Walking the talk

Right from the outset, we’ve invested in technology and design to keep our energy use to a minimum. For example, our buildings include super insulation, natural lighting and ventilation, plus energy-efficient lighting and boilers. More recently, we’ve started freezing our ice rink with a new super-efficient chiller, saving 135,000 kWh of electricity and the equivalent of 35 tonnes CO2e per year.

One of the most exciting tools we use is our Building Management System, which is like a giant TV remote allowing for very tight control of our heating and electrical systems. By integrating the multiple systems we have on site into just one, we efficiently regulate temperatures in the Biomes, the offices and other buildings across site, meaning that we are never using more energy than we need. Since fine tuning our Building Management System in 2012, we have reduced the annual carbon footprint of heating our Biomes by 140 tonnes CO2e.

We’re currently developing a geothermal plant at the Eden Project site. Once complete, it will give us renewable energy to heat our Biomes and power our site, as well as supporting our local community with the supply of excess renewable energy that we can export. The project will enable Eden to become carbon neutral or better by 2023. 
 
In the meantime, we’re operating a variety of smaller renewable energy units at Eden, including a small wind turbine near our car parks and two sets of solar photovoltaic panels – one on the roof of the Core and another on our warehouse. Back in 2012, we gave our staff the opportunity to invest in these PV panels, enabling them to benefit financially from the returns of providing free, renewable energy for the site. Launched in partnership with Ebico, this was the UK’s first employee-owned renewables project.  

The energy we buy is from Good Energy, guaranteeing we procure 100% renewable electricity from Cornish wind or solar farms, supporting local generators with a fair price. 

We love our fleet of Volvo XC40 Recharge pure electric vehicles, which are used by a variety of teams around our site and gardens. The vehicles have zero tailpipe emissions so are able to work inside our Biomes where diesel or petrol vehicles can't because of pollution concerns. 

See a full breakdown of our carbon footprint and annual performance in our annual report.

We sort and measure over 20 different waste streams at our onsite recycling compound, enabling us to analyse the data to make decisions about where to focus waste reduction efforts. We make it easy for our visitors to separate their leftovers into our clearly labelled recycling bins, helping them connect with the sustainability story behind their food. 

We work closely with local recycling companies to ensure as much as possible is being recycled into new material or, as a last resort, into energy. 
 
Some of the recycling stories we’re most proud of are that our paper cups are made into reusable cups which we sell in the shop, our coffee grounds are turned into fuel pellets and our vegetable oil into biodiesel. 

We also turn kitchen scraps and leftovers from our cafés into compost for our world-famous gardens. An on-site composter converts food waste created here into a nitrogen-rich soil enhancement that our gardeners use to feed their impressive collection of plants.

During the 80-day aerobic composting process, the contents reach more than 60 degrees C. We're able to deal with about a third of our food waste in this aerobic composter. The other two-thirds is turned into electricity and heat at a local anaerobic digestion plant. 

In recent years, we’ve made huge strides in reducing our plastic footprint: we’re phasing out single-use plastic in front of house areas, for example on food and drink packaging, and the bars at our Eden Sessions concerts stock reusable cups, preventing 56,000 single use plastic cups being used each year.

We encourage visitors to bring their own reusable cups and bottles and to fill up with free Cornish tap water at drinking fountains around the gardens. 

To tackle single-use coffee cups we’ve transformed the way we do takeaway drinks and here's how it works:

• Bring your own reusable cup and get 30p off every hot drink
• Treat yourself to one of our beautiful Eden-inspired bamboo cups for £6.95 and enjoy a hot drink for free!
• Borrow one of our returnable cups for a £2.50 deposit, which will be refunded if returned to us on the same day

We've worked closely with thousands of suppliers since we opened to assess the impact of their products and even to come up with bespoke items that fit our ethical criteria. 

It's not only good news for our customers, but it has helped smaller, local businesses differentiate themselves by retailing new, sustainable goods.  

We’re proud that 85% of our food ingredients are locally sourced. We use only Cornish meat, dairy and eggs in our on-site cafés – as well as Cornish salad leaves, when they are in season. 
 
Plus, we avoid palm oil where possible. Where we do use it, it’s certified sustainable. 

Eden visitors love our on-site gift shops and online shop. We choose each product because it fits at least one of the five criteria we've set: locally produced, made of plants, promotes sustainable living, fairly traded or recycled.