The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) are recruiting new members for their Board of Governors.
The Board of Governors play an important role in the life of RCS and we plan to recruit several new Board members over the next six months. Governors are integral to the development and implementation of the Royal Conservatoire’s strategic objectives and offer constructive challenges as well as the monitoring and evaluating of performance in line with these objectives. In more general terms, Governors have an important role in supporting the delivery of the Royal Conservatoire’s strategic priorities including its teaching excellence, innovation and sustainability agendas.
We welcome applications from candidates with a strong commitment to higher education in Scotland and a passion for the performing arts.
We’d especially love to hear from candidates with specialist professional knowledge and experience in the following areas:
Development and fundraising
Finance and pensions
Performing arts
Academia
As well as attending Board meetings, Governors are expected to play an active role in one or more sub-committees for which their knowledge and experience is particularly relevant. In addition, Governors will be expected and encouraged to attend performances and act as ambassadors for the institution.
If you are interested and would like to apply and find out more about this opportunity please get in touch, sending an up-to-date CV and a covering letter outlining why you would like to be considered for the role and any key points you’d like us to consider, as well as a completed equalities and diversity monitoring form.
Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.
In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.
We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.
Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:
Changing their own behaviour; Communicating with their audiences; Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.
We are all working towards a net-zero society, where we are not negatively impacting our planet through how we live and work. Switching to renewable energy (energy generated from renewable sources, rather than polluting fossil fuels) is one practical and achievable solution.
However, historically the price of renewable energy has made it difficult for cultural organisations to switch. It can also be confusing to identify an energy supplier that provides truly renewable energy. Creative Carbon Scotland is partnering with BAFTA’s albert initiative and provider Good Energy to enable Scottish cultural organisations to get 100% renewable energy with preferable pricing and guaranteed benefits.
What is genuine renewable energy?
Most energy suppliers are able to provide a green energy tariff, but just how green is the energy you receive?
Firstly, it’s important to realise that unless you have your own energy generation on site, all our electricity in the UK comes from the same place – the UK electric grid. Suppliers can provide green tariffs to customers in different ways, but how they do it bears a little explanation. Some companies, including Good Energy, buy renewable electricity directly from generators, often from UK wind or solar farms. This is the greenest energy you can buy.
Some larger energy suppliers own or work with a mixture of generators (both renewable and fossil fuels) and match their green tariffs through the proportion of renewables they purchase. They are legitimately providing renewable energy to consumers that are paying for it, but there is a knock-on effect on their general tariffs where they become dominated by fossil fuel generation because all the renewables are ‘taken’ by the green tariffs.
There are also companies who buy excess renewable energy guarantee of origin (aka REGO) certificates when there is an excess and they are cheaply available and use these to back up a green tariff. They are still selling renewable energy but essentially the ‘leftovers’ and, unlike suppliers who invest directly in renewable generation, this doesn’t directly stimulate growth in the UK renewables sector.
We always advise researching the approach any potential any energy supplier takes and checking it against this Which? article.
How can cultural organisations benefit?Â
If you’re looking to ensure you’re getting green energy, the Creative Energy Project takes the hassle out of energy procurement for cultural organisations. In the cultural sector we are already limited for time and resources, and often our smaller scale means it can be hard to secure the best rates. The Creative Energy Project essentially bundles all participating organisations’ energy procurement as one, streamlining the procurement process, securing the best rates available, and doing the qualitative research on behalf of all.
BAFTA’s albert initiative tenders for the Creative Energy Project’s energy provider on five key criteria:
A renewable, zero carbon product – including no nuclear power or greenwashing
Business customer service and value-added benefits/services – a guaranteed account manager so you always speak to the same person about your energy needs
Preferential pricing – quoted prices include a reduction from ‘standard’ pricing
Investment into renewable infrastructure – the potential to install EV charging or energy generation on-site
Investment in marketing and engaging with creative sector audiences – providing support to the sector as a whole through working with organisations like BAFTA and Creative Carbon Scotland.
Since the scheme began, Good Energy has been the project’s energy provider, with 100% of their energy produced by the sun, wind and water in the UK.
How does this affect your organisation’s emissions?
