A mental health charity, a foodbank and a community forest  have been announced among a list of community projects and small businesses that are set to benefit from Loganair’s GreenSkies Community Fund.

Loganair, the UK’s largest regional airline, has announced the latest winners of the GreenSkies Community Fund, a groundbreaking initiative that sees charities, community groups, and small businesses across the UK supported in reaching their sustainability goals.

Loganair received nearly 250 applications for the latest round of funding, and revealed today it will distribute over £23,000 to seven successful projects. These stretch to a variety of areas across its regional network, from Hillswick in Shetland to Paisley near Glasgow, and Enniskillen in Northern Ireland.

This latest funding awards will support both small businesses and community projects, with a Judo club, an environmentally conscious plant nursery, and a mental health charity among the beneficiaries. The GreenSkies Community Fund’s goal is to help local organisations achieve their own goals towards a more sustainable future.

The GreenSkies Community Fund is part of Loganair’s environmental programme, which includes measures ranging from carbon offsetting to investing in future flight technologies to help achieve an ambitious target of becoming net zero by 2040.

To date, Loganair has invested over £80,500 in community renewable projects through its GreenSkies Community Fund.

This year’s winners are:

• Clyde Judo Club in Paisley, which will receive £662 to help reduce heat loss in their dojo by installing natural insulation, supporting their community-focused outreach programmes all year round.
• DaBarn in Hillswick, Shetland, the most northerly plant nursery in the UK, was allocated £4,449 to purchase solar panels which will take their office off-grid in the summertime.
• The Rep Theatre in Dundee, which was awarded £5,000 to install two exterior, wall-mounted EV charging units that will be used by both the company’s electric vehicle and members of the public.
• Hoy Heritage Centre, Orkney, which has won £3,600 of funding to help make their building as energy efficient as possible by ensuring their doors are draft proof while serving the community as a multi-purpose venue and heritage centre.
• The Aisling Centre in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, has been awarded £3,500 to help make their 120-year-old building more energy-efficient as they deliver vital mental health services in a rural community setting.
• Arkaig Community Forest in Clunes, Fort William, which won £4,124 to install solar panels on its native tree nursery, where they run a community-based charity that owns and cares for over 50 hectares of rare Caledonian and temperate rainforest in the West Highlands of Scotland.
• Kintyre Food Bank in Campbeltown, which will receive £1,426 to replace equipment with more energy-efficient and economical goods to support people through the ongoing cost of living crisis with fresh, healthy food.

Luke Lovegrove, chief commercial officer at Loganair, said: “Congratulations to each of the successful applicants who have been awarded in our latest round of GreenSkies Community Fund grants. Each of the organisations have shown a dedication to supporting their communities and we are pleased to be able to assist them in reaching their environmental goals through this scheme.

“Loganair sits at the forefront of pushing for new technologies in the aviation industry which will lessen the environmental impact of flying, and support our goal of reaching net zero by 2040. It is important to us not only to reach this goal as an airline, but to offer support to the communities we serve to see them achieve their own sustainability goals.

“We received a huge number of applications for this round of funding, and we would like to thank everyone who took the time to apply.”

Loganair’s GreenSkies programme was launched in July 2021 with the introduction of a small mandatory carbon offsetting charge levied on all flights, with the money invested in accredited offsetting schemes.

The airline is involved in a wide range of additional initiatives to manage and mitigate the environmental impact of flying and is the only UK regional carrier participating in the UK Government’s “Jet Zero Council” initiative to de-carbonise air travel.