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One Planet Living Grants

What is the One Planet Living Grant® scheme?

The B&Q One Planet Living (OPL) Grants®* are one way in which we are introducing the idea of One Planet Living® to our customers and their communities. By offering grants to motivated community groups, we can begin the move towards a change in our society and a one-planet not three-planet way of life.

B&Q is working in partnership with environmental impact experts BioRegional, who have developed this global initiative based on ten guiding principles with WWF to become a One Planet business, and B&Q is aiming to help its customers do the same in their homes and communities.

Through the OPL Grant scheme schools, community groups and charitable organisations can apply to their local B&Q store for funding to support a local community project.

Projects must support at least one of the following themes:

  • Save energy: projects which will help contribute to the health of the planet through the reduction of energy use or an active effort to limit their environmental footprint. Examples of activity might include installing energy saving light bulbs and other energy efficient products such as loft insulation in a community centre or local charity’s headquarters.
  • Conserve nature: projects which will support, protect and celebrate the natural habitats in local communities including community gardens, meadows, wetlands, chalk rivers and forests. Examples of activity might include encouraging wildlife to a community garden, providing tools for a woodland management group or installing bird boxes to attracting declining species of birds.
  • Support local culture & heritage: projects which will support, enhance and celebrate valuable aspects of local culture and heritage including its roots and traditions, local buildings, local building techniques, local produce and local arts and crafts. Examples of activity might include restoring an historic building or museum or refurbishing workshops used to teach various arts and crafts techniques.
  • Grow your own: projects which will grow produce and involve the local community. Examples of activity might include creating a community allotment or raised vegetable beds in a school.

The scheme provides £50 to £250 (at retail cost) of B&Q materials, for example, pond liners, plants, peat-free compost for projects such as a pond/wildlife garden or paints labelled low or minimal VOC for redecoration projects.

It is important that the project is sustainable. For example, the materials and methods used should not cause environmental damage in the short or long-term. The final result should have long-lasting benefit to the community. OPL Grants do not cover maintenance, so the project should be designed for easy care.

One Planet Living Grant® Criteria

  • Applications submitted must be from a school, registered charitable organisation or other recognised community group, eg residents’ association, youth centres, Scouts, Guides.
  • Projects can apply for funding between 1 February 2009 and 30 September 2009 and successful projects must collect their materials no later than 31 October 2009.
  • Projects must support at least one of the following themes: Save Energy, Conserve Nature, Support local culture & heritage, Grow your own
  • The grant does not support applications from private individuals for private projects or for projects outside the UK or Ireland.
  • The project must be local to the store (within a 20-mile radius).
  • The project must include the provision of access for disabled people.
  • There must be commitment of the applicants and the local community to the project, and evidence that the project will have long lasting benefits for those it touches.
  • The grant does not provide electrical/gas/petrol items for health and safety reasons.
  • The grant cannot be used for raffle prizes or to support one-off events.
  • Grants are dependent on available budget (allocated to stores every February) and meeting the above criteria, therefore not guaranteed. There are also busy trading times within the business when initiatives may not be supported.
  • Projects and store contacts are required to complete an evaluation form on completion of approved projects.

How to apply for an OPL Grant


Step 1: To apply for a grant, applicants will need to contact the environmental champion or store manager at their local B&Q store to discuss project details. We recommend that you apply for a grant as far in advance as possible from your project start date as an application will usually take three to four weeks to process.


Step 2: A letter, on headed paper, from the organisation is required. This should include details of the organisation and project, materials required, duration of the project and any involvement from the organisation and its aims and benefits. Photographs or plans of the project are optional.


Step 3: Once an application form has been completed by the store, and supporting material supplied by the project organiser, it will be sent to the store’s regional office who will approve or decline the grant application, usually within a two-week period.

What happens next?

If a grant application has been accepted, successful applicants will be informed by email or letter.

Applicants must then contact the store to arrange a convenient time to collect the goods requested. The project can then commence.

The OPL Grant Scheme is for local organisations to apply directly to their local B&Q store. All enquiries will be dealt with by your local store and not by the Community team at B&Q Store Support Office.

* Since 1997 B&Q has supported community projects through the Better Neighbour Grant scheme, offering funding, in the way of B&Q materials, to projects that involve and have long-term benefits to local communities. In 2008 the scheme was re-launched as the B&Q One Planet Living Grants®.



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