The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust is a charity tasked with not only conserving, maintaining and protecting wildlife and landscapes within the Isles of Scilly but also inspiring and educating the public about Scilly’s natural & historic environment.

The Trust is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and ensuring that its charitable activities are as environmentally-friendly as possible.

2018 saw the launch of our eco-pledge; pulling together all of the things that we are currently doing and all of the things we would like to do in the future, into a format which is shareable and shows what can be achieved.

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As a business, and a conservation charity, we understand our responsibility to:

  1.  Reduce our own impact on our precious natural resources;
  2.  Help our visitors tread lightly on their travels; leave a positive impact on our local community and natural environment;
  3.  Enhance the environment around us for future generations.

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What we are doing?

• The Trust has received energy-saving advice through the Smart Energy Islands business support project enabling us to install an energy monitor to reduce the energy we are using in our office

• The Trust is signed up to a 100% renewable energy deal. This has saved £375 per year on the previous supplier deal.

• The Trust has bought a 100% electric van which costs 0.03 per mile to fuel with electricity. Taking into account insurance (£148 per year) and battery hire costs (£360 per year), the vehicle costs £578 per year to run compared to a diesel equivalent of £1508 per year; saving £930 per year.

• Travel to the mainland is minimised by using virtual meetings via the internet.

• We buy bulk Eco-cleaning products for the office so that we can refill dispensers.

• We recycle everything we can within the current constraints of business recycling.

• Washable hand-towels are used in the wash-rooms rather than disposable paper towels or electric hand driers.

• 100% recycled paper for printing is purchased and re-use of single-sided print happens where possible

• We use reusable coffee cups and drinks bottles (alongside the running of the Plastic Free and ReFill Scilly initiatives)

• Where possible, we always collect marine debris from wherever we have been so that any rigid plastic can be recycled.

• The engines in our land management machinery use Aspen 2-stroke oil, a fully synthetic low-smoke oil that is partly biodegradable, biologically inert and non-toxic.

• Plantoil, a non-toxic, rapidly biodegradable lubricant is used in the chainsaws which is derived from rapeseed oil from renewable sources.

• The Trust (and contract graziers on off-islands) carries out low-intensity livestock grazing, rotational reed cutting and management of water levels on coastland headlands and wetlands at levels which promote carbon sequestration and soil formation. Management of both grasslands and wetlands in this way can capture up to 80 tonnes of carbon dioxide per hectare.

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