Earth Day: What we’ve done so far

This Earth Day, we reflect on a year of meaningful progress, as Canterbury Oast Trust has taken important, practical steps to turn sustainability ambition into action.

We have begun strengthening our environmental governance, ensuring that responsibility for sustainability and carbon reduction is embedded within leadership decision‑making rather than treated as a standalone initiative. This has given us clearer oversight of where our impacts sit across operations, estates, and the supply chain.

We have also made progress in understanding and measuring our environmental footprint, developing a more structured approach to gathering greenhouse gas emissions data across Scopes 1, 2 and 3. While this is an evolving process, it provides the foundations needed to set meaningful targets and track progress over time.

Across our estates and operations, we are taking practical, evidence‑based steps to reduce energy use and improve efficiency. Reviewing how buildings are managed, how utilities are procured, and where smarter operational choices can reduce waste and emissions while supporting financial sustainability.

Importantly, sustainability is now being considered alongside commercial, operational and social outcomes. Environmental responsibility is increasingly factored into planning conversations, whether that’s estate investment, supplier relationships, or longer‑term business planning, ensuring that decisions made today remain resilient and responsible in the future.

Howard Clark, Director of Commercial Operations said “This work is ongoing, and there is still more to do. But these early actions represent a clear shift from intention to delivery and provide a solid platform as we work towards a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030 and Net Zero no later than 2050.”