King Offa's Oak tree supported by struts.

Sustainability

The Windsor Estate spans 6,400 hectares (15,800 acres), of sweeping parkland, award winning gardens, forests, forest trails, and ancient woodland. It has been practicing sustainable land use for hundreds of years and our focus has never been stronger given changing global temperatures.

Climate change impacts both our day-to-day and strategic planning across The Windsor Estate. For example, our Gardens Team routinely consider drought resistance and ‘xeriscaping’ in any long term planning. We were the first ‘dry’ landscaped garden in the United Kingdom, (a dry garden that uses drought-tolerant planting to eliminate the need for irrigation) – this eases pressure on water resources and reduces pollution.

Tall blue and white flowers sit in the Dry Garden area of the Savill Garden.

John Anderson, Keeper of the Gardens

What is important is finding the right place and conditions for every plant. The right place for the right plant will mean a greater chance of surviving as our changing environment continues to challenge us. We need to be working towards diversifying and adapting to various conditions like xeriscaping in the Dry Garden or providing more canopy cover for woodland and shade plants, along with using mulches from our recycling yard to reduce weeds, keep the ground moist, and help establish our plants.

Delivering value

Find out more about what we’re doing to deliver the broadest possible value, (financial, social, environmental) for our customers, partners and the nation.

Hear from Judith Everett, Executive Director – Purpose, Sustainability & Stakeholder.

Hear from John Oliver, Parks Superintendent – The Windsor Estate

Balancing our commitments

We are an operational Estate that balances commitments to millions of annual visitors, private and commercial tenants and the UK Government. In addition, the Estate provides natural benefits that include carbon capture and storage, timber and food production, as well as water management.

Providing these things sustainably is a complex, ongoing effort that we take seriously.

Getting to net zero

The Crown Estate’s 2030 net zero commitment includes all Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions associated with the operation of The Windsor Estate. This encompasses the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions that we generate directly (through heating or machinery use), in addition to our indirect emissions (e.g. the electricity we ‘buy in’) plus the emissions created by our suppliers and visitors using our services.

We are working to improve the energy performance of our existing assets, decarbonise our real estate and generate more renewable energy through solar and biomass.

More information about our plan can be found here.

Reducing our energy consumption

Solar power

Solar energy plays an important role in reducing our carbon emissions. At Virginia Water Pavilion, solar photovoltaic (PV) cells have been installed on the roof to reduce electricity consumption. Last year they generated over 25% of the energy used in the Pavilion.

We have a plan to install more solar panels across Windsor Great Park in the next few years, which means we’ll be able to generate more of our own green and renewable electricity.

Biomass heating

Introduced in 2015, the Biomass Heating System provides hot water and heating to parts of the Estate including offices and residential properties. This has reduced our use of natural gas, relying instead on wood fuel produced by our own forests.

Since installation, we’ve further improved the system’s efficiency, reducing its electricity use by approximately 40% and therefore our carbon emissions.

Biodiversity in our woodlands and forests

Woodlands and forestry

The Woods and Forests on The Windsor Estate are audited by the Soil Association and certified against international sustainable management standards in accordance with the UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS). This means that timber and wood products from the Estate are FSC® and PEFC® certified.

We manage the forests with commercial, social and environmental objectives in mind, and have a long-term forest plan to balance these in a sustainable way.

Woodlands and forestry

We follow industry best practice, minimising the impacts on the woodland, soil and water – the foundations of healthy and productive land use.

Although the Estate harvests around 10,000 tonnes of timber a year, the total mass of the woodland is always growing. The timber comes from thinning and clear felling, find out more about these and our forestry activities.

Biodiversity

Encouraging biodiversity is critical in mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change. The Windsor Estate is home to a range of flora and fauna; from bees, butterflies and other key pollinators, to rare species of fungi, lichen, birds and reptiles.

Much of our woodland is of significant environmental importance and is designated as Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Woodlands and forestry

There are also other designations for specific bird species and decaying wood habitats. The careful stewardship of The Windsor Estate over many generations has allowed these species to thrive, and we continue to secure and enhance habitats for these important species.

As well as being important places for rare plants and animals, the forests are cherished by those who come and visit.

Waste Management

How we manage and reduce the waste we produce is vital in meeting our Net Zero goals.

We also encourage visitors to Windsor Great Park to be environmentally responsible, such as working with our supplier to offer discounts on takeaway hot drinks if visitors bring their own reusable mug.

We also process waste according to type, sorting it on site as follows:

Organic waste

Windsor Great Park produces an average of 2,100 tonnes of organic waste each year. Organic waste can be converted into compost, a valuable resource which we can convert on site and then use throughout The Windsor Estate.

Non-organic waste

100% of the waste generated by visitors is either recycled or converted into electricity at a local Energy from Waste (Efw) plant. Once sorted, we compact the waste into 15-tonne bales on-site. The introduction of this system has reduced the waste transport requirement from a minimum of 8 lorries per week to 2 per month.

Residential and commercial

The Windsor Estate is home to numerous private and commercial tenants, often within buildings that are listed or otherwise protected within the wider landscape. By their nature, these buildings present a challenge to modern sustainability practices, such as the addition of insulation or solar panels.

We are working with new building standards for net zero and trialling new technologies in order to make our residential properties more efficient.

Discover more

Explore other aspects of Windsor Great Park.

Conservation & Stewardship

The Windsor Estate is home to a vast array of flora and fauna. The long-term stewardship of its habitats and wildlife – by The Crown Estate – has made the Estate an internationally recognised example of biodiversity, sustainability and conservation.

Find out more

Our Story

Windsor Great Park is part of the operational Windsor Estate, which also includes commercial forests, golf courses, farms and the Ascot race course.

From William I’s hunting grounds to Queen Victoria’s royal picnics, the landscape has been improved, cherished and shared by a long line of monarchs.

Find out more

His Majesty King Charles III, Ranger of Windsor Great Park leaning against an oak tree in Windsor Great Park.

Historic timeline

Take a journey through the ages with our Historic Timeline, which tells the story of Windsor Great Park and its Royal associations, from the Battle of Hastings right through to the present day.

Find out more

A map of Windsor Great Park from 1662. (C) King Charles III 2023.