The Queen has given her life to serving her nation and her people. On her 21st birthday, the Queen made the following pledge in a speech she made in South Africa, “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.” As said masterfully in her funeral, never has such a meaningful promise been kept to such a high standard.
The Queen has seen a lifetime of change and innovation, and sustainability, environmental concerns and relevant technological is no exception. But how has the Queen, over her life, embraced sustainability?
A few excellent examples of her environmental stewardship are as follows:
1. The Royal Household staff work careful to reduce the energy used to heat, light and cool their buildings. Energy consumption is monitored through a network of over 60 smart meters to constantly identify and target areas for improvement. A network of Green Champions, have worked with the Royal Household since 2006 to continually develop and implement projects to reduce energy consumption and wider environmental impact.
One small project example is the use of Energy efficient LED (light-emitting diode) lighting across the estates. These lamps use up to 86% less electricity and have a longer life than traditional fittings, reducing energy and maintenance costs.
2. At Buckingham Palace, heating and hot water is produced by the Combined Heat and Power plant and boilers, with flat plate heat exchangers increasing the efficiency of heat transfer. Combined Heat and Power has been in use at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle since 1994–95. These units convert natural gas into electricity, with the heat produced by this process being used to provide heating and hot water. As a result, Combined Heat and Power reduces the Royal Household’s greenhouse gas emissions, energy costs and reliance on the National Grid.
3. Electricity is also produced for use at Windsor Castle by a hydroelectric power scheme on the River Thames at Romney Weir. Two turbines generate electricity by harnessing the power of moving water, providing renewable energy and meeting 40% of the Castle’s electricity requirements. This is equivocal to energy needs of over 600 homes.
4. Some of the ‘greenest’ places in The Queen’s residences are, not surprisingly, The Queen’s gardens. The Gardens Team work to ensure that the gardens at The Queen’s residences look their best, whilst encouraging wildlife and plant life to thrive. Tree stumps are not removed, but are left to rot away naturally, providing a perfect environment for insects to lay their eggs and hatch their larvae in. Dead trees are also left alone, with one such tree at the bottom of the Rose Garden currently providing a habitat for a family of Woodpeckers.
5. The use of pesticides is kept to a minimum. A weed burning machine is used on the paths of the Buckingham Palace grounds, which breaks up the cells of living plants so that they explode through heat. This means that there is no need for chemicals which could potentially be harmful to wildlife.
6. Sustainable plant life is encouraged, with a long grass policy currently in use over approximately 10% of the Buckingham Palace garden area. Around 320 different types of wildflowers grow in these areas, such as Creeping Buttercup and Herb Robert, and are allowed to go through an entire yearly cycle of growth (including seed spreading), before the grasses are cut at the end of August.
7. In spring 2009 two Italian honey bee (Apis mellifera ligustica) hives were introduced to the garden at Buckingham Palace. The hives are positioned on an island which is in the middle of the garden’s 3.5 acre lake. The island accounts for a part of the 5 acres of uncultivated areas in the garden and it is covered in wildflowers, grasses and decomposing logs. It is an excellent location for the bees as they have immediate access to over 350 varieties of wildflowers and 600 plants to harvest from both on the island and the main garden.
8. The Balmoral and Sandringham Estates are The Queen’s private estates. The Duke of Edinburgh took on overall responsibility for their management at the start of Her Majesty’s reign in 1952. One of His Royal Highness’s principles has been to maintain the estate for future generations, so conservation has always been an important part of the Estates’ management practices.
Balmoral staff ensure that the vast amount of organic waste which the estate generates is recycled, with 50 tonnes of it being turned into compost each year.
9. The Royal Household is working to reduce waste, and reuse and recycle as many materials as possible. This includes the reuse and recycling of computer equipment by Computer Aid International.
10. The Crown Estate holds a thousands of acres of woodlands and forests throughout the UK which are audited by the Soil Association Woodmark, and are certified against international sustainable management standards — in accordance with the UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS).Each year Windsor produces 2,100 tonnes of organic waste on average, which is converted into compost — saving The Crown Estate approximately £156,000 per annum in addition to the environmental benefits.
11. The Crown also owns a majority of the land in the UK, much of which is being protected under the Green Initiative.
As with the rest of her duties, she performed her role as environmental steward well and with grace. May she rest in peace.
About Us
Our name is Valuuti and we want to do some good in the world and help fight climate change.
We’re a small start-up brand with an important mission — help nature and fight climate change! Specifically, we want to work with endangered animal charities, plant trees, clean up beaches and start/aid carbon capture and other environmental regeneration projects.
We also want to increase awareness through our environmental blog — talking about important issues, environmental wins and Valuuti updates. Please follow us along for our journey!
In the next few months, we’re launching our sustainable clothing brand, each design linked to its own unique cause and charity. We’ll have:
- Tree hoodies that when purchased, a real tree will be planted.
- Elephant hoodies that support Elephant Conservation charities
- Other services that will fund climate projects and general ideas that do good.
Thank you for reading and we hope you follow our journey!
The Valuuti team.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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