Grosvenor Rural Estates, which is responsible for the long-term stewardship of three rural estates in the United Kingdom, has published a carbon reduction strategy setting a commitment to reducing energy and industrial emissions from our activities by 90% and forestry, land and agricultural emissions by 72% by 2050.

In doing so, the rural estates activities will contribute to Grosvenor’s global carbon commitment to reduce emissions in line with limiting global warming to 1.5°C, building on and accelerating the organisation’s progress in curbing our carbon footprint.

The strategy, which is available to read here, includes a carbon action plan which demonstrates how at Grosvenor’s rural estates we will achieve these ambitious targets, focused on four levers: 

•    better understanding our natural environment, enabling more informed land-use decisions which benefit people and the planet

•    taking data driven actions to reduce the carbon footprint of our property activities

•    investigate further opportunities to adopt renewable energy schemes

•    work to reduce our emissions in line with limiting global warming to 1.5°C and accelerate our progress by engaging with our tenant farmers, suppliers and partner organisations

Across the rural estates there are more than 10,000 ha of peatland. We will continue to monitor the latest science and industry guidance on peatland emissions, developing a comprehensive carbon baseline and review our peatland restoration strategy in 2025.

Grosvenor Rural Estates is responsible for the long-term stewardship of three rural estates in the United Kingdom – the Eaton Estate in Cheshire, the Abbeystead Estate in Lancashire and the Reay Forest Estate, Sutherland, in the north-west Highlands of Scotland.

Throughout the long-term stewardship of Grosvenor’s rural estates, we have maintained an unwavering commitment to protecting, enhancing and restoring their sensitive environmental habitats and to improving local property and places. From installing individual wind generators on homes in Scotland in the early 1900s, developing landscape conservation plans to inform nature recovery for woodlands, hedgerows and the farm landscape at Eaton in the 1980s or promoting a programme of peatland restoration which began over a decade ago at Abbeystead, we have continually sought to improve the sustainability of our activities, enhance our climate resilience and support our communities.