The British Library is taking steps to address climate change through reducing emissions, engaging audiences, collaborating with partners, and supporting staff initiatives. Emissions have been reduced 67% since 2009 through efficiency projects. Infrastructure projects will pursue sustainability certifications. Programs will increase climate literacy and engage communities. Networks will support green businesses and best practices. A staff sustainability group promotes action within the Library. The Green Libraries Partnership aims to place libraries at the heart of environmental change.
2024-05-08 Composting at Home 101 for the Rotary Club of Pinecrest.pptx
Towards a green Library: the British library’s response to climate change
1. Libraries responding to the
climate change – the British
Library approach
Blerina Hashani, Public Policy & Campaigns
Manager
2. 2
bl.uk
Libraries as drivers for change?
United Nations 2030
Agenda for Sustainable
Development
17 Sustainable
Development Goals
(SDGs)
Libraries’ contribution to SDGs
Agenda Vision: Universal literacy
Goal 3: Good health and wellbeing
Goal 5: Culture
Goals 5, 9, 7: ICT skills and access
Goal 8 and 10: Decent work, economic
growth, reducing inequality
Goal 16: Access to information
Rising seas, raging fires
Warming climate
1°C / 3°C
COP26
3. 3
bl.uk
Climate change and libraries?
Sharing, reusing – sustainability
Access to information – informing public and researchers
Climate literacy and sensitivity
Archiving our era
Resilience and self-preservation
Renewed social relevance – young people
Engaging with local and wider communities
6. 6
bl.uk
• Reducing greenhouse
gas emissions – a 67%
reduction on the
2009/2010 baseline
• Waste: 48% reduction
from 2009/10 baseline
• Recycling: 66% of all
waste
Reducing emissions at the BL since 2009/2010
Over the last decade and led by the Estates team, the Library has
significantly reduced its carbon emissions and waste.
The Library has been working to the Greening Government
Commitments which demonstrate how the Library is working to
improve its environmental performance, measured against a
2009/10 baseline. In 2019/20, for instance, we achieved targets for:
7. 7
bl.uk
• Library awarded £8.5million to decarbonise and upgrade St Pancras and
Boston Spa sites
Opportunities for the BL
9. 9
bl.uk
• Our major infrastructure projects at St Pancras and Boston Spa are using
the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals https://sdgs.un.org/goals as a
framework to identify the areas where they could contribute towards
sustainable outcomes. Of the 17 Goals, those two portfolios alone should
support 16 of them.
• Boston Spa Renewed is targeting BREEAM Outstanding (the highest)
rating for our next new building and Excellent for the refurbished building
• The St Pancras Transformed New Development (BL Extension) project is
targeting BREEAM1 Excellent for the overall BL/SMBL building
• Similar stretch targets will be adopted for a potential future presence in
Temple Works in Leeds
1 BREEAM is an international sustainability assessment method for masterplanning projects,
infrastructure and buildings
Opportunities for the BL - programmes
10. 10
bl.uk
• Living Knowledge for Everyone
2020 began articulating a
commitment to more engagement
on climate change, our next
corporate strategy due to be
published in early 2023 develops
this commitment
- Working with a sustainability
consultant to begin formulating a
Decarbonisation Strategy –
pathways to Net Zero
- Considering new Strategic Risks
around climate change
15. 15
bl.uk
London Fashion
Week
Phoebe English
HERE: An Alternative
Route
The behind-the-scene
stories of English’s
collection are an eye-
opener for the general
fashion industry. Her soil-
to-soil design approach is
truly sustainable,
environment-friendly and
beautiful. (WWD press
review)
17. 17
bl.uk
Business – supporting our networks
National BIPC user survey (2021) – results show 66% say their business is
driven by a social impact and 31% by an environmental impact respectively.
But we want to do more…
The BIPC worked on a series of exciting activities to support BIPC
entrepreneurs in greening their business. These include:
• British Library’s Inventors Club - sees inventors of two environment-
focused innovations share their works for constructive input
• Speed mentoring – partnering up new business with environment experts on
how to make their business more environmentally friendly
• Start up Day 2021 – theme on ‘’Sustainability’’
• Accompanied by online content throughout autumn including blogs and social
media activities on supporting business on their green agenda
21. 21
bl.uk
The Green Libraries Partnership is developed in response to COP26 and
the long-term climate commitments made by libraries and local authorities
across England.
