Sustainable Conservation Principles
Our role at English Heritage is to protect, sustain and enhance one of the most important collections of historic sites, landscapes and objects in the world. We’ve adopted an approach called ‘Sustainable Conservation’ to address the challenges we face in a modern world in keeping the historic places we care for in a safe and sustainable condition and to make sure we have the right expertise and plans in place to conserve this important heritage for future generations.
Environment Policy
On this page you'll find information about our strategies for both climate change and nature, detailing how we are committed to reducing our environmental impact and building resilience to the changing climate in order to create an estate rich in history and nature.
Read our Environmental PolicyClimate Action Plan 2022–2025
The plan has been developed with staff and volunteers from across the charity. Evidence-based and target-driven, it is aligned with climate science, and is designed to create meaningful and sustainable change from carbon emissions and sustainable procurement through to waste management and biodiversity.
Download our Climate Action Plan as a pdf here.
Read about our Year 2 progress here on page 30 of our Annual Report.
CARING FOR OUR PAST AND FUTURE
Our mission is to care for an internationally important collection of historic sites and artefacts spanning over six millennia, charting human impact on the environment, from early flint mines to cold war bunkers. We know that conservation of our past goes hand in hand with a responsibility towards future generations.
Discover our sitesOur Nature Strategy 2022 - 2025
Nature is in decline in our country. The causes are diverse, and they are being accelerated by the climate crisis. Since the 1970s 35% of native British species have declined, with 13% at risk of extinction according to the 2019 State of Nature Report. Much of our estate has avoided the worst of damaging agricultural practices which have become widespread in the last 50 years. But there is still so much more we can do to make sure that nature thrives at the sites in our care.
This strategy sets out English Heritage’s vision and action plan to respond to the ecological crisis and create an estate rich in history and nature.
View our Nature StrategyCoastal Connections
Coastal zones are amongst the most dynamic and volatile environments on the planet. They also include some of our most treasured heritage sites.
Find out how we're working with World Monuments Fund to protect England's historic coastal sites against the effects of climate change.
Find out moreGREEN IMPACT
Launched across the country in September 2023, English Heritage’s Green Impact programme helps embed sustainability in to our policies and procedures, awarding prizes to teams who take environmental action at our historic sites.
Find out moreGREEN TOURISM
Green Tourism is a programme that recognises the commitment of tourism businesses which are actively working to become more sustainable. Alongside our Green Impact Programme, we are piloting the Green Tourism programme at six of our sites.
Find out more
