By Richard Smith 

A while back I was invited to be interviewed for the post of Head of Climate and Sustainability at English Heritage (spoiler, three years on: I got the job).  

In the run-up to the interview, I did a lot of research, as you do.  I didn’t have to get very far into it to see a very clear thought emerge:  we cannot preserve and celebrate the past unless we look after our present and future.     

In some industries you might have to dig a bit deeper in an attempt to find a clear link between the organisation’s purpose and its sustainability aims.  Not with heritage.  It’s there, staring us in the face.  Climate change is hammering heritage.  Unless we mitigate against it and adapt to whatever it throws at us, trying to protect heritage will be like defending a sandcastle against the tide. 

Think of your favourite places.  It could be a building, a ruin, a landscape, coast, a mountain.  You probably don’t think of it this way, but the chances are it’s a heritage site, owned and/or managed by an organisation which is trying its best to look after it in very trying circumstances. 

The challenges faced by heritage in the face of climate change are numerous.    

More frequent and intense rainfall can cause flooding, water ingress and erosion, damaging buildings and archaeological sites, while prolonged wet conditions can increase problems with damp, mould and decay.  

Hotter, drier summers bring different risks, including overheating, drought, ground movement and increased wildfire risk.  

More extreme weather can accelerate the deterioration of building materials and place additional strain on roofs, drainage systems and other historic fabric.  

Across historic landscapes, changing temperatures and rainfall patterns can alter habitats, affect veteran trees and designed landscapes, and change the character of places that have evolved over centuries.  

And rising sea levels and coastal erosion add another layer of risk for heritage around our coastline.  

We might want things to stay the same, but within the context of a changing climate, that ain’t gonna happen.   

Climate change is not simply a future threat to heritage: its impacts are already being felt, not just by the buildings (OK, buildings can’t feel…right?) but also by the people who care for them.  People are having to work in increasingly extreme conditions to ensure the buildings are, at a minimum, safe, and ideally, thriving, so future generations can enjoy them the way we do.  

Heritage organisations large and small are already taking action on climate change.  But with budgets tight for everyone, big capital expenditure projects are often out of reach.  We have to make a little go a long way, and harness the army of staff and volunteers working in and around our heritage sites to take small actions which can add up to something bigger.  

That is why building climate knowledge across the heritage sector matters. PS: Planet delivers Carbon Literacy for Heritage most months on behalf of my former colleagues at English Heritage, helping the people who care for historic places understand both the risks ahead and the practical actions they can take. 

The training explores the causes and impacts of climate change, the particular challenges facing heritage, and the ways organisations and individuals can respond. Participants turn that understanding into practical pledges, giving them a clear route from learning to action. 

The value of that approach is reflected in feedback from English Heritage:  

“Richard has delivered multiple Carbon Literacy Training sessions for English Heritage, consistently receiving very positive feedback. Learners highlight his knowledge and his interactive, engaging delivery, while his detailed guidance has helped 100% of those submitting pledges to pass first time.” – Katie Wooldridge, Sustainability Learning Lead, English Heritage   

If we want our heritage to have a future, the people looking after it need to understand the climate in which that future will unfold. Carbon Literacy for Heritage helps turn that understanding into informed, practical action – one person and one place at a time. 

PS: Want to help protect heritage from climate change? Join one of our Carbon Literacy for Heritage courses – visit our Events page to find the next available date, or get in touch to discuss training for your organisation.