As an environmental body charged with caring for a protected landscape, the Chilterns Conservation Board has a responsibility to operate to the highest environmental standards, and to encourage others to do so as well. The Board prepares an annual Sustainability Plan, to detail how it will meet these standards and to monitor the ambitious targets it has set itself to reduce its use of natural resources and its carbon emissions. The Board is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2010.

The Sustainability Plan covers the direct and indirect environmental impacts of the Conservation Board’s own operations. These impacts include those generated as a result of the activities of Board members and staff connected with their duties on behalf of the Board, the operation of the Board’s offices and the implementation of the Board’s work programme.

The Sustainability Plan looks at the following areas:

1.         Paper
2.         Waste
3.         Recycling
4.         Water
5.         Energy Use and Carbon Dioxide Emissions
6.         Transport
7.         Purchasing and Contractors
8.         Local Produce
9.         Raising Awareness
10.       Carbon off-set initiatives

A report on the results of the 2007-08 Sustainability Plan and the targets for the 2008-09 Plan can be downloaded here.

As a result of its efforts to operate more sustainably the Conservation Board has won an award from the Green Tourism Business Scheme.