In a cost-of-living crisis, many charities have struggled with the rising costs of gas and electricity. In response, in 2022, The Linbury Trust helped some existing grantees with donations, which many spent on their energy bills. Following this, the Trust decided to run a programme that helped several grantees make a bigger step to a more sustainable way of working.
The principle was to fund retrofits that would help reduce energy use and costs. This included the likes of solar panels, ground source heat pumps, new LED lighting or preparatory work such as an audit to assess energy consumption.
The grants have gone to a range of institutions – from arts organisations to homeless shelters and an end- of-life hospice. One particularly resonant example is Northern Ballet, which used its grant to change all the lights in its main building from electricity-hungry-tungsten lamps to LEDs. This single change will reduce its energy and maintenance costs by around £40,000 per year – a vast saving for the organisation and the environment.
Suffolk’s Food Museum had a similar experience. It was finding that its existing solar panels generated too much energy – and so new export cabling and improved battery storage capacity has helped the Museum to roll out solar across its site. By doing so, it can continue running its activities at a reduced cost.
Along with funding, the grants scheme creates a learning network for grantees, in partnership with sister Trust, Ashden Climate Solutions. This helps grantees to make the most of their funding and inspires a culture of collaborative learning – from each other and sector experts.
Crucially, the grantees also share information about the project with their staff and the public to demonstrate the benefits. It is estimated that, in the first year, more than £275,000 of annual savings will be made, plus a reduction of 100 tonnes of C02 emissions. For context: one tonne of C02 equals an average home’s heating for six months – or the emissions from a diesel car over 7,000km. These savings help both grantees and the planet.
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