Sustainability

Along with our city, we’re on a critical journey to be carbon net zero by 2030. 

We’re here to inspire people - both individuals and organisations - to come together to take action.

Becoming carbon net zero by 2030 is an enormous challenge. We’re making changes and driving sustainable behaviour across everything we do.

The scale of the climate crisis is huge, but science and human ingenuity can make a difference. When we come together great things can happen.

 

Climate Change mural by Anna Higgie - by front door to We The Curious (find out more here) 

 

Creating a sustainable future

As a science centre, we’re in a unique position to bridge the gap between science and people. We can play a motivating and encouraging role to help decarbonise our society.

To be carbon net zero by 2030, we will:

1) Reduce our carbon emissions to the lowest level possible
2) Invest in projects to remove our remaining carbon emissions from the atmosphere

We promise to:

Do – be a venue that’s as environmentally sustainable as possible
Talk – spark conversations to inspire our audiences to take positive action for the planet
Share – extend beyond our walls to support Bristol’s transition to carbon net zero and to support our sector in decarbonisation 

 

Our journey to net zero
 

We've been working on our sustainability journey since 2010, and in 2019 we declared a climate emergency. So far, we've: 

  • Reduced our energy consumption by 31% between 2011-2020 (we’ve mostly been closed since then due to the pandemic and the roof fire in 2022)
  • Ensured all our energy comes from clean, renewable energy resources within the UK
  • Installed new solar panels on our roof that will generate 12% of our building’s energy requirements
  • Reduced our amount of water used to flush toilets by 30%
  • Fitted Bristol’s first LED car park
  • Joined Bristol Climate Leaders – a growing network run by Bristol Green Capital for organisations with ambitions to be carbon neutral by 2030
  • Launched the Association of Science and Discovery Centres (ASDC) Decarbonisation Group – sharing best practice within the science centre sector
  • Run the ‘Festival for our Future’ event –  celebrating the power of collective action around climate change
  • Removed gas from our main building
  • Switched our diesel vans to second-hand electric vehicles

    “It is brilliant having We the Curious as an active member of our Climate Leaders Group. Their ambition and commitment to climate action is clear and so it is hugely valuable having them share their experience. They are also regular supporters of our Climate Action Programme, generously giving their time to speak at events and provide case studies for others to learn from.” Claire Jacob, Head of Communications and Partnerships - Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership



The road ahead

Here's some of the projects that we'll be focussing on in the future:

  • Decarbonisation – transforming our operations and estate to reduce our emissions that contribute to climate change
  • Sustainable visitor travel – we’ll be looking at how we can support more sustainable forms of transport such as walking, cycling, public transport and electric vehicles
  • Introducing a circular economy shop - reimagining our shop so that we focus on repair, re-use and recycling of products, considering their whole life-cycle.
  • Supplier engagement – working with and supporting our suppliers to measure and decrease their impact on the environment and support ethical procurement practices
  • Waste reduction – reducing the amount of waste we produce on site and reducing how much goes to landfill
  • Biodiversity – installing more beehives on our roof, to support local biodiversity
  • Climate change adaptation – changing our site and operation to make us more resilient to the local and global impacts of climate change

    "Our partnership with the Sustainable Futures team at We The Curious has been pivotal to the work we've been doing to support ASDC members across the UK. Chris and Roddy have dedicated a huge amount of their time to provide invaluable talks, workshops and tools to support science centres in tackling their own sustainability goals and targets. Their leadership on curating the content for the decarbonisation group is testimony to their commitment to the sector achieving net zero."
    Cait Campbell, Project Manager - Association for Science and Discovery Centres

 


Cause artwork, by Jody Thomas - on Millennium Square 

 

Collaborate with us

We’re always looking to collaborate with other organisations and visitor attractions, to share best practice and to learn from each other.

As a scientific hub, we aim to support and celebrate the actions, achievements, and progress of people and communities across Bristol. 

To find out more, drop us a line on info@wethecurious.org  or call on 0117 915 1000.