In changing your supplier, you are part of a market shift that makes all the electricity in the UK grid lower carbon. We’re seeing tangible results from this shift – for every kWh of electricity used in the UK in 2020, 0.23kgCO2e is emitted. In 2019, this figure was 0.26kgCO2e. As mentioned above, even with the greenest supplier in the country (which the Creative Energy Project can get you!), your electricity still comes from the UK grid. To follow best practice in reporting, we continue to use the UK Government conversion factors for kWh from the grid to calculate the footprint from your energy use. If we counted your organisation’s emissions from energy as zero, we would have to calculate every other organisation’s emissions to fit with the energy they buy. Energy markets are continually changing, which would make this task very time consuming and ultimately not of all that much use.
How can you switch?
Find out when your current energy contract ends. Often commercial contracts run for a number of years and are automatically renewed through an energy broker – ask you facilities manager or finance manager to check!
Make the switch! Switching to renewable energy is an easy win when trying to reduce your emissions. The Creative Energy Project helps cultural organisations do just that and tries to reduce the time and cost barriers of the past. If you’ve already switched – let us know!Â
This video by film production company Band Studio explains how their cultural organisation has benefitted from switching to renewable energy through the Creative Energy Project.
Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.
In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.
We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.
Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:
Changing their own behaviour; Communicating with their audiences; Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.
The role is within the core staff team, delivering projects and tours across schools and communities.
We are delighted to announce a new opportunity to join Eco Drama’s small, core staff team. The Schools project manager will be integral to the delivery of our tours and projects taking place in schools and communities across Glasgow and Scotland. The varied role includes project management, tour booking, marketing and evaluation, working closely with the artistic director and producer.
Across 2021-23, supported in part by the Glasgow Communities Fund, the company will develop and deliver a diverse programme of theatre productions, creative learning projects, continued professional development and arts-based community food growing projects that engage and inspire people of all ages about the natural world and our place within it.
As well as engaging in theatre and arts activities, the work will support and encourage communities to take positive, practical action to develop and improve local green spaces, inspire positive thinking about tackling the climate crisis, and enhance everyday experiences with nature.
This position is 0.8FTE with the potential for annualised hours, and the salary is £25,000 (pro rata). The role will be offered as a one year fixed term contract, with potential for extension beyond this. The deadline for applications is Wednesday 17th February at 5pm.
For further information on the role and how to apply, please download the job description.
If you have any questions about the role, or require the application pack in an alternative format, please contact Producer Nina Doherty or phone on 0141 552 9920.
Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.
In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.
We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.
Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:
Changing their own behaviour; Communicating with their audiences; Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.
Tickets for the Cultural Adaptations conference will launch soon. Register now to be one of the first to know.
The conference, which aims to share the learnings from the Creative Europe-funded project over four days of presentations, workshops and networking, will take place online from 2nd to 5th March 2021.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has compelled us to cancel plans to host the conference in Glasgow and to take it online instead. This means barriers created by travel restrictions are removed, and there’s an opportunity for global participation and contribution on a scale we could not have envisaged previously. And we’ll still ensure there’s some uniquely Glaswegian and Scottish style included!
Cultural Adaptations is a Creative Europe project, led by Creative Carbon Scotland with partners in Scotland and three EU countries, on culture’s role in society’s adaptation to climate, and the adaptation issues that cultural organisations need to think about.
For almost 30 months, four cultural organisations have been exploring collaboratively how this approach can work in countries with similar climate challenges but differing socio-political frameworks. Each cultural partner is working with a local adaptation partner.
TICKETS LAUNCHING SOON
We’ll soon be launching tickets for the four-day virtual conference and we plan to announce the full programme and speakers shortly afterwards. Here’s what we can share so far:
The conference spans four days
Each day includes digital social activities and creative takes on a digital conference
The days are themed allowing you to focus on your preferred topics and engage in new areas of work –
We encourage cultural organisations in Scotland and further afield to team up with an adaptation organisation to attend this exciting conference together and find inspiration for your own projects and initiatives. And, vice versa.
Cultural Adaptations is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union with match-funding from Scottish Government.
Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.
In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.
We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.
Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:
Changing their own behaviour; Communicating with their audiences; Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.
Could you create a piece of public art that helps people walking and cycling to find their way?
Sustrans, in partnership with Perth and Kinross Council, is looking for an ambitious artist who creates high-quality, innovative public artwork with community engagement at its core. Due to current physical distancing guidance, we are particularly interested in local artists who can travel safely and sustainably to Perth, or who can suggest a reasonable alternative method for researching and installing the project.
The team is looking for a site-specific piece of public art that helps people walking and cycling to find their way. The art should draw on the comments and ideas gathered through the Craigie Pocket Place public engagement process and help to point out important local places, as well as the National Cycle Network route. The artist should consider how the new artwork can be accessible ‘for everyone’, including blind and partially sighted people.
