May 2025
Provide a brief background on your organisation
The National Trust is the largest conservation charity in Europe, looking after nature, beauty and history for everyone, for ever. We were founded in 1895 by three people who saw the importance of heritage and open space, and wanted to look after them for everyone to enjoy.
In Northern Ireland, we proudly take care of a World Heritage Site, the two highest mountain peaks, a national nature reserve, NI’s most designated water body, two villages, historic houses and gardens, two pubs, some holiday cottages, a printing press, a rope bridge, a beetling mill and a spade mill, as well as 22% of the coastline and around 12,000 hectares of countryside.
Outline the reasons your company are working towards improving sustainability credentials
As a conservation charity sustainability is in our DNA. We continue to play our part in tackling the climate and nature emergencies and are dedicated to protecting special places for future generations so they can enjoy and benefit from them. More than 70% of National Trust places in Northern Ireland will be at risk from climate related hazards by 2060. And sadly, as a whole, Northern Ireland is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.
Many of the places we look after, such as Giant’s Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede, are very popular tourist attractions and as dedicated custodians, we need to look after them in a way that both people and nature can thrive.
The Giant’s Causeway is also crucial in providing charitable funds and ensuring we are financially sustainable to look after the wider World Heritage Site and other special places in Northern Ireland, many of which are free to visit.
List five things that your business had to adapt to become more sustainable.
1) Recognising that it’s a careful balance – With sustainability at our core, looking after natural and built heritage visitor attractions has meant we’ve had to manage and strike some very delicate balances. In our decision making, we carefully consider the environmental, community and economic impact of the choices we make – balancing these as we navigate our way through challenges and opportunities, and ensure we are sustainable in the long term.
2) Reducing our carbon emissions – over the last number of years, we have been phasing out the use of fossil fuels and are on our way to being Net Zero by 2030. We are reducing waste and thinking carefully about how and from whom we source our goods and services. For example, at Giant’s Causeway we have moved to electric site vehicles; the Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre car park contains almost 5km of underground pipes to capture ground source heat; and rainwater is collected from its grass roof to flush the toilets within the centre.
3) Adapting our places and our business models – we think carefully about our visitor offer and infrastructure in order to preserve the beauty of our places, and to ensure they are climate resilient. For example, at Mount Stewart, we are adapting the gardens to face the projected climate impacts, recently winning an award from the European Garden Heritage Network for the team’s work on climate mitigation measures. We also carefully monitor visitor numbers to ensure sustainable management and a great experience for all, for example at Giant’s Causeway we have implemented a range of operational measures to manage car parking and congestion.
4) Restoring nature and capturing carbon – we want our attractions to not only be beautiful places to visit, but to be areas where nature can thrive. For example, at Divis & the Black Mountain, which attracts nearly 200,000 visitors each year, we are restoring 133 hectares of peatland (that’s an area just smaller than Ballycastle!), and planting 150,000 trees, helping to capture carbon, boost biodiversity and regulate the flow of floodwater into Belfast. In the Mourne Mountains we look after Slieve Donard, Commedagh and Bloody Bridge – all popular places for outdoor recreation, which also play an important role for tourism. Here our team is continually upgrading access paths so they can cope with high visitor numbers whilst protecting the natural habitats from erosion.
5) Engaging with communities and others – we have a vision for sustainable and regenerative tourism, and work with communities, policy makers, partners and other stakeholders to make this a reality. This approach not only minimises the potential negative impacts of visitor activity but also seeks to use our tourism offering and resources to actively improve and enhance our landscapes, our nature and our built heritage. We want to see host communities benefitting, having ownership and pride in the tourism offering in their area, and feeling the benefits of it at a local level through direct employment and other economic and community development opportunities. For example, we have developed a range of Signature Experiences, all of which are collaborations with local businesses which allow visitors to engage on a deeper level with the places and the people who make them so special.
Have you received an international recognised accreditation or are you working towards this and how do you think this will benefit the organisation in the future?
The National Trust’s Climate and Environmental Management System (CEMS) is certified to ISO 14001, and helps us to manage environmental impacts and risks, and supports our Climate and Environment Policy in which we commit to:
· Using resources wisely, establishing baselines for consumption and emissions to measure and report performance.
· Complying with legislation and obligations, leveraging our influence to enhance environmental protection.
· Sharing stories about impacts on natural and cultural heritage to inspire positive actions.
· Ensuring business decisions are informed by climate change implications.
Our accredited approach means environmental factors are integrated into decision-making, addressing inequalities, wastage, and improper practices while planning for future challenges so we find that having such a structured and accredited approach means sustainability is ‘baked in’ rather than an extra.
What is your advice to a business aiming to improve their sustainability performance and work towards accreditation?
Northern Ireland’s special landscapes, our historic environment and our cultural heritage are key drivers attracting visitors to our shores and are the essence of Northern Ireland as a tourism destination.
These assets provide great opportunities to showcase Northern Ireland to the world. But while we all want to share the best of what Northern Ireland has to offer, this must be done in a way that protects these places and benefits our host communities.
I would encourage all businesses to take a step back and look at their operations to see how your business could work differently to be more sustainable – how it can reduce its carbon footprint, consider its environmental impact and support local communities more, all whilst delivering economic return. Start small and build it up.
We are all learning, and no-one has all the answers. So, my biggest piece of advice is to seek help and work with others who have started their sustainability journey. By working in partnership and continuing to adapt, we can deliver a sustainable future for our tourism industry – one which serves society and serves our planet in the long-term.
