NO TIME FOR NORMAL
A YEAR OF CHANGE
ANNUAL REVIEW 2020-21
Centre for Alternative Technology Annual Review 2020-21
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Contents 2 A message from our Chair of Trustees 3 The year’s highlights 4 Closing (and updating) the eco centre 5 Hosting Autumnwatch and Winterwatch 6 Discovering #CATatHome 7 Taking the CAT Graduate School to you 8 A new Hub and Innovation Lab for a Zero Carbon Britain 9 CAT stories – how our community is making a difference 10 The year in numbers 11 Looking to the future – our strategic priorities for 2020-25 12 How we spent our income
A message from our Chair of Trustees What a year this has been. With climate change and biodiversity loss demanding urgent action, the COVID-19 pandemic made business as usual impossible. CAT’s dedication to our mission to inspire, inform and enable humanity to respond to the climate and biodiversity emergency became more important than ever. In 2020, the global temperature was 1.2 degrees Celsius above pre-
industrial levels. The current level of global ambition puts us on course to hit 2.9°C by 2100. This is despite the knowledge we must limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C to avoid dangerous climate breakdown. Meanwhile, we are witnessing a shocking rate of decline in the natural world, with devastating implications for all life on earth. It’s essential that as governments build back economies and
livelihoods, the solutions chosen address the climate and biodiversity crisis. The challenges are many, but we have a real opportunity to build a fairer, healthier, happier world for all. With our nearly 50 years’ experience in environmental solutions, and a decade of thought leadership in how the UK can reach net zero, CAT has a unique role. Over the next five years, we will focus our efforts on helping to build a zero carbon Britain. We all have a part to play in bringing about a better world – from a child with a banner to a politician passing an act into law, we are all agents of change. To be effective changemakers, people need knowledge, skills and understanding. By providing inspiration, training and education,
we are empowering people, communities, businesses and policymakers to act in the transition to net zero. Despite this year’s unprecedented challenges, the CAT community has adapted to continue sharing positive solutions. From taking our work into people’s homes through #CATatHome, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch, and online learning, to engaging councils, communities and businesses through our new Zero Carbon Britain Hub and Innovation Lab. We couldn’t have done any of this without our members, supporters, funders, staff, volunteers, students and graduates. Thank you for sharing our vision of a sustainable future for all humanity as part of a thriving natural world.
Mick Taylor Chair of Trustees
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The year’s highlights Hosting the BBC Autumnwatch and Winterwatch series, bringing the wildlife of Mid Wales and the story of CAT to millions of viewers. This was a unique opportunity to highlight the importance of connecting with nature and show what we can do to help it thrive. (see page 5)
Creating #CATatHome to keep sharing solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis while our eco centre was forced to close. These free webinars, family activities, online courses and events allowed us to reach hundreds of thousands of people across the world with the knowledge, skills and inspiration to act. (see page 6)
Taking our Graduate School online, as students switched to distance learning. A record number of students began studying climate solutions at CAT. Virtual open days, events and courses made it easier than ever for people from a variety of backgrounds and locations to learn with us. (see page 7)
Introducing our new Zero Carbon Britain Hub and Innovation Lab, helping communities, councils and businesses turn climate emergency declarations into action. More than 500 people took part in our ‘Zero Carbon Britain: Live Online’ course. And our first Innovation Lab engaged 32 people from 10 local authorities. (see page 8)
Making future plans, with a refreshed vision and mission and an ambitious new five-year strategy. At a time when the world urgently needs solutions, CAT’s work over the next five years will focus on providing inspiration, training and education in positive solutions to accelerate the shift to net zero greenhouse gas emissions. (see page 11)
And YOU Your support and generosity through this most challenging of years has energised and humbled us. None of what you read in this report would have been possible without our supporters. Thank you.
