At West Horsley Place, we want to put environmental sustainability at the heart of our charity; embedding it across what we do and how we do it.

The start of this important journey is to publicly declare that we recognise the climate emergency we face – and to hereafter set out our aims to do something about this.

We believe that

“Sustainability is the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

UN World Commission on Environment and Development.

The Trust is one among many international, national and local organisations to have now declared a climate and ecological emergency.

Alongside 1750 other arts and heritage organisations and individuals we have signed up to Culture Declares Emergency, whose vision is that the cultural sector is a leading contributor in creating a regenerative future that protects the planet and sustains everyone, everywhere.

Through partnership with other organisations, local and national, we will both learn and actively contribute to the goal of a more sustainable future for future generations.

How

We took an early decision to create an environmentally innovative model of an historic estate fit for the 21st century, with the clear intention to achieve this through regenerative and restorative land management to address the existential ecological and climate crisis as a priority.

In 2022 we will complete and share a new estate management plan focussing on increasing biodiversity across our 380 acre estate, planting more trees, improving public access, and also creating a learning programme centred on natural heritage and wellbeing. We will also welcome a dedicated Environment & Sustainability Manager to our team early in the New Year.

We decided to set ourselves targets for the achievement of carbon zero including:

Ensuring that the energy we buy comes from sustainable sources and that future sustainable heating and power solutions can be achieved on site.

Reducing as far as is possible the emissions created by the beautiful but draughty manor house, by 2030.

And hereafter, for the longer-term, working to ensure emissions from our own activities and those of our partners, visitors and suppliers get us to Carbon Net Zero.

We will be publishing action plans with target dates in due course – and will be aided in driving this forward by the introduction of a new Environment & Sustainability Manager role, which is currently being recruited for.

Meeting our ambitions will involve every level of our activities: from governance, estate management, public programming and heritage, community partnership, outreach and communications.

All the choices we make going forward will be influenced by the consideration of their effect on the environment.