The National Trust has successfully achieved Green Dragon Standard Level 3 in recognition of its environmental performance in Wales.
The achievement means that over 240 historic buildings and over 50 holiday cottages managed by the Trust in Wales are Green Dragon certified. This includes Hafod y Llan, the Trust’s iconic farm on the slopes of Snowdon, which becomes the first farm to achieve the Standard.
Green Dragon is Wales’ most popular and recognised environmental management system, as used by the Welsh Assembly Government. The National Trust uses it to help meet its environmental commitments.
Paul Southall, the National Trust’s Environmental Coordinator in Wales, said: "We are trying to use less energy, use water more efficiently and generate less waste. This is quite a challenge given the scale of our operations and that we welcomed over a million visitors to National Trust pay for entry sites in Wales last year.
"A system like Green Dragon helps us keep track of our environmental impacts and encourages us to keep improving our performance. It’s also a great way to encourage our staff and volunteers to think green."
Maddy John leads the Trust’s Green Group at Powis Castle who have been making sure that medieval Powis Castle and Garden is brought into the 21st Century. She added: "Here at Powis we make sure that everything gets recycled or composted. We keep an eye on our water and energy use to make sure that we’re not being wasteful and to keep costs down. Many of the paintings in our collection are now lit by LED lighting which uses much less electricity. We’re over the moon that Green Dragon has recognised all our efforts."
The group is also getting the message out to local people with a booklet for children about recycling and activities at local events.
The Standard is operated by Groundwork Wales who audited the National Trust for Level 3. Ian MacIntosh, Groundwork Wales Director said: "Groundwork is delighted to support organisations and companies like the National Trust to achieve Green Dragon certification. Green Dragon provides the framework to make cost savings, comply with legislation, increase competitiveness, improve environmental performance and is a really effective means to address climate change. The Standard provides a great opportunity for all businesses across the UK and in all sectors to develop an environmental management system relevant to their specific needs."
Some of the innovative green solutions in use at National Trust sites include:
- low energy lighting including bulbs specially designed for sensitive historic interiors, and LED alternatives;
- highly efficient hand dryers in visitor facilities;
- over 7,000m square of insulation;
- ground source heat pumps to provide heating to nursery areas for National Trust gardens;
- air source heat pumps replacing inefficient electrical convection heaters in restaurant areas;
- food waste composting;
- smart meters for electricity, gas and water which allow usage to be monitored every 30 minutes.
