Progress Report – April 2025
The Club has been working hard to put its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy into action – and the Chief Executive and Club Secretary, Daniel Pereira, is keen to share just how far the Club has come.
The strategy focuses on three pillars: Planet, looking at waste, emissions, biodiversity and consumption; People, incorporating employee wellbeing, diversity and responsible purchasing; and Driving Change, which covers communication, reporting and HR processes.
As Daniel reminds us, with a smile, “fundamentally it’s good business: reduce waste and wasteful practices and you improve the bottom line”. While members may have noticed some changes, for the most part all the magic is happening behind the scenes. “You have to carry people with you, and make sure you maintain the heritage and traditions of the Club whilst implementing initiatives which are essential for its future success.”
A key achievement last year was moving both clubhouses onto renewable energy tariffs. Although the reduction in consumption wasn’t as great as hoped (at one per cent, the target being five per cent) Daniel remains positive. “All the energy we’re consuming is now from renewable sources, so that in itself has a positive impact on the environment. We also have a better understanding of how energy is being used.”
Other big wins for the ‘Planet’ pillar include achieving zero waste to landfill at the end of 2024 and the elimination of single-use plastic from Woodcote Park. “We’re very close to achieving that at Pall Mall as well”, adds Daniel. There are also plans to expand the automated food waste monitoring system which is being trialled in the Long Bar, with the chefs using the data to inform adjustments to reduce waste.
The herb garden and bee hives at Woodcote Park are also providing positive news. “Our aim this year is to supply herbs for Pall Mall as well as Woodcote Park, and harvest even more honey – the four hives at Woodcote Park produced more than 120kg this year. It’s lovely to see the team so enthusiastically embracing these initiatives.”
Daniel is confident that this year the Club will gain more traction in areas in which it is doing less well. “We’re installing a new building management system and have recruited a Head of Engineering to focus on replacing our ageing plant and to ensure that it is used effectively. I really want to focus on energy consumption this year; we’re aiming for a five per cent reduction.”
The Club has excelled in the ‘People’ pillar, achieving Gold in the Investors in People status for 2024 as an employer of choice, 16 months ahead of target. “We are already seeing the benefits from this focus on our team,” says Daniel. “Employee turnover has reduced by almost eight per cent against 2023, and is a lot lower than equivalent organisations, which helps us to provide a better service for our members.”
Looking ahead, each of the two, quite different, sites bring their own challenges. “Woodcote Park has been awarded Green Tourism’s Gold award and is on track to hit its 2026 net zero goals – and being set in acres of countryside really helps it to meet its biodiversity goals.
Pall Mall, on the other hand, is much more limited in this respect but it still managed to achieve a Silver award from Green Tourism. This is a fantastic achievement for a city-centre Edwardian building, but our goal is still to push this up to Gold.”
There is progress in other areas as well. In February, the Board approved a new ‘Responsible Purchasing Policy’. This requires the Club’s suppliers to, over time, align with the Club’s ESG principles. Among other things this will contribute to the Club achieving its ‘Scope 3’ objectives (covering emissions generated by suppliers). A new charity support policy is also being developed “so that we can help both members and employees to support the charities they are passionate about”, says Daniel. “We will be announcing the details this summer.”
The various refurbishments in the pipeline (Pall Mall Sports, the clubhouse at Woodcote Park and Cedars Sports, as well as the longer term replacement of the heating, hot water and air conditioning plant at Pall Mall) will all help improve energy efficiency as well. “The new Cedars Sports will have more than 240 solar panels which will provide approximately 20 per cent of its power, and any new plant will be much more efficient to run than the ageing equipment we have now.”
While there is still a long way to go, it is clear that the Club is making steady progress, which, concludes Daniel, “is not only good for the Club in the here and now, but critical to ensuring it has a secure and healthy future.”
How Members Can Help
All this has to be a big team effort, involving members and staff. Firstly, we need everyone who works at or visits the Club to know how they can raise suggestions which might contribute to our overall objectives. It is often the day-to-day user of something who spots potential improvements.
The best place to send suggestions is via email to Communications and your email will be passed to the most appropriate senior manager.
It is also important that members and staff understand what we are trying to achieve so that they can put any changes they may hear about or experience into context.
Then, of course, we all have a part to play through our own behaviour. For members this includes turning the lights off when you leave your bedroom, not using more towels than necessary in the sports areas and ensuring you cancel unwanted restaurant bookings, for example.
Charity Support Policy
In June 2025 the Club launched a new approach to providing support for charities. This reflects the wide range of charitable activities already undertaken by members, for which some seek Club support.
The Club doesn’t select preferred charities. Instead, it assists members and employees to support the charity they want to help. We aim to provide:
- support to worthy causes
- a consistent and transparent approach, with opportunities available to all members and employees
- a positive experience for members and for employees.
Eligible charities
Charities benefitting from support through this policy must:
- be on the register of the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Scottish Charity Regulator or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland
and
- provide a benefit within London or Surrey (including national charities with a presence in these areas).
Support available
Three forms of support are available to members. Please note that only Full Members of the Club may apply.
1. Prize Experiences
Each year, the Director of Operations will create a list of experiences which can be provided as vouchers for charity fundraising auctions and similar activities. These vouchers will be supplied to members (and only to members, not directly to charities) who are raising money for charities, on a first-come first-served basis.
No member will receive more than one voucher in any calendar year and no charity will benefit from more than one voucher in any calendar year. The 25 experiences available during 2025 include afternoon tea, overnight stays and golf at Woodcote Park.
To enquire about the vouchers still available, please email the following information to charity@royalautomobileclub.co.uk
- name and membership number of the member applying
- the purpose of the voucher (e.g. a charity auction) – please provide as much information as possible
- the date of the fundraising event
- the name of the charity which would benefit and its charity registration number (it must be an eligible charity as defined above)
- any preference for the type of voucher (which we may not always be able to accommodate).
2. Charity Website Listing
Later this year the Club will be launching a new area of the Club website where members will be able to promote their charity fundraising activities.
Listings may be used to promote any fundraising activity by a Club member in aid of any registered charity. A link to a fundraising page (such as ‘JustGiving’) will be permitted.
3. Match Funding for Activity Groups
The Club will match the amount raised for a charity by any Activity Group Committee (which, for the purposes of this policy, includes golf, squash and Cedars Sports).
The Club’s contribution will be to a maximum, in the period of July to December 2025, of:
- £6,000 in total
- £1,500 in total to any one charity
- £1,500 in total to the fundraising activities of any one Activity Group Committee.
Any Activity Group Committee wishing to take advantage of this scheme must gain acceptance onto this scheme before fundraising commences and before the fundraising activities are announced to members.
The benefitting charity must be an eligible charity as defined above.
Requests for Activity Group Match Funding should be submitted to Head of Membership by a representative of the Activity Group Committee.
Reporting
It is a condition of receiving Club support that the member commits to providing information to the Club after the charitable activity has taken place. This should include, for example, photographs and information about what happened and how much was raised.
It must be emailed to charity@royalautomobileclub.co.uk no more than one week after the charitable activity has taken place.
This material may be used in Club communications (such as the Club magazine and on social media).
