Through collaborative action across all of our departments, as well as local partnerships, we are determined to reduce our impact to address the challenges posed by climate change.
Our Environmental Policy & Action Plan sets out our strategy to reach our ambitious goal of becoming carbon net zero by 2030, with three overarching objectives which guide our actions to become a sustainable organisation.
Our objectives
Building: Energy Use
To reduce CO2 emissions (gas and electricity only) to reach carbon net zero by 2030 through strategic building interventions and green tariffs, and to reduce energy losses through a strategic building planned maintenance programme.
Production: Materials
To reduce the environmental impact of exhibitions and learning programmes by recycling all materials used and using recycled materials that are realistically within our control.
Local Collaboration: Contextual Safeguarding
Improve the locale for children and young people through increasing their access to nature and culture, with the Museum becoming a hub for contextual safeguarding, nurturing children and young people to thrive through working in partnership with local groups.
Our work to date
Discover some of the ways we’re putting this plan into practice…
With over 275 years of history and an iconic Grade II-listed building, we demonstrate that sustainability and heritage can coexist.
We have upgraded our electrical systems with sensor lighting and LED replacements, reducing our energy consumption significantly. Approximately 90% of our lights are now LED, which is estimated to make a lifetime saving of 12 tonnes of Co2! Our lighting system includes an energy efficient setting so that parts of the Museum not in use are not lit.
Timer plugs have been installed on all devices and we’re currently exploring moving towards a cloud-based system in order to reduce our reliance on power-hungry servers.
We have installed solar panels on our roof to reduce our carbon emissions and also cut our energy bills as the energy produced feeds back into the grid. We also ensure that that our electricity comes from renewable sources. Currently 82% is generated via offshore wind and the remaining 18% is from other renewable sources.
Since 2017 we have reduced our electricity consumption by R80,000 kWh and since 2022 our gas consumption has been reduced by c35,000kWh per year!
Our venue hire department is committed to creating environmentally-friendly events. Our preferred catering partner Dinner Ladies (a certified B Corp company), are committed to sustainable, locally-produced menus resulting in a lighter environmental footprint.
Many of our approved catering suppliers produce seasonal menus which cut down on haulage costs and the environmental impact of transport.
The department also regularly use the food sharing app Olio to ensure no food leftover from events is wasted.
We measure our carbon footprint annually and have set targets in line with the Museum’s carbon net zero goals. Using tools supplied by the leading non-profit organisation Julie’s Bicycle, we keep track of our energy consumption and business travel to see how it changes year to year, which supports our long-term sustainability planning.
We have implemented the Recycling for Good Causes initiative internally, encouraging staff to think about what unwanted items in the Museum or in the home could be donated, converting these into funds for our charitable work.
We aim to reduce the impact of our exhibitions, displays and programmes by recycling and reusing.
We’re proud members of the Scrapstore where we source materials for our many creative workshops. Materials used to build exhibitions are often stored and then re-used, to avoid unnecessary wastage.
The catalogues, exhibition materials and also marketing materials we produce use sustainable materials, for example FSC accredited papers, and are all printed in the UK or Europe.
We encourage our team to volunteer with local tree planting and gardening initiatives, working closely with local organisations such as Think & Do Camden and Friends of Brunswick Square. To date we’ve planted over 50 trees in three local children’s nurseries.
We have an Environmental Sustainability Action Group which meets every quarter. It’s open to all colleagues and with representatives from all departments, including a trustee. The group sets and monitors our environmental action plan and policy, sharing experiences and ideas on how to take action.
Our achievements qualified us for the Mayor’s Business Climate Challenge, earning us a certificate for being in the top 10% of energy reducing businesses in the capital!
If you have any questions or thoughts on the the Foundling Museum’s environmental sustainability policy, please contact our Operations Manager Natalie Southgate at natalie@foundlingmuseum.org.uk
Useful resources
We’ve gathered together links to some of the partners mentioned and resources we’ve used, should you wish to find out more or start your own environmental sustainability journey.