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Closing (and updating) the eco centre This year, the COVID-19 pandemic had the biggest impact on our eco centre in our near-50-year history. We started 20/21 with the eco centre closed to the public and courses and events cancelled. Like everyone, we had to adapt quickly as social distancing restrictions were introduced and changed through the year. Many of the on-site team were furloughed on full pay, office staff worked from home, and a small core team continued to carry out essential maintenance. While we were closed, we put our
main horticultural field to good use. Local growing group Mach Maethlon used the space to support its community food growing effort, aimed at increasing the resilience of local food supply systems. Over the year, we worked hard to make the eco centre safe for staff, volunteers, students and visitors. We limited visitor numbers, set up a booking system for entry, and introduced protective screens, oneway systems and hand sanitiser points. We welcomed around 2,500 visitors to the centre – a fraction of our usual annual visitor numbers – before being
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My dad used to bring me in the 70s when I was little. I have taken my own children and always find inspiration and hope here.
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Jane Cousins
Our visitor centre opened in 1975 and was the first completely solar heated building in the UK (probably the first in Europe).
forced to close the site to the public again. Towards the end of the year, we launched new visitor experiences for the 2021 spring and summer season. These were focused on sharing our knowledge and ideas with families, encouraging them to explore and support the nature on their doorsteps. Themes included gardening for nature, how to become a nature detective, and wildlife identification courses. We have big plans for the eco centre in the months and years ahead. Discover what’s in store on page 11.
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Hosting Autumnwatch and Winterwatch
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Here at the Centre for Alternative Technology in Mid Wales, it’s all about forward thinking. This is a place with the future survival of our planet at its very core.
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Iolo Williams
This year, we hosted Autumnwatch and Winterwatch, the popular BBC nature series. This took CAT and our solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis directly into millions of homes. In October, Autumnwatch was broadcast live from our eco centre in Machynlleth, one of a series of locations celebrating the rich variety of the UK’s wildlife. Presenter Iolo Williams showed how the old quarry on which CAT is built has been transformed over nearly five decades from barren slate into a green sanctuary, rich in wildlife.
This living example of how we can step in and help bring nature back from the brink was used to inspire and educate people in practical solutions. In January, we were joined once again by the BBC Winterwatch team, celebrating the wildlife of CAT and Mid Wales. The programme brought a much-needed dose of nature into locked down living rooms across the UK.
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The first episode of Winterwatch was seen by more than 2.6 million people.
Throughout the broadcasts, we shared information and advice online, exploring how people can help nature thrive in their local area, and highlighting the bigger picture changes that are essential for tackling the emergencies we face. Sh
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Centre for Alternative Technology Annual Review 2020-21
Discovering #CATatHome With COVID-19 restrictions forcing us to close our eco centre, we launched #CATatHome to allow everyone to keep accessing information, training and activities. These online resources allowed us to reach hundreds of thousands of people across the world with the knowledge, skills and inspiration to act on the climate and biodiversity emergency. ●
In May, we launched a new series of free interactive webinars designed to help people explore sustainable solutions from home. These covered a range of topics related to environmental sustainability, from energy, food and water provision to how we can create a zero carbon Britain.
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We quickly developed online versions of popular on-site courses, such as Zero Carbon Britain and Eco Refurbishment.
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With schools closed and parents and guardians looking for ways to support their children’s learning (and keep them entertained!), we created a range of fun educational activities based around nature and environmental solutions. All these activities are available free of charge on our website.
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While the eco centre was closed, university groups were able to visit us virtually, learning about sustainable solutions from home.
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Our free online information service continued to offer eco-friendly tips for the home and garden.
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Our online courses and webinars have been hugely popular, reaching a large and varied audience. So much so that we continued with them when the eco centre reopened. www.cat.org.uk/catathome
Over 90% of attendees said our webinars had inspired them to take action, from lobbying local councils and joining community groups to embarking on further education and career changes.
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Taking the CAT Graduate School to you A record number of students began studying climate solutions at CAT in September. More than 250 new students joined us across our nine postgraduate degrees.
and locations to learn at CAT, creating a richer mixing pot of perspectives and ideas and broadening our community.
There has been growing interest in our courses year-on-year, due to the surge of awareness in the climate and biodiversity crisis and the need for urgent solutions.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, all the MSc courses at our Graduate School of the Environment were offered through ‘blended learning’, allowing students to choose whether to study on site at CAT, entirely by distance, or through a mixture of the two.