Notes of interest should be submitted by 31st January 2021.
Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.
In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.
We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.
Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:
Changing their own behaviour; Communicating with their audiences; Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.
The British Council is delighted to announce the A.R.C Challenge Malaysia Grant in response to climate change and COP26.
The British Council in Malaysia is inviting applications for the A.R.C. Malaysia Challenge Grant, which brings together stakeholders from the arts and creative industries, education, science and civil society sectors to collaborate on a common challenge in response to climate change and offer innovative and interdisciplinary solutions that create awareness and enhance resilience among youth. The A.R.C. Malaysia Challenge will be part of the cultural programme activities in the build up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which the UK is hosting on 1–12 November 2021.
The A.R.C. Challenge Malaysia Grant provides seed funding for collaborations between stakeholders in the UK and Malaysia, which respond to a common challenge in the field of climate change through shared solutions that empower young people to take positive action which can cascade awareness and create greater resilience amongst others in their generation, as well as influence policy making.
The British Council Malaysia is offering three seed funding grants of up to £10,000 each to kick-start innovative, joint UK-Malaysia responses to a shared climate change challenge involving young people aged 18–35. We encourage cross-sectoral collaboration in our grant applications. Ideally, we would include projects which are from the arts and creative industries, education and science sectors in our final awards.
Successful grants will be announced during the first A.R.C. Challenge Malaysia Forum on 4 February 2021. Awardees will then have the opportunity to pitch their projects during the second A.R.C. Challenge Malaysia Forum on 25 March 2021 to an audience of diverse stakeholders including potential funders, policy makers, research, academic and youth organisations, in the hope that their project will spark further interest that may lead to scaling-up and sustainability.
Successful applicants will be awarded a grant of up to £10,000 and are expected to deliver their projects from 15 February 2021, complete all activities by 15 November 2021 and submit the project report to the British Council by 30 November 2021.
Eligible applicants are invited to complete and submit the application form via email by Friday 22 January 2021 (5 p.m. Malaysia time / 9 a.m. UK time).
For further information on the grant, eligibility, application process and contact details, please refer to our website.
Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.
In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.
We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.
Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:
Changing their own behaviour; Communicating with their audiences; Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.
Can you reimagine a future where we put nature at the heart of our decisions?
WWF has launched a nationwide competition calling on creatives to produce artworks that reimagine a greener, thriving future – where nature is at the heart of our decisions. The initiative, titled ‘Just Imagine’, hopes to spark conversations about the solutions to the climate and nature crisis and drive positive change through art.
Now open for entries, the competition welcomes submissions across a variety of disciplines, including visual arts, illustration, fashion and textiles, poetry, creative writing, and other art forms. Entrants are encouraged to use their artistic explorations to capture how we can best live in harmony with our planet and what our rebuilt future could look like.
The competition follows the release of Sir David Attenborough’s new film, ‘A Life On Our Planet’, in which he reflects on the changes to the natural world during his lifetime and presents his hopeful vision for the future. WWF, who co-produced the film, is encouraging individuals, arts collectives and artist networks from across the UK to take inspiration from Attenborough’s powerful witness statement and respond to the competition brief with their own ‘reimagined’ future.
Entries will close at 5pm on Monday, 25 January 2021. A panel of judges – including award-winning graphic designer Greg Bunbury, painter poet Judy Ling Wong CBE and award-winning Anthropological Future Designer Stacie Woolsey – will then select 12 winners to feature in a virtual exhibition, hosted by WWF-UK.
The exhibition aims to inspire and influence local communities, while illustrating the power of the creative community in shaping new ways of thinking.
Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.
In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.
We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.
Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:
Changing their own behaviour; Communicating with their audiences; Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.
Scottish geographer and energy specialist, Neil Kitching, recently independently published ‘Carbon Choices’, a book on the common-sense solutions to our climate and nature crises.
In Carbon Choices, I identify five common sense principles to tackle climate change:
1. Price carbon pollution 2. Consume carefully, travel wisely 3. Embrace efficiency, avoid waste 4. Nurture nature 5. Be fair across current and future generations
In this blog, I explore the carbon impact of arts and culture and how we can apply these five principles in Scotland.
The direct carbon footprint of arts and culture can be low compared to more mechanised forms of entertainment – dominated by the energy used to heat the buildings that house activities and cultural events. Conversely, the indirect footprint is often high. Audience travel to a concert is the largest component of its carbon footprint, whilst many people travel long distances to view culture and art, for example, to see famous buildings and works of art that are usually sited in large cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh.
