Fit for the Future Network

Resource explained

This is the website for Fit for the Future, which aims to be a solution-sharing network for land and property owning organisations that want to become more sustainable, reduce their energy bills and lower the impact they have on the environment. Fit for the Future works on the principle that more often than not, the solutions are already ‘out there.’

Members are given the opportunity to find solutions quickly and achieve greater success by tapping into the collective knowledge of hundreds of people from currently more than eighty organisations.

The website states that “The Network is about showing and doing.” This is done through regular events and site visits being organised to enable learning and sharing amongst members. Project collaboration and informal peer-reviews are also encouraged. The emphasis of the Network is on taking a practical approach to sustainability.

The website includes access to some useful case studies.

Findings & recommendations

• The Fit for the Future Network currently has more than eighty land and property-owning organisations in its membership. These organisations collectively look after an area of land the size of Devon and more than 40,000 buildings.
• The case studies are grouped on the website under: Behaviour Change, Building Efficiency, Heating Systems, Hydro, Retrofit and Refurbs, Solar, and Water Management.
• In 2015 the Network had 358 renewable energy projects underway that were collectively generating 5.5% of the energy they used from renewables.
• The Network, which was established by the National Trust and Ashden, promotes sharing knowledge and expertise gained.
• By joining the Network, new members can tap into a wealth of knowledge and also pass on their own experience, good and bad.
• The people involved in the Network range from estate managers and rangers to engineers and sustainability experts.
• The emphasis is on collaborating and offering impartial advice to help get jobs done more quickly and with better success in relation to sustainability.
• If you are tasked with making buildings or land more sustainable and want to collaborate with others, getting involved in this network could be a route through which you could benefit.
• You can view their 2015 progress report either on the website or here.

Associated Agricology Partner Organisation(s):