Leading by example – sustainable steps for the Field Studies Council
Press enquiries
If you are a journalist with a media enquiry, please contact our Press Office by email at pressoffice@ecotricity.co.uk
For all other general enquiries, please call 0345 555 7100 or email home@ecotricity.co.uk.
We’re green pioneers, on a mission to create a greener Britain, and we do a lot to promote and inform people about the sustainability message. We have some great partners who also deliver that message and it’s important that they themselves lead by example. The Field Studies Council (FSC) have taken big steps to achieving this goal, as we found out.
Learning through sustainability – by FSC
Through our education work, we seek to facilitate learning that will help people make positive choices that benefit the environment and protect it for future generations. Being authentic in our own actions is key to this learning. We work hard to ensure our own environmental impact is being minimised, with an ambitious target to reduce our carbon footprint by 40% per visitor by 2020.
Around 17% of the energy FSC use is now generated by our own sources. Investment has been made in a number of areas including installing biomass heating systems, solar panels, heat pumps and solar hot water. We also operate two fantastic, unique hydropower systems.
We have a hydropower plant at the historic Flatford Mill, which produces approximately 10-15% of the sites electrical needs. The concept is to make best use of the mill stream, with its change in water level, to generate energy, while still allowing wildlife to traverse the Archimedean screw unaffected.
Sitting half way up Blencathra mountain in the heart of the Lake District, this FSC Centre generates 70-80% of its own power from hydro sources in the nearby area. We have also added a 10kw solar panel system at Blencathra, meaning this centre is almost entirely off the grid.
We’ve improved our sustainability further by switching our electricity supply to Ecotricity. We’re proud to say that 95% of our electricity will be supplied from renewable sources.
FSC Property Manager Ben Young explains: “These kinds of facilities and partnerships are a great way to engage with our visitors, as well as improving our impacts on the environment and sustainability of our sites.”
Find out more about FSC and its sustainability initiatives – and to make a difference simply with your energy bills, switch to Britain’s greenest energy company - we’ll donate up to £50 to FSC when you do.
Similar articles
Breaking the link
Britain is generating more cheap green energy than ever before, but our bills are still going up. What’s going on and how can we fix this to lower energy bills for good?
More
Celebrating TV’s green pioneers at the BAFTA TV Craft Awards
Energy is the lifeblood of every production. That's why we're proud to be an official Television Craft Partner of BAFTA for a second year running.
More
A guide to Earth Day and why it matters
Our planet is incredible, but it needs our help. This April, join us in celebrating Earth Day, an annual global event that inspires collective action for environmental protection.
More