•Our vision is of a better future for planet and people, empowered and
supported by librarians and library workers
•Our mission is to place libraries at the heart of environmental change
•Our purpose is to enable libraries to build environmental action within their
communities
CILIP will be supported in delivering the Programme by Arts Council England,
the British Library, Libraries Connected and Julie’s Bicycle. The Partnership will
be Chaired by Emma Noyce, Assistant Director of Culture and Leisure Services
at Hampshire County Council.
24. 24
bl.uk
Staff engagement
Sustainability Group
‘’Staff led and action orientated, the purpose is to help make the British
Library a more sustainable heritage organisation and workplace.’’
• ‘Count us In’ UN Museums campaign – driving action within the Library
(ongoing)
• Collaborating with NMDC Ecology Group and other sector
organisations
25. 25
bl.uk
Working together towards a climate future:
- Consider how your organisation can influence a better climate future
- Can you lobby for change in your buildings/estates, or the way you
work?
- Can you work with the local community, and your audiences to share
knowledge and inspire climate action?
- Consider how you can support your staff to be more sustainable – is
there a budding staff network that you could support?
- Seek our collaborations – working together can save resources
Notas do Editor
Threats and risks
Challenges and opportunities
Again, making use of the existing model of libraries
NEW
STRATEGIC RISK: The risk is in response to significant external factors such as Govt net zero targets and world-wide physical and societal impacts; as well as the similar internal impacts. The risk considers the environmental and economic impacts of climate change, natural resources, pollution and waste and environmental opportunities on our people and audience behaviours; supply chain; collections; and our estate.
This new risk is intended to promote discussion and act as a focus for consolidating our understanding of what we do today and what we plan to do over the next 12 months; and how we will transition.
The new risk will be re-considered along with ALL of our strategic risks at the next Board Risk Workshop which will be planned once all our Board members are appointed (likely to be Q4 2021/22).
UK WEB ARCHIVE ON CLIMATE CHANGE: https://www.webarchive.org.uk/cy/ukwa/collection/369 - This collection focuses on climate change and related issues published in the UK. In 2021 the UK hosts the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, 1-12 November 2021. This event is a significant global milestone in implementing the Paris Agreement (2015). Suggestions are welcome to make this collection as representative of current UK climate change initiatives as possible. A science policy intern at the British Library set up this collection in 2015 (Climate Change Debates). The collection is currently(2021) being updated and curated by a member of staff.
October 2021 ‘’Public Libraries and Climate Change’’ Conference – attended by nearly 100 library professionals across the UK. Featured speakers from the UK and beyond.
Sharing best practices. From Wakefield Libraries working ona Climate poetry competition to how Helsinki libraries have supported local communities.
https://dcmslibraries.blog.gov.uk/2021/11/12/public-libraries-and-climate-change/
'The staff-led and action-oriented Green Network celebrated its one year anniversary this past summer. What started out as a Continuous Improvement/Conservation initiative rapidly grew into a BL-wide network with over 50 members - all through word-of-mouth as the network has not yet been given official staff network status. Our purpose is to help make the British Library a more sustainable heritage organisation and workplace. In pursuit of this, we aim to:
empower staff members to find agency in the today's ecological crisis and take sustainable action in their professional lives,
use the momentum of those actions to advocate for sustainable Library policy,
communicate our journey as an organisation internally and externally and
work with all BL staff networks to holistically evoke sustainability, especially the social pillar.
The network has two co-chairs, two SLT sponsors and a committee of departmental representatives who oversee actions within their department and track this progress through departmental actions plans. Examples of ongoing actions include:
trialing card book cradles to replace our single-use acrylic ones in exhibition areas,
finding recycling schemes for hard-to-recycle materials and
using Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) approved wood in exhibition builds.
The network meets every six weeks and - looking further ahead - hopes to:
put out a quartly newsletter aimed at all staff,
host events/talks,
faciliate training for network members and
ultimately, update the BL's environmental policy.'