Living Coasts has an environmental policy as Part of the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust and we are very aware of the human activities and the environmental impacts on wildlife and the natural environment.
We are committed to environmental protection and pollution prevention – but we look to integrate environmental considerations into all areas of the business.

Living Coasts has achieved a Gold award on the Green Tourism Business scheme through staff commitment and a range of good practice measures throughout. The site also has a good environmental monitoring system in place and collects good evidence of measures undertaken as part of the ISO 14001 accreditation.

Living Coasts was built with the environment in mind, using a local work force and environmentally friendly materials. The wooden panels on site are all reclaimed and the soil used on site was taken from a one mile radius to ensure species continuity of the seed bank. We have solar panels to take advantage of the sunny location and to provide heated water for hand washing and we use water pipes to cool the building in the summer months.

We continually strive to reduce our environmental impact and give staff training on environmental issues. We feel it is important that all staff who work here are committed to the environmental policy and all follow the work ethos.

Living Coasts has a designated Environmental Officer who chairs an environment group. The Environment Group consists of a staff representative from each of the departments - Catering, Retail, Keepers, Administration and Education. The role of the group is to help with the implementation of the Environmental Management System and advise the Executive Director and Managers regarding environmental improvements to be made at the site. The Group meets on a bi-monthly basis and meetings are recorded through the production of minutes which are circulated to all staff.

Group members provide a point of contact with their department helping to:

• raise awareness in their department by passing on information regarding environmental issues
• motivate individuals within their department to become involved
• pass on ideas and information from members of their department to the Environment Group
• report back on benefits and successes to raise motivation
• environmental audits
• Utilities consumption is also discussed at the bi-monthly Environment Group meetings - monthly meter readings for water, gas and electricity help us to monitor consumption of these resources so that excessive consumption can be quickly identified and rectified.
• Update the environment notice board
• Communicate to the general public the good practice we have on site
• Have a comprehensive purchasing policy which is environmentally sound
• Encourage car sharing and environmentally friendly modes of transport to the site