The Weald & Downland Living Museum is committed to providing a high-quality visitor experience while minimising the environmental impact of our activities.
We believe it is our ethical responsibility to invest in our future, now and for generations to come, by creating a self-reliant and sustainable Museum. This includes reducing our carbon footprint by minimising waste and energy consumption, generating renewable electricity, and improving heating systems across the site.
Environmental and Sustainable Statement
The Environmental and Sustainable Statement sets out how the Weald & Downland Living Museum uses all its resources responsibly to minimise any detrimental impact on the natural world within the limitations posed by a 50-acre rural site and a collection of mainly historic buildings dating from the 13th to 20th centuries.
The Museum impacts on both the environment and on society at local, regional, national and global levels through the energy and water it uses, and the waste it produces. In addition, The Museum can influence the travel and work patterns it encourages amongst its staff, volunteers and visitors, as well as through the products it buys. The Museum recognises the on-going need to move towards a more sustainable future.
The trustees, staff and volunteers of the Museum are committed to conserving, maintaining, developing, researching, educating, exhibiting and making the Museum’s collections accessible for the public to enjoy, learn about and appreciate the natural, built, social and economic heritage of the Weald and Downland area of Kent, East and West Sussex, Hampshire and Surrey. The Museum is also committed to continual improvement and innovation in all aspects of environmental management.
The aim is to ensure that the promotion of environmental sustainability informs the whole range of the Museum’s activities. The principles and objectives of this policy will be used to inform future business strategies, plans and operational practice. The Museum will regularly review the statement and its implementation to ensure that it remains current, fit-for-purpose and relevant.
As our part of our responsible approach towards environmental sustainability, we will:
- Monitor, manage and minimise the use of energy and water.
- Improve levels of re use and recycling, and to minimise waste for disposal.
- Encourage long-term changes in travel behaviour and enable more people to travel by sustainable means, e.g. by foot, bike and public transport (rather than by car)
- Provide an environment within which the Museum’s collections and exhibits are best conserved for future generations.
- Actively promote the Museum’s environmental, sustainable and eco credentials.
- Work with contractors and suppliers to ensure that they observe and improve good environmental practice and performance.
- Meet, and where possible exceed, the requirements of relevant legislation and regulations.