What is perhaps more interesting is that the arts and culture can influence society and cultural norms and behaviour, which can increase or decrease society’s carbon footprint. The creativity of people who work in art and design needs to be harnessed to challenge, inform and engage audiences on the impacts of climate change and in the actions we can all choose to take to reduce our carbon footprint. This can be active, for example, an exhibition on climate change, or embedded more subtly into wider messages.
Price carbon pollution Placing a realistic price on carbon pollution is an action that government should lead on. But in the meantime, you should calculate your organisation’s carbon footprint* and reduce it as far as possible. This includes your use of gas and electricity and travel by your staff but should be widened to include what you buy and audience travel. The V&A is a magnificent modern museum in Dundee (pictured above) heated by efficient heat pumps, yet the building itself is built from concrete, which is a carbon intensive building material. Only by thinking in a holistic way can we start to consider and then tackle the full impact of our activities.
Consume carefully, travel wisely Consuming carefully is all about thinking about what you buy. Can you buy second hand, can you reuse costumes, props and equipment? If you do have to buy, buy quality goods that will last and can be reused. Meanwhile, having good quality and accessible public transport, whilst actively discouraging people to travel by car, is the best policy to reduce the carbon footprint of events. Organisers often put on coaches to get young people to music concerts in remote rural locations such as RockNess. The Solheim Cup golf event at Gleneagles in Scotland is a good example of a major event held in a rural area where no public car parking was provided. Instead, visitors had to travel by train or use the park and ride facilities set up for the event.
Embrace efficiency, avoid waste Investing in energy efficiency is often the first action an organisation takes when it decides to ‘go green’. It is a good place to start; there is usually obvious wastage, and it saves money. But also consider your use of other resources such as water, and resources used to manufacture the equipment that you buy. Everything you buy has a carbon footprint, whether it is made from natural resources such as timber and cotton or is mined from the ground such as minerals or oil. Avoid waste by reusing – do everything possible to prolong the life of objects before they need to be recycled.
Nurture nature
Tree regeneration in the Cairngorms, Scotland.
Nature is integral to our climate – trees and healthy soils store carbon. We need to do more than protect and preserve nature, we need to enhance and restore it. Society influences our attitudes to nature. For example, in Europe wolves gained a bad name in books and folklore and were hunted to extinction in Scotland in 1680. In reality they avoid humans and are an essential part of the ecosystem, suppressing herbivores, which if uncontrolled prevent tree saplings from growing. The arts and culture can influence people in a positive way, for example, the BBC’s Blue Planet had a huge impact by raising awareness across the world of the impact of plastic in the oceans. The film Avatarappealed to a wide audience of science-fiction fans but also contained a strong pro-environmental message.
Be fair across current and future generations ‘Be fair’ combines the concepts of equity and social justice. It applies to wealth differences within and between countries and between the young, old and future generations. This is the most difficult of the five principles to apply, yet arts and culture can be used to proactively influence society. Theatre and cinema can highlight inequality and injustice, whilst TV documentaries can explore issues of toxic waste (such as radioactive particles on Scottish beaches) and heavy metals from mining, which may impact future generations.
Grounds for hope Amidst all the bad news, there are grounds for hope – Carbon Choices concludes with a green action plan for government, business and individuals to make better carbon choices.
This guest blog was posted by Neil Kitching, author of Carbon Choices, which is available to buy on Amazon. One third of profits will be donated to rewilding projects.
Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.
In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.
We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.
Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:
Changing their own behaviour; Communicating with their audiences; Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.
Expressions of interest are open for one month for an exciting new residency in the Cairngorms.
An exciting new opportunity has been launched by the Endangered Landscapes Programme inviting artists to undertake a residency in eight landscapes across Europe, including within the Cairngorms Connect project area in the Cairngorms National Park.
As part of a collaboration with the Cambridge Conservation Initiative’s Arts, Science and Conservation Programme, an artist or collective will work alongside partners in Cairngorms Connect and the local community to explore the landscape in new ways.
The residency is open to all contemporary artists, makers or collectives, with priority given to those who have a link to the landscape in the Cairngorms, to submit an expression of interest from 7th January 2021 as part of a two-stage competitive process.
Entries are welcomed from any medium, from new to traditional artforms which will allow reconnection with nature. This could include, but is not limited to: music, painting, writing, ceramics, photography, glassblowing, sculpture, poetry, performance, and site-specific installation.
