The Hutton has set out a new target to reach net zero emissions from its activities by 2035. In its new Climate Action Plan 2035, the Hutton also commits to reach net zero emissions from other indirect sources, such as emissions from suppliers, by 2040. In addition, it has a target to increase the proportion of its suppliers with net zero emissions targets by 5% of its total spending, year on year. Stefan Jindra, Sustainability Coordinator at the Hutton, says, “We recognise the scale of the challenge and know we have to lead by example. We’re doing this through our research into ways to find creative scientific solutions to the nature and climate crises, but also how we operate. “Since 2019, we’ve already reduced our emissions by 15%, through more efficient buildings, replacing lighting, changing our ultralow temperature freezer settings, and using wind, solar and biomass heating, as well as native woodland planting, agroforestry and restoring peatland at our Glensaugh research farm. The Hutton has invested in a new X-ray diffraction (XRD) machine to help keep it at the top of the world league in mineralogy and address challenges across soil health, from food security to carbon storage. The new machine boosts the institute’s analytics capacity, especially around the precise determination of rock and soil content supporting work around soil quality and health and expanding capacity for commercial analysis for industries ranging from mining to medicine. Past and current customers using the Hutton’s XRD capability range from pet litter produce to mining companies, with customers coming from as far away as Australia to more locally in Aberdeen. Researchers at the Hutton are supporting a £6 million project led by Moredun Research Institute to develop an effective vaccine for onfarm worm control. The project is an international, multi-institutional partnership with the University of Glasgow and the University of New England, Australia. The Hutton’s team will incorporate vaccine components identified by the partners into novel thermally responsive particle and gel-based systems to improve delivery and strengthen the capacity of the vaccine to protect livestock against infection by gastrointestinal nematodes. The Hutton has been announced as one of four new projects launched with the help of £500,000 funding to help boost the impact of the UK’s Future of UK Treescapes Programme. Through its new project, the Tree of Knowledge (ToK), the Hutton will lead work that will help to communicate the complexity of forest resilience drawing on findings from three ongoing Future of UK Treescapes projects, DiversiTree, newLEAF and MEMBRA. This will make work around tree species, genetics and epigenetics (where traits such as resilience to cold are passed to the next generation) more visible and understandable to practitioners such as foresters, as well as policymakers and the public. News highlights New net zero ambition for Hutton New XRD capacity Sheep vaccine goal funded Communicating future treescapes 4 Hutton Highlights Stefan Jindra, Sustainability Coordinator, The James Hutton Institute “But there’s much more we must do. At our main campuses in Invergowrie and Aberdeen, the focus is on heat and power. We’re working with a local community benefit organisation in Invergowrie on a solar array for renewable power and will be using heat pumps to replace our gas heating. In Aberdeen we’re considering options for heating, including using heat recovery from wastewater.”
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