If you find it tricky to keep your landfill waste, carbon footprint and electricity bills to a minimum, spare a thought for the RNLI – we’ve got people and buildings all around the UK and Republic of Ireland. But we have a duty to make your donations go further while minimising our environmental impact. So how do we protect our charity’s future and the environment – while also protecting lives?

With their regular exposure to the elements and rooms full of wet gear, lifeboat stations can be notoriously difficult – and costly – to keep warm and dry. But thanks to a sustainable solution, more and more of our coastal buildings are giving crew members the warmth and comfort they need and deserve, while keeping down costs.

‘One of the things l look forward to following a Winter launch – after a warming cup of tea or soup – is hanging our gear up in our boathouse, knowing it will all be dry when we need it,’ says Steve Armitage, Deputy Second Coxswain at Hoylake, Merseyside. ‘That’s thanks to underfloor heating and our ground-source heat pump.’ When Hoylake’s station was opened in 2008, it was one of the first to use natural energy to heat the building – systems like this were the exception, rather than the rule. But ground-source heat pumps showed they could pay for themselves within 7 years, thanks to the savings made and the Renewable Heat Incentive.

Now our Estates Team aims to use sustainable energy systems in all new lifeboat stations, where possible. Among those feeling the benefits for the first time this Winter are the volunteers at Porthdinllaen, Gwynedd – see left for more on how their ground-source heat pump works.

Using heat from the ground isn’t the only way we’re harnessing renewable energy. Lifeboat stations and lifeguard units across the south of England are fitted with solar panels – as are some of our Headquarters buildings in Poole, Dorset. Meanwhile, our northernmost lifeboat station in Aith, Shetland, is fitted with a wind turbine. It all means that the percentage of electricity we use that comes from renewable sources – 5% in 2013 – will continue to rise. As a result, we produce less carbon, save more money, and give our volunteers the heat, light and energy they need.

Energy consumption isn’t the only environmental impact that we’re reducing. Landfill waste is costly to the charity and to the planet. It creates greenhouse gases including methane and carbon dioxide, which contribute to climate change. And disposal costs continue to increase. That’s why our 235 Made for Life project has been a winner in so many ways (see left).

We’ve reduced our food waste too. The RNLI College restaurant and our staff canteen used to produce 31 tonnes of food waste a year. That equates to 17.6 tonnes in CO2 emissions. Now we only produce half a tonne. How has it been reduced so dramatically? ‘Most of the food waste is now recycled using a system that digests the food and turns the resulting gases into energy,’ explains Sustainability Manager Anna Frizzell. ‘Any fibrous material left over is turned into compost.’ Similarly, the cardboard used for goods delivered to the College – once costly to dispose of – is now compacted on site and collected for recycling free of charge. ‘The compactor we bought will have paid for itself within 17 months,’ says Anna. ‘So we’re going to get one for our stores and the new All-weather Lifeboat Centre, which could save us a further £6,500 a year.’

Schemes like this are all part of making the RNLI fit for the future – for Anna, RNLI has a second meaning: Rescue Now, Lifesaving Indefinitely. ‘In other words, I’m always looking for ways to help everything we do become more sustainable,’ explains Anna. ‘I think the RNLI is the perfect fit for that, because our people do care about the environments and communities they live in. They love the coast and the sea – they look after people and places.’

There is much more work to do. For example, our lifeboats are designed to withstand the worst that nature can throw at them. So, if nobody wants to buy them when they reach the end of their operational life, they can be difficult and expensive to dispose of. But we’re part of a European project that will look at how the materials involved could be reused in another way.

‘It’s all about introducing a waste hierarchy,’ concludes Anna. ‘Before you consider throwing something away, you think about reducing that waste, reusing it, recycling it and recovering energy from it – before you dispose of it. If we can achieve that, we’ll pay less for materials, less for energy, and less for disposal, while reducing our impact on the environment. All that will help our charity – and the people we save – live on.’

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GROUND SOURCE HEAT PUMP

The big idea: Lifeboat stations need to be heated to look after crews, casualties and craft. Their extreme locations often prevent access to gas for central heating, so electric convection heaters have been used in the past. But new ground-source heat pumps reduce our effect on the environment and save money.

How it works: The pumps extract ambient temperature from the earth through a series of coiled pipes buried metres beneath the ground or beach. Liquid in the pipes absorb naturally occurring warmth from the earth, which the heat pump then concentrates through an expansion and compression cycle. This provides warm water for the station’s underfloor heating.

The benefits: Porthdinllaen volunteers are feeling the benefits in their new lifeboat station (pictured) this Winter. Theirs is one of 14 lifeboat stations with heat pumps installed. Each one saves the RNLI about £3,000 a year in energy production and Renewable Heat Incentive. For every unit of energy put into the ground-source heat pump, we get four times more heat than we would from an electric convection heater.

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235 MADE FOR LIFE

The big idea: 235 Made for Life is a range of recycled accessories handmade in the UK using old RNLI lifejackets (from 235 lifeboat stations). The products are hard-wearing, tough and well-made: part of the fabric of the RNLI.

How it works: The range includes bags, tablet cases and wallets. Products are fashioned from the distinctive bright yellow fabric of old RNLI lifejackets and bear the hallmarks of the jacket they are made from, be it the D-ring on a wash bag or the reflective strip on a messenger bag. See RNLISHOP.org/235madeforlife.

The benefits: 235 products help to reduce the RNLI’s waste and the overall environmental impact of the charity. And by selling recycled products the RNLI makes donations go further, turning disposal from a cost into income that supports lifesaving. We’ve saved £17,000 in disposal costs and sold £73,737 worth of products.

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BANGLADESH RESCUE BOARD

The big idea: Volunteer lifeguards we’re working with in the coastal resort of Cox’s Bazar need equipment to save lives. It’s no use sending our £1,000 rescue boards at great expense out to them, as they don’t have the complex tools and skills needed to repair or replace them. They need economic rescue boards for long-term lifesaving.

How it works: We’ve worked with a small non-governmental organisation to produce a rescue board made of recycled and organic local materials. A group in Asia will then produce the boards in large volumes for Bangladesh and elsewhere.

The benefits: Cox’s Bazar lifeguards will be equipped with easy-tomake environmentally friendly rescue boards at a fraction of the cost of our boards – $150. It’ll help the local economy, creating jobs. And if the board is damaged during a rescue, the foam can easily be replaced by the lifeguards themselves, so the equipment can help the volunteers save lives for years to come.