The creation of this collaborative process recognises the importance the arts play in addressing environmental challenges and understanding how people and communities interact with the landscape.
Starting in June 2021, the selected proposal will celebrate this across land managed by Forestry and Land Scotland, NatureScot, RSPB Scotland and Wildland Limited, which make up the Cairngorms Connect project area, with $5,400 US dollars being awarded as part of the residency.
Residencies are also available in the seven other implementation landscape restoration projects funded by the Endangered Landscapes Programme, including in Wales and throughout Europe. This gives opportunities for artists to work in diverse habitats, though they are expected to have a significant link to their chosen project area. At the end of the residencies, there will be an art prize of $2,500 US dollars awarded to the most outstanding piece of work from the eight implementation project areas.
Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.
In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.
We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.
Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:
Changing their own behaviour; Communicating with their audiences; Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.
Are you on a mission to ‘Build Back Better’ by reducing your travel-related emissions? Do you want to contribute to the green recovery? Investing in an electric vehicle (EV) is one way you can achieve these goals.
We know from our work with Scotland’s cultural sector and our carbon management planning and emissions reporting support that travel is often the biggest source of an organisation’s emissions, whilst also being a necessary part of what they do – whether it is touring work, travelling staff or even attracting audiences to their space. Road transport contributes to one fifth of greenhouse gas emissions (produced by burning petrol and diesel) in the UK.[1]
EVs are a key way in which we can reduce our fossil fuel consumption and the climate change-causing gases they produce. Of course, they’re not cheap. However, government ambitions for net zero, combined with the desire for a green recovery as we emerge from COVID-19, are resulting in more investment and incentives that might just bring an EV within reach for you or your organisation.
We’ve worked with our energy expert partners, Good Energy, to produce this special edition resource to share some insights into EVs and the things you might want to consider.
How long have EVs been around?
It is suggested[2] that one of the earliest electric vehicles was invented in 1832 and, even better, it happened in Scotland! Other electric vehicles were invented and manufactured in Europe and the US right through until the early 1900s, but their popularity was short-lived due to the rollout of mass car production. Now, however, EVs are making an impressive comeback. They’re easier to buy than ever before, and what’s more both the Scottish and UK governments are pushing for their uptake to help them achieve their net zero targets, and as we seek to ‘build back better’ following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Governments are getting behind EVs
Governments are promoting a green recovery to repair the damage wrought by the pandemic and to combat climate change. Getting behind EVs is one focus of their green recovery strategies. The Scottish Government aims to phase out sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2032[3] and has been actively promoting EVs since at least 2013 when it published Switched On Scotland: A Roadmap to Widespread Adoption of Plug-in Vehicles. In November 2020, the UK Government announced it was bringing forward its target to end sales from 2035 to 2030 alongside a £1.3 billion investment into EV charging points.[4]
This year has seen a number of new electric cars become available, and there are now more affordable options, many from household car brands such as Hyundai, Kia, Peugeot, Renault and Vauxhall[5]amongst others. According to Next Green Car, combined EV (i.e. pure electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle or PHEV*) market share is up on last year from 3.8% in September 2019 to 10.5% in September 2020.[6]
Although many journeys can be made by public transport (particularly in well-connected cities) or avoided (through digital communications), EVs provide a cleaner, greener option for those who need a car (or van) to tour, traverse the country or who live and work in more rural areas. EVs are becoming far more common in the UK. There are now more than 164,000 pure electric cars and almost 350,000 plug-in models (including PHEVs) on our roads.[7] This is expected to increase to a million within the next two years and, if projections by the National Grid in a UK Government briefing paper are realised, there will be between 2.7 and 10.6 million EVs in the UK by 2030.[8] Mind you, it’s important to note that the phase-out mentioned above will include hybrid and plug-in hybrid models from 2035, so if you’re looking to futureproof your driving you’re probably better going straight to a pure electric vehicle.
Below we talk about some of the key considerations when thinking about investing in an electric vehicle.
Emission-free travel A traditional car requires fuel and emits gases often associated with climate change. The electric engines in EVs operate on a closed circuit, so there are no emissions. And, if the electricity you use to power your electric vehicle is sourced from 100% renewable sources (sun, wind, rain), the travel itself doesn’t produce any emissions either.