Taking our open days, events and courses online made it easier for people from a variety of backgrounds
This made us better placed than many universities to make the switch to online delivery, with an extensive
archive of videoed presentations and activities to draw on. It also meant our teaching staff were already familiar and comfortable with online learning. Some even recreated experiments in their back gardens so students didn’t miss out on practical lessons! We’ve received fantastic feedback this year. And applications for courses starting in September 2021 show an even higher intake. www.cat.org.uk/gse
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The wide-ranging nature of the course has been invaluable. It means I have at least some idea of the right direction of travel, and the right questions to ask, in a discussion ranging from building design and insulation, to transport, to waste, to comms and engagement, to food, to biodiversity and land use.
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Sarah Warren
256 students started our Masters courses in September 2020 – our highest ever intake.
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A new Hub and Innovation Lab for a Zero Carbon Britain This was the first full year of our new Zero Carbon Britain Hub and Innovation Lab, which saw us work with communities, councils and businesses to help turn climate emergency declarations into action. This three-year project builds on 15 years of researching scenarios for a zero carbon Britain.
Resource Hub
This year, we developed our new Resource Hub (launched at the beginning of 21/22). This online library brings together hundreds of diverse resources, from webinars to research reports, case study examples to template documents, and networks to join. Over the year, we began discussing with collaborators how we can develop this essential hub of information on solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis to best drive action.
Zero Carbon Britain training
More than 500 people took part in our ‘Zero Carbon Britain: Live Online’ course. Launched after events on-site at CAT were disrupted by lockdown, the course explores solutions to the climate emergency, looking at how we can transform buildings, energy, industry, transport, diets and land use to create a
zero carbon society. We ran six of these events in 20/21, with speakers from our own Zero Carbon Britain team as well as external guests including Andrew Simms of the Rapid Transition Alliance, Rob Hopkins of the Transition movement, Mark Chivers from Zero Carbon Dorset, professor of urban futures Paul Chatterton, occupational psychologist Jill Chapman, and CAT trustee and renewable energy policy and law expert Sonya Bedford. Feedback has been fantastic, with people saying they were left feeling energised, enthused, informed and inspired to take action on zero carbon. The team trained more than 380 more people through shorter Zero Carbon Britain training events, including bespoke events for local authorities, community groups and businesses. www.cat.org.uk/zcb-training
Innovation Lab
In 20/21, we also designed and delivered Innovation Lab workshops to overcome barriers to transitioning to a net zero nation. These sessions were run by experts in supporting multi-stakeholder groups to address complex problems using a cocreative process.
In February, we launched our first Zero Carbon Britain Innovation Lab, working with Keele University and the Carbon Literacy Project to engage 32 people from 10 local authorities across Staffordshire, including a mix of county, borough, district and city councils. Facilitating workshops, training and guidance over several months, we began supporting the council staff to develop a vision of a net zero Staffordshire and to co-design the interventions needed to reach that vision. We also delivered a mini-Lab as part of the Climate Emergency UK conference in November 2020. In 20/21 we also started planning a further three Innovation Labs, focused on land use, a just transition away from a fossil fueldominated local economy, and exploring how best to engage businesses in a county-scale climate action partnership. We are grateful for the continuing support of the Moondance Foundation.
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I felt this course would enhance my knowledge, experience and communications by giving me resources and ideas to be able to use in my current role helping the council and community get to carbon neutrality by 2030.
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Cara Naden
93% of people finishing our ‘Zero Carbon Britain: Live Online’ course in January said they now understood what is needed to reach net zero, 86% understood the role of individuals and organisations in developing a net zero plan, and 97% understood the importance of themselves or their organisations knowing what is needed to reach net zero.
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CAT stories – how our community is making a difference Accelerating community renewables:
Mark Luntley
When Mark first visited us in the 1990s, he was concerned about climate change, but CAT illustrated what a possible future might look like. Mark now sits on the boards of multiple community energy groups, including Westmill Wind and Energy4All, which works to expand the number of renewable energy cooperatives in the UK. He is also a Community Energy Director for REScoop, which brings community energy groups together across Europe. “I wanted to do something community-based. At CAT, I was inspired by what I saw, and it set me on a journey that instilled a new set of values and which ultimately changed the direction of my life.”
