Eco-Friendly Conservation in Action: Key Lessons From Our Latest Work
At Sustainable Heritage Conservation Ltd we are very keen to include climate action as part of our everyday collections conservation work. So this week we have been brainstorming on how "sustainable" we are as a team. I thought I would challenge myself on one project to see how I fared generally…
A visit to Brodie Castle (NTS) last week for a Hanwell RH/T sensors' calibration became more than just "the day job" as I started to focus in on what I did or didn't do in a "green"/"eco" way - but it also became a more enjoyable one as I tried to look at the day in a more holistic way. What does that mean though....? I used the three pillars of sustainability –social, economic and environmental – to see how I fared….
The good bits were:
Transport (environmental)- The trip alone is over two hours for me, so I took the electric car before my husband could argue....I did look at public transport but really...? to an isolated castle in rural Scotland?...not realistic I'm afraid as it would have taken all day, so the electric car was a good compromise and meant I didn't have to charge my client extra time....
Energy usage of batteries & heaters (environmental) - always a big discussion point in general so we made sure we only ordered enough batteries for the sensors in the castle and only left a few spares as we know they are occasionally needed in emergencies. We also do a radiator check to make sure they and the humidistats (conservation heating) are running correctly/efficiently. EH have shown that they can reduce their carbon footprint significantly by installing conservation heating - in Rangers House, London it was reduced by 29% “likely due to the modified operation” (Tate-Harte & Thickett, 2024 Calculating the Carbon Footprint of Interventive and Preventive Conservation at English Heritage, UK: Studies in Conservation: Vol 69).
Food miles & composting (social/economic/environmental): At lunchtime I was able to take advantage of the amazing gardens at Brodie where they have a veggie garden in full growth. I was allowed to take some kale from the garden (I did ask) but they have incredible squashes growing in the greenhouses which get used at Halloween - loved that idea! And the gardeners have been known to supply the cafe at times with their fresh produce. The planting design was also clearly to encourage wildlife and the flowers were buzzing!
Composting (environmental) is big here - even down to my compostable coffee cup which gets separated at the point of disposal at the Castle and the team at Brodie whisk it away to their composting bins…..I made sure I took my own lunch (made at home) so I didn’t have any plastic packaging to recycle while I was out and about.
Digital carbon footprint (environmental) - never quite sure about this element but I was working off the cloud and I am told that the storage on the cloud is more energy efficient, meaning lower emissions and refrigerants usage than if on site. Note to self to find out more about this!
The bad bits were (and I find this more difficult to assess strangely!):
I’d left my reusable coffee cup at home (reducing packaging)!
I didn’t eat the locally sourced food at the café (low food miles).
I used the paper towels in the toilets to dry my hands (adding to local waste)…
I’m sure I could pick out more but all in all I don’t think I did too bad….but I can always do better!
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