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Environmental Sustainability

Middleton Railway Trust Ltd. (MRT) Policy Directive

Reference: GEN/2 (9/14)

Subject: Environmental Sustainability.

For the attention of: All Council members, The MRT’s Museum Mentor.

For the information of: officers of the Arts Council concerned with museum accreditation. This Directive does not form part of the Safety Management System.

Revision History

Previous versions of this Directive were as follows. Reference 9/14/3 was the initial version.

This version implemented the revised numbering scheme for directives, but made no other changes to the content.

Content Summary

This Directive contains the following sections: Introduction

The Importance of Environmental Sustainability Achieving Environmental Sustainability

Introduction

  1. This Directive has been created to reflect the growing importance to the MRT of two kinds of external issues. Some of these are general, and are a result of the increasing public pressure for organisations of all types to take a responsible approach to the impact of their activities on the environment.
  • The other issues are specific to the role of the MRT as an accredited museum, and arise from changes made in 2011 to the requirements for the accreditation of a museum. These requirements are set out in the Arts Council’s Accreditation Standard for museums and galleries in the United Kingdom (which is available online at

<http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/media/uploads/pdf/Accreditation_standard_print_friendly.pdf>, was published in October 2011, and is referred to from now on as the Museum Accreditation Standard). The specific requirement with which this Directive is concerned is that every accredited museum should have due regard to the issues of environmental sustainability, and should reflect this by having in place an appropriate environmental sustainability policy. This Directive therefore defines this policy.

  • To provide a basis for the implementation of this policy, this Directive places various responsibilities on the MRT’s Council, which is what the Museum Accreditation Standard refers to as the MRT’s “governing body”.
  • This directive will be published in accordance with the MRT’s normal procedures for publishing policy directives, as set out in its policy directive 8/14/1 (now GEN/1). In accordance with the procedures in that Directive it will be reviewed at least once every five years. This Directive and policy are therefore next due for review in 2019, unless circumstances should arise that make it appropriate to review it earlier than that.

The Importance of Environmental Sustainability

  • The MRT’s Memorandum of Association defines a large number of quite general objectives, which include the following five (where some of these have been abbreviated here for clarity):
    • To preserve, maintain, keep in repair and working condition the historic Middleton Colliery Railway, Leeds for the benefit of the public.
  • To establish and maintain for the benefit of the nation a Railway museum and for the like purpose to promote the permanent preservation of railway engines, rolling stock, coaches, trucks and other equipment ... .
    • To exhibit to the public any such engines, vehicles, equipment and items as aforesaid by means of temporary or permanent exhibitions ... .
    • To demonstrate and assist in demonstrating to the public the working and operations of any such engines, vehicles, equipment and items ... .
    • To promote and further the study of and research into engines, vehicles and rolling stock and the building and operation thereof ... .
  • Since these statements emphasise the permanent basis of these objectives, it is therefore fundamental to achieving them that the MRT as an organisation is sustainable over the long term. Environmental sustainability is an important part of this, and one which is increasingly significant to the world at large. The MRT therefore seeks to improve the level of its environmental sustainability, as a part of good management of its resources and as a contribution to its business reputation.
  • Specifically, the MRT seeks to minimise any adverse impact of its activities on the environment of South Leeds, and to be on good terms with its neighbours. In particular, the MRT is mindful that steam locomotives, which are a fundamental feature of its operation, have a noticeable impact on the environment to an extent that is occasionally unavoidable, and that to a lesser extent the same is true of heritage diesel locomotives. The MRT therefore strives to ensure that any such impacts are kept to an absolute minimum.

Achieving Environmental Sustainability

  • The MRT is subject to extensive statutory regulation in many areas, including statutory environmental regulation that sets minimum standards for what must be done, particularly in aspects such as avoiding contamination of groundwater. Beyond this, the MRT Council is voluntarily seeking to develop an environmental management system to confirm its intent to improve the level of its environmental sustainability across all related matters of concern, affecting the community, volunteer staff, supporters and passengers alike.
  • The MRT will minimise smoke and spark emissions through the effective management, monitoring and training of its locomotive crews, to ensure that they comply with the relevant requirements of its Train Operating Regulations, and particularly when lighting up steam locomotives and preparing diesel locomotives. Similarly, the MRT will ensure through compliance with the relevant requirements of its Train Operating Regulations that the use of locomotive whistles and horns is kept to an absolute minimum that is consistent with health and safety legislation and the requirements of the Railway Inspectorate.
  1. The MRT Council will seek to minimise smoke and spark emissions through the use of improved solid and liquid fossil fuels where these are consistent with efficient and safe locomotive use, and will where appropriate consider the fitment and proper use of spark arresting equipment. In doing so, however, the MRT Council is also well aware of the constraints that arise from its status as an accredited museum, and the consequent expectations that alterations to any items of its rolling stock for operational reasons will be kept to an absolute minimum.
  1. The MRT Council will seek to minimise the extent to which lubricating oil is discharged onto the track from total loss lubrication systems insofar as this is possible without risking the failure of those systems to provide adequate lubrication.
  1. The MRT Council will take reasonable steps in relation to maintenance processes, artefacts or buildings that are its responsibility to prevent the escape of heat, noise and dust, to an extent that is practicable and with due regard to local planning and environmental legislation,. Similarly, the MRT Council will seek to reduce the MRT’s water and energy consumption as far as is possible, consistent with its need to carry out its core activities effectively.
  1. The MRT Council will endeavour to adopt and maintain a policy of “reduce, reuse & recycle” throughout its operation, and in particular it will ensure that any waste materials or assets such as ash from steam locomotives are disposed of in a responsible manner, with due regard to the MRT Council’s “Duty of Care” for disposal of wastes in those areas of activity not covered by exemption.
  1. The MRT Council will work to develop and protect suitable lineside habitats and environments, including the native flora & fauna found therein, complementary to the processes of lineside management and vegetation control that are required for the safe and effective operation of the railway and for the prevention of fires.
  1. The MRT Council will endeavour to enhance the visual impact of the railway through high standards of maintenance and repair of the infrastructure, and through sympathetic design and repair of structures built to protect or store items of equipment, rolling stock or motive power.
  1. The MRT Council will seek to promote to visitors to the railway the desirability of reducing the environmental impact of their journeys to visit it, and in particular to promote the use of such public transport services as may be available.
  1. The MRT Council will seek to maintain a constructive relationship and dialogue with all relevant Authorities, Agencies, groups, or individuals with a common interest in the environment, in order to help it honour its desire to develop and maintain an effective environmental policy.
  1. The MRT recognises that it needs to balance any spending on capital projects that are intended primarily to enhance environmental sustainability (such as improving insulation, harvesting rainwater, or installing pollution- free energy generation such as PV panels or wind turbines) against spending on capital projects that are intended to contribute to its core objectives. To achieve a satisfactory balance the MRT will ensure that any proposal for a capital project that is intended primarily to enhance environmental sustainability will be individually assessed, paying particular regard to criteria such as expected savings in recurrent expenditure over an appropriate timescale, and the fraction that this project would represent of the total capital expenditure on all projects over an appropriate financial planning period.

Drafted by A. J. Cowling (Company Secretary) and D. Martin (MRT’s Museum Mentor), and approved on 23rd September 2014.