Lower running costs As fuel costs fluctuate globally, electricity prices are often cheaper and more secure so your ‘tank’ of electricity can work out to be a fraction of the fossil fuel fill-up cost. Other savings can be made via your home energy supply – for example, Good Energy offers a specific electric vehicle tariff for those charging cars at home – and on your road tax, because there isn’t any for pure EVs, they’re exempt!
Less maintenance Electric engines have fewer moving parts than internal combustion engines, which means there’s less to go wrong. Electric engines are generally smaller and quieter too.
Popularity As more and more people switch to using EVs, the number of vehicles available increases (to buy and to hire); charging places increase, insurance premiums are driven down and the number of petrol stations decreases, all leading to a better electric driving experience.
Range anxiety (fear of running out of charge before reaching your destination) and charging locations – When EVs were first introduced, the distances they could travel on a ‘full tank’ were shorter than a fossil fuel-powered car. However, now EVs have a range of 100 miles plus[9] (meaning you could get from Edinburgh to Aberdeen on a single charge) and most car journeys are actually less than 30 miles. The UK charging network is expanding on a daily basis, providing reassurance for those travelling longer distances. Statistics from Zap Map indicate that, as at 16th November 2020, there are 20,192 charging devices in 12,713 locations across the UK, which is a marked increase from three years ago when there were only 4,800 locations. In fact, statistically, Scotland has more charging points per person than most other areas of the UK, and the Highlands has more public charging points than Edinburgh or Glasgow[10]. The Scottish Government’s national EV charging network, ChargePlace Scotland, currently has 1500+ public charge points. One Point by Good Energy helps organisations install 100% renewable energy charging points on their premises, for use by their staff, visitors and audiences.
Charge time – Charging electric vehicles does take longer than a petrol station stop. Most EVs are charged overnight (which is good as demand for electricity is lower at night), but 30-minute, rapid-charging is available for those doing longer journeys. Drive Electric says you can top up your charge from empty to 80% full in 30 minutes with a 50kW rapid charger, which most newer charging points tend to be.[11] Most public charging points are located near cafes, shopping centres…or even cultural attractions so you’re free to do something else while your car gets back to full. For example, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh enables visitors to charge while visiting their exhibitions.
Initial cost and the incentives to buy – It’s true that electric vehicles are more expensive to buy than their conventional counterparts, but the government push towards EVs means prices are decreasing, urged on by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the UK car industry lobby group.[12] The Scottish Government’s interest-free low carbon loan scheme provides individuals and businesses with up to £28,000 for a new electric car or van or, since the scheme was extended in September 2020, up to £20,000 for a used one.[13] There is a list of eligible vehicles; plug-in hybrid models are excluded as are current EV owners. The loan is available in addition to the UK Government’s plug-in car and van grants, which will pay for 20% of the purchase price for eligible vehicles, up to a maximum of £3,000 and £8,000 respectively.[14] The grant is applied by the car dealership at the point of purchase.
There’s funding available from organisations in Scotland like the Energy Savings Trust, for those looking to purchase EVs! If you really want to find out more, here is a recording of a 2019 webinar that gives a ‘deep dive’ into the topic:
These incentives combined may be the perfect opportunity for Scottish creative practitioners and cultural organisations using a car or van for their work or touring schedule to make their first foray into the world of EVs, thus making a positive contribution to the green recovery while dramatically reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.
One Point by Good Energy
One Point by Good Energy helps organisations install 100% renewable energy charging points on their premises, for the use of their staff, visitors and audience. As supporters of the Green Arts Initiative, we know they’re experts in renewable electricity, and are committed to enabling the cultural sector to help lead society in climate action. Find out more in this video or get more information:
Some final words
If you’re still not convinced about the pros of electric vehicles, have a read of this blog from the Energy Saving Trust, whose team members shared their experiences of owning and driving EVs. They’ve also written an excellent article on EVs and the green recovery, which is well worth reading.
This is a big topic and we’ve barely touched the sides, but we hope it’s helped you understand electric vehicles, their increased use on UK roads and their advantages a little better. If you have an EV, have experiences with buying or hiring, or have a case study to share with the sector – let us know!
We worked with our partner – renewable energy expert, Good Energy – to produce this blog. Good Energy are suppliers of genuine renewable electricity and are committed to enabling the cultural sector to help lead society in climate action. They are supporters of Creative Carbon Scotland and the Green Arts Initiative.
* Pure electric vehicles are powered solely by electric motors, most often using a rechargeable battery. Plug-in hybrid vehicles generally use a rechargeable battery and petrol or diesel.
