Sarah Staniforth, Historic Properties Director, The National Trust, looks at some of the practical ways in which its heritage properties are reducing their carbon footprint.

Taking the boot out of the heritage footprint

 Sustainability has been on the slow burner in the museums and heritage world for the past 20 years.  The Brundtland definition of sustainable development – "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" – was published in the United Nations Commission on Environment and Development report ‘Our Common Future’ in 1987.  Most museums and heritage organisations have been concerned about their financial sustainability and it is only very recently that a rising awareness of climate change has forced museums to look at their environmental practices.  Green shoots have appeared, and there have been articles in journals and presentations at conferences, but they have only recently become mainstream.  Indeed, in October 2009, one of the main themes of the Museums Association conference was sustainability.

It is worth taking a few steps back to consider what the elements of sustainability are.  There are three legs of the stool: economic sustainability, social sustainability and environmental sustainability.

Economic sustainability has always been at the top of mind for trustees and senior management, and although not all organisations have the answers for achieving this, they are aware of its importance!

The value of museums and heritage for people is usually written into mission statements.  The Museums Association describes the purpose of a museum as follows: “Museums enable people to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment.  They are institutions that collect, safeguard and make accessible artefacts and specimens, which they hold in trust for society.”  The National Trust preserves places of historic interest and natural beauty for the benefit of the nation.  Great strides have been made with enhancing the social contribution of museums and heritage in the past decade.  Standards of interpretation, types of exhibition, and events that engage sectors of society who have not previously been involved, have helped with increasing inclusivity and the diversity of audiences.

The step change that has occurred in the past year or two is taking action on environmental sustainability.  The floods of June and July 2007 brought home to many museums and heritage organisations the impact that climate change is already having on buildings.

  The National Trust has adapted buildings to make them more resilient to torrential rain by ensuring that drainage channels, such as culverts and ditches, in land around buildings are maintained as well as ensuring that the buildings themselves are frequently checked and gutters and downpipes are cleared.  We have also been increasing the capacity of rainwater goods when roofs are repaired.

  Measures to mitigate further climate change have been introduced to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by reducing energy use, improving energy efficiency, converting to non-fossil fuels and generating energy on site.

 We have restored and brought back into use historic renewable energy generating installations including wind and water turbines.

  In 2005, we opened Gibson Mill, a former Victorian cotton mill at Hebden Bridge, as an example of a building that is totally self-sufficient, with no incoming services (apart from a telephone line).

  Most recently, the National Trust has introduced bronze, silver and gold standards for the environmental performance of buildings.  We aim to achieve the bronze standard in all buildings in the next five years.  This is a serious and expensive challenge as the National Trust has nearly 50,000 buildings in our care.  Measures for the bronze standard include use of roof insulation (and wall insulation where appropriate) in historic buildings, better heating controls, showers over baths, low-energy light bulbs (of course) and rain water storage.  The silver standard includes everything in the bronze standard plus installation of condensing boilers, use of biomass as fuel, use of simple ground source heat pumps, and solar thermal water heating.  The gold standard includes electricity generation using wind, water or photovoltaics.

  Museums and heritage organisations have a huge opportunity to engage with visitors about sustainability.  The visitor experience at Gibson Mill is all about sustainability, but other properties also provide information about measures to reduce their environmental impact.  The National Trust is aiming to reduce our use of fossil fuels by 50% by 2020.  We hope that leading by example will encourage and will demonstrate how the large number of visitors to our properties (16 million to houses and gardens; and a further estimated 50 million to open spaces) can also reduce their own carbon footprints.

The National Trust, Heelis, Kemble Drive, Swindon SN2 2NA  Tel: +44 (0)1793 817400, Fax: +44 (0)1793 817401, Email: enquiries@thenationaltrust.org.uk or visit: www.nationaltrust.org.uk