We recognise the impact of climate on Nothe Fort and acknowledge a duty to reduce our organisation’s impact on the wider environment.

Given our prominent position in our community and that our operation is seen by tens of thousands of visitors every year, we also recognise the importance of being an exemplar of environmental best practice.

This environmental action plan (EAP) outlines how we assess the environmental impact of our activities and continuously improve and showcase our related practices so that we deliver our activities in a demonstrably environmentally responsible manner.

1. Achieve Green Tourism Award

   1. Review the criteria of the Green Tourism Award, continue to build them into Nothe Fort’s EAP and apply for the Green Tourism Award

2. Reduce transport emissions

   1. Undertake an annual mode of transport surveys for our team and visitors
   2. Encourage our team to use zero or low carbon emitting modes of transport to travel to and from the fort
   3. Encourage car sharing when use of an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle is unavoidable
   4. Include walking and cycling routes to and from the Fort on promotional materials including our website
   5. Maintain a secure bike parking area inside our grounds
   6. Publicise the availability of electric vehicle (EV) charging points in the nearby Nothe Gardens
   7. When possible, avoid the need for people to travel to the Fort by holding meetings online

3. Reduce energy consumption

   1. Use low-power light sources, e.g. LED lights
   2. Turn off all electrical devices when they are not required, e.g. turn off lights, computers and heaters when the Fort is closed or team member are not working at the site
   3. Reserve illuminating the Fort’s external walls only for special occasions
   4. Reduce our use of dehumidifiers in the building by reducing water ingress into the structure through a range of mitigating works
   5. Be less reliant on mains provided electricity by progressing an on-site solar array scheme

4. Reduce water consumption

   1. Develop a rainwater capture system to supplement our mains water supply

5. Responsible procurement

   1. Whenever possible, use the nearest manufacturer or supplier of all goods and services we procure to reduce total ‘product miles’
   2. Where commercial printing is unavoidable (e.g. leaflets), use FSCI paper and featuring a recycled label and FSCI mark on designs
   3. Use local commercial printing and distribution companies, preferring those using EVs when possible
   4. Reduce the use of office printing and photocopying, and replace machinery with equipment of a higher sustainability rating as its contract expires
   5. Reuse and recycle display material whenever possible, including sharing resources with local museums
   6. Ensure new displays and curatorial activities comply with environmental sustainability criteria
   7. Reduce the use of environmental harmful cleaning chemicals
   8. Use recycled building materials where possible
   9. Ask all third party stall holders trading at events hosted at the Forts to not use single use plastics
   10. Review all office procurement and practices not listed above against an environmental sustainability check list
   11. Purchase recycled Annual Pass cards, and pilot a cardless Annual Pass scheme

6. Reduce waste

   1. Increase recycling by replacing our basic recycling bins with a larger number of modern bins across additional locations to encourage visitors and our team to correctly separate and deposit different recyclable rubbish
   2. Make free water bottle refills prominently and easily available and ensure visitors are aware of it

7. Communicate and influence

   1. Publish Nothe Fort’s EAP on our website
   2. Inform our team about Nothe Fort’s EAP, encouraging feedback to drive its continuous improvement
   3. Inform partners and suppliers about our EAP and initiate conversations to understand how we can work together in support of it
   4. Create a gallery focusing on climate’s impact on the Fort, looking at damage caused to the building by the varying and often extreme meteorological conditions it is exposed to, as well as what we are doing to mitigate its impact through building improvements
   5. Invite visitors to suggest how the Fort can further reduce its environmental impact for consideration for adoption by our team
   6. Start conversations and share good practice with other museums in Dorset via the Weymouth & Portland Heritage Group and Dorset Museum Association