Inspiring young people:
Jenny Howard Coles
9 This is a small selection of the thousands of members of the CAT community taking practical steps to building a sustainable future.
Transforming construction:
Tom Robinson
Tom worked with another CAT graduate to launch Adaptavate, an award-winning company rethinking the way building products are produced, used and disposed of to make them more sustainable. Having been a builder before coming to CAT to study, Tom could see that linking his practical skills with new research techniques could help reduce the landfill waste created in the construction industry. “[My time at CAT gave me] the perfect balance of theory and practice with really inspirational people.”
Powering local action:
Samuel Kirby-Bray
While working as a freelance events manager, Jenny applied to CAT to gain more knowledge of sustainability topics like building, infrastructure and the way we live. She graduated in 2013 and now works as a Senior Development Manager at Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) in Bristol. One of the projects she is currently involved in is Bright Green Future, an environmental leadership programme for Black, Asian and minority ethnic young people.
Having worked in the aerospace industry and making a career change motivated by community and sustainability, Samuel completed a Postgraduate Diploma at CAT in 2015. He is now the Sustainability Commissioning Officer at Shropshire Council where he focuses on buildings efficiency, implementing energy efficiency and renewable generation in both rural and built environments. He has also drafted their Corporate Climate Change Strategy and hopes to help bring the county to zero carbon by 2030.
“The course at CAT was an absolute game-changer. It shifted my career up a few gears and gave me the solid grounding in the knowledge that I needed.”
“CAT has evolved into a fully-fledged research-based science-led establishment… the perfect setting for engineering, people, the natural environment and a way of life.”
Researching ash dieback:
Researching energy and climate policy:
After working in banking and risk management, Ffion graduated in 2019 as one of the first students on our MSc in Sustainable Food and Natural Resources. Following on from this and her dissertation, she is now working towards her PhD focusing on agroecological approaches to managing ash dieback at the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience at Coventry University.
Jaise was CAT’s electrical engineer from 2006 to 2012. He went on to become a lecturer at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, where his research includes translating global climate change targets to local and national energy and climate policy, as well as climate impacts on energy infrastructure and smart grid solutions. In 2020, Jaise was selected as one of the 100 BAME climate experts in the UK by Climate Reframe.
Ffion Thomas
“Studying at CAT was life-changing, and has enabled me to take on a new career in an area I love, but which I never thought would be feasible, given I didn’t have a scientific background.”
Dr Jaise Kuriakose
Centre for Alternative Technology Annual Review 2020-21
89% of expenditure on charitable activities
The year in numbers
8,824 members
18 meetings with policymakers
450,000 website users
4,900 webinar bookings
22 interactive webinars hosted
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21.7k twitter followers
71% growth in instagram followers
Six ‘Zero Carbon Britain: Live Online’ courses
2,500 visitors to the CAT eco centre despite covid restrictions (37,770 in 2019/20)
256 students starting CAT Masters courses
383 people trained in bespoke Zero Carbon Britain courses
133 graduating students in 2020
Over 500 ‘Zero Carbon Britain: Live Online’ course participants
32 people from 10 local authorities in our first Innovation Lab
2.6 million viewers for the first episode of Winterwatch featuring CAT
600 students studying for a CAT Masters
£4 raised for every £1 spent on fundraising and membership
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Looking to the future: new strategic priorities for 2020-25 This year, we took the opportunity to review and refresh our strategy, with a clearer vision and mission and new strategic priorities. The recent changes to our ways of working, many driven by the need to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic, have helped lay the foundations for this step change in what we do and how we do it. Our ambitious new five-year strategy outlines the key areas CAT will be focusing on as we work towards our vision. Our vision is a sustainable future for all humanity as part of a thriving natural world. Our mission is to inspire, inform and enable humanity to respond to the climate and biodiversity emergency. The world must reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by midcentury at the latest if we are to avoid dangerous climate breakdown. The earlier this is achieved, the greater our chance of limiting global temperature rise to near 1.5°C. At the same time, we need to adapt our infrastructure and ways of life to reduce the impacts of now unavoidable levels of climate change, and we must address the
