How we're tackling the climate crisis

In our strategy, Heritage 2033, we have identified embedding environmental sustainability in our investment and operations as an organisational priority.

We will do this by:

working collaboratively and sharing best practice across nature recovery, climate justice and climate adaptation
reducing our environmental impact and working towards two net zero carbon ambitions:
- medium-term goal of net zero carbon before 2030 for our operations, decarbonising our offices, travel, waste and purchases
- long-term goal to reach net zero for our investments and grants (science-based target in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement)

We report on our environmental impact as part of our Annual Report and Accounts.

Find out more about our organisational priorities in our delivery plan (2023–2026).

Organisational change

We are working together with our sector partners to take action. Read our joint statement on climate change.

To reach net zero carbon emissions within our operations by 2030, we must address three key emissions sectors:

Offices contribute 11% of the Heritage Fund’s footprint through the use of electricity and gas. Complete decarbonisation of the national grid is not expected until the mid-2030s, so it will therefore be necessary to take steps to reduce these emissions before 2030.
Transport, comprised of business travel and employee commuting, makes up 21% of baseline greenhouse gas emissions. The majority of these are associated with employee commuting, over which the Heritage Fund has lower influence. Decarbonisation of this activity is likely to be highly dependent on the UK public’s transition to electric vehicles.
Procurement of goods and services makes the most significant contribution at 68% of the Heritage Fund’s total baseline emissions. Organisations are often heavily reliant on external changes within their supply chain to decarbonise these emissions.

So far we have:

audited each office space
established a rolling review of offices in line with lease renewals, to review the location, size, quality and sustainability impact of all offices
proactively moved offices in response to the audit to lead on decarbonising our office estate
improved energy efficiency in our offices and reduced running costs by reducing stationery, equipment, energy and water consumption, reducing CO2 emissions and minimising waste
increased proportion of refurbished devices, with an emphasis on mobile phones, docking stations and monitors
implemented a data retention and offloading strategy to prevent cloud-sprawl in line with government guidelines
actively monitored emissions from cloud storage to identify areas for improvement
worked with existing suppliers to decarbonise the services we procure
rolled out a car club initiative to support behaviour change and reduce overall road miles
updated recruitment guidance to include consideration of environmental impact when deciding on the location of a role
embedded relevant environmental sustainability skills into the skills framework
embedded sustainability into staff welcome
ensured our website is powered by green energy, with regular reviews to minimise the energy usage of our web pages

Grant giving and the climate crisis

We support heritage projects that help the UK meet its nature recovery targets and mitigate the impact of climate change on heritage through our Protect the Environment investment principle.

By 2033 we will have:

put landscapes and habitats in both urban and rural places into recovery, so they support abundant natural heritage and healthy natural systems
increased people’s understanding and connection with nature across towns, cities and the countryside
reduced the negative environmental impact and carbon footprint of our funding portfolio
improved the ability of natural and cultural heritage to plan for and adapt to a changing climate and helped projects take action for the environment