May 2013, where over 250 force of history. The only question is whether renewables will people spent 3 days sharing experiences and skills, listening replace fossil fuels fast enough for us to avoid the worst climate and learning. This was the first big undertaking by The Sunrise change impacts. Project and we were proud to be able to create a genuinely open and participative space in which the many different parts of the The other unstoppable force is people power. Around the world, community could come together. the people’s movement to protect land and water and to hasten the shift beyond fossil fuels is gathering serious momentum. his conference was a highlight in a truly remarkable year. We started 2013 with two staff, a handful of donors, a pile Here in Australia, over-reach by mining and gas companies Tof ideas and whole lot of determination. We finished the at the peak of the boom saw an open-slather approach to year with a thriving office of six staff, a diverse funding base, regulation with companies being given the green light to a small grants program in place supporting community groups trample both the natural environment and the rights of local in five states, a global small grants program covering eight communities from one end of the country to the other. The countries and a proud list of achievements. Far too much has understandable backlash has seen farmers, tourism operators, happened during the year to capture everything, so this report fishing communities, conservationists, doctors, religious leaders captures just a snapshot of some of the highlights of 2013. and climate scientists, and a wide variety of community groups and NGOs, raising their voices to speak up for their environment, I’d like to thank each and every one of the brilliant staff at The communities and jobs, and to oppose the reckless expansion of Sunrise Project, our interns and volunteers, the Board and of the Australian coal and gas industries. course our generous donors who share our vision and have placed their confidence in us. But most of all, I’d like to thank all For many of these communities, they didn’t make a conscious of our grantees and partner groups who are doing the hard work choice to get involved in a conflict with a multinational mining of protecting their communities and creating a better world – company. They are just doing whatever they can to protect their day by day. property, their farm, their community, their livelihood. And they just want it to be over with. Over the past two years there have For the future been two refrains that I’ve heard over and over again: “I just wish they’d go away and leave us in peace” and “I’m not a greenie but…”. John Hepburn Executive Director 4 The Sunrise Project 2012–2013 Review Overview of The Sunrise Project t The Sunrise Project, we share a vision for the 21st In a nutshell, the collective impact model encourages a wide range century where our homes, schools and workplaces are of community groups to work together to solve common problems. Apowered by the sun, wind and waves. Where a healthy It draws on the wisdom of local communities impacted by the democracy means that local communities make their own problem and it recognises that through co-operation, the whole development decisions guided by a concern for community health can become greater than the sum of its parts. and an ethic of stewardship for the earth. Collective Impact recognises that social change is not a linear Our mission is to support and empower Australian communities process and that many of society’s most difficult problems are to protect our land, water, community health and the global complex and cannot be addressed by single organisations acting climate from the negative impacts of the fossil fuel industry, alone. As a result, NGOs and philanthropists around the world are and to hasten the inevitable shift to an efficient, renewable increasingly exploring the potential to use a collective impact model energy economy. to solve a whole range of vexing social and environmental problems. We pursue our mission in line with our charitable purposes “The process and results of collective impact which are to: are emergent rather than predetermined, the 1. Protect, preserve and enhance the natural environment; necessary resources and innovations often 2. Protect the natural environment from pollution and over- already exist but have not yet been recognised, exploitation; learning is continuous, and adoption happens 3. Support and empower individuals, communities, governments simultaneously among many different and industry to make changes required to prevent dangerous organisations.