Over the next decade, we’ll continue to transition our energy requirements to low-carbon energy sources, purchase renewable energy from the grid, and use low-carbon energy generation across all our villages.
Our target is to have 50% of our energy consumption from renewable sources by 2030.
Where we are
- All our grid electricity has been renewable since 2020
- We’ve installed solar PV systems to generate renewable energy at four of our villages. At our Forest House building, we have a 100KWp solar array in situ
- We source 80% of our electricity and most of our heat at Sherwood Forest from a biogas-fuelled combined heat and power (CHP) unit. The biogas is produced locally through anaerobic digestion
- We’ve installed biomass boilers into the district heating network at Woburn Forest, generating renewable energy and removing the need for a gas boiler in every lodge. The boilers are fuelled by sustainably sourced woodchip
- We have installed air source heat pumps at Longleat Forest, Sherwood Forest, Whinfell Forest and Elveden Forest, generating renewable energy
How we're doing
We’re aiming to source 50% of our energy from renewable sources by 2030.
Figure 1 shows the percentage of energy generated by renewable sources as a proportion of our total energy consumption across our UK and Ireland operations. Both the UK and Ireland saw a small dip in the proportion of energy generated from renewable sources in FY25. In the UK, the figure remained above the 2020 baseline. However, in Ireland, the figure has sat below the 2020 baseline since FY21.
Figure 1: Bar chart showing proportion of energy generated from renewable sources for our UK and Ireland operations
Figure 2 shows the percentage of energy generated from renewable sources for our UK operations and monitors progress against our 2030 targets. At present, 25% of the energy we use is generated from renewable sources.
Figure 2: Bar chart showing proportion of energy generated from renewable sources for our UK operations.
- Figures for FY20, FY21 and FY22 were affected by closures of the villages and operational restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic and therefore do not reflect a typical year of operations.
- Figures for FY20 have been adjusted to account for 35 days of closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic – this adjustment allows us to reasonably set FY20 as a baseline year for our targets, ensuring we reflect a typical operating year.
- Due to the timing of when Center Parcs Longford Forest (in Ireland) opened, and the closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, FY24 was the first full year of figures for our Ireland operation. With this in mind, we have not yet set targets for our Ireland operation and so our renewable energy target solely applies to our UK operations at this time. We are committed to making real improvements to the proportion of energy we use that has been generated from renewable sources and we hope to be able to set targets for our Ireland operation soon.
UK
- FY20: 6%
- FY21: 14%
- FY22: 21%
- FY23: 21%
- FY24: 27%
- FY25: 25%
Ireland
- FY20: 27%
- FY21: 12%
- FY22: 17%
- FY23: 19%
- FY24: 23%
- FY25: 20%
The chart shows the proportion of energy generated from renewable sources for our UK and Ireland operations. The figures for Ireland dip at FY21 (due to the impact of the pandemic and a need to use more natural gas to keep areas maintained) and remain below the baseline. The figures for the UK increased (or remained steady) year-on-year up to FY25, when we saw a slight dip.
- FY20: 6%
- FY21: 14%
- FY22: 21%
- FY23: 21%
- FY24: 27%
- FY25: 25%
- FY30 target: 50%
The chart shows the proportion of energy generated from renewable sources for our UK operations. There is a trend line from FY20 to FY30 showing that a 44% increase is required to meet our FY30 target. The figures are generally increasing year-on-year. In FY25, the figure dropped slightly to below the trajectory for achieving our FY30 targets.