widespread destruction of ecosystems and biodiversity loss. With nearly 50 years’ experience in environmental solutions, CAT has a unique role to play. Our new strategy explains how we will use our collective knowledge, networks and resources to help fulfil our mission to inspire, inform and enable humanity to respond to the climate and biodiversity emergency. Over the next few years, our work will focus on providing inspiration, training and education in positive solutions to accelerate the shift to net zero greenhouse gas emissions. Our strategic priorities: •
Public engagement, both on site at CAT and through outreach work
•
Providing skills and knowledge for a zero carbon future
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Influencing the development of policy to support the transition to zero carbon
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Supporting communities and local authorities to make the transition to a zero carbon future
Our ambitious plans include reimagining and redeveloping the eco centre, with a new immersive visitor experience that offers a microcosm
of a future based on sustainable choices, embedded within high quality learning and practical training spaces. Alongside this work on site, we will scale up our digital outreach work to reach an even wider audience. We will continue to develop and invest in our postgraduate courses and use the new sustainable skills hub to empower more people to help create a zero carbon future. Through our new Hub and Innovation Lab we will work with councils, communities and organisations, helping build their capacity to implement solutions,
create systemic change and increase resilience to climate change. And we’ll work with partners across the UK to influence government policy in support of the transition to zero carbon. You have a vital role to play in this new strategy. By supporting our work – through donating, taking a course or joining a campaign – you can help build the better future we all know is possible. www.cat.org.uk/strategy
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How we spent our income
2019/20 income and expenditure
2020/21 income and expenditure We rely on the generosity of our supporters and a small number of charitable trusts to make change happen. Our membership and supporter base continued to grow in 20/21, helping to fund our vital work. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we raised £1,104,653 last year, exceeding our targets and
previous years’ income. For every £1 we spend on fundraising and membership, we raise £4. CAT is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and adheres to the Code of Fundraising Practice. We monitor all our fundraising activity closely to ensure value, compliance and integrity in all our activities.
Income from charitable activities 54%
Fundraising 5%
Donations 36%
Income 2019/20 £4,314,903
Membership 3%
Membership & Subscriptions 5%
Expenditure 2019/20 £3,574,544
;+,
Grants 2% Donations 24% Income from charitable activities 52%
Income 2020/21 £2,873,700
Membership & Subscriptions 7%
Legacies 6%
Grants 1% Coronavirus Job Retention (‘ furlough’) Scheme 10%
Membership 3%
Fundraising 8%
Expenditure 2020/21 £3,175,022
Legacies 3%
20/21 was a challenging year, with our visitor centre closed and events and courses cancelled. However, we were able to move many of our activities online and we received amazing support from members and donors. The difference between our income and expenditure in 20/21 is largely thanks to a
Expenditure on charitable activities 92%
substantial donation received in the previous year that allowed us to set up our new Zero Carbon Britain Hub and Innovation Lab – funds received in 2019/20 to be used over a three-year period from 2020 to 2023.
Thanks to our funders We would like to thank the following funders that helped make our work possible this year: 1970 Trust Cobb Charitable Trust Cotmore Trust Durham Wharf Foundation Ethel and Gwynne Morgan Charitable Trust Jam Today Marmot Charitable Trust Moondance Foundation All of our individual members and donors
Donate today Expenditure on charitable activities 89%
If you’re inspired by what you’ve read and would like to support our work, you can donate online at www.cat.org.uk/donate. Your support will help us share climate change solutions with hundreds of thousands of people every year.
Thank you.
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Thank you This year, more than ever, we have relied on the loyalty and generosity of our supporters. We would like to offer a heartfelt thank you to the whole CAT community, who have allowed us to continue sharing solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis. We couldn’t have done any of this without you.
CAT Charity Ltd Centre for Alternative Technology, Llwyngwern Quarry, Machynlleth, Powys SY20 9AZ www.cat.org.uk 01654 705950 Centre for Alternative Technology @centre_alt_tech @centreforalternativetechnology Centre for Alternative Technology Charity Limited, a company limited by guarantee; Charity no. 265239; Company no. 1090006, registered in Wales; registered office: Llwyngwern Quarry, Machynlleth, Powys SY20 9AZ. VAT number: 377 8917 83.
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