Ray Valley Solar, south of Bicester in Oxfordshire, generates enough clean electricity to power about 7,000 homes for a year, and uses its profits to provide grants to community initiatives that help reduce carbon emissions and make homes, schools and businesses across Oxfordshire more energy efficient.
The Barbican will close its doors for 12 months from June 2028 as it undergoes a multimillion-pound renovation that its leaders say will secure its future. The arts organisation's Beech Street cinemas will remain open but its theatre, music venue, conservatory and visual arts galleries are set to shutter as the overhaul of the 43-year-old building begins in the lead-up to its 50th anniversary in 2032.
As the global climate and environmental crisis accelerates, the urgency for sustainable alternatives to fossil fuel-based products has never been greater. Today, biobased products -derived from renewable agricultural, marine, and forestry materials-are gaining momentum as critical tools in reducing our reliance on non-renewable resources and mitigating environmental harm. From everyday household goods to advanced industrial materials, biobased alternatives are transforming entire industries and creating pathways toward a lower-carbon, more resilient future.
"You can build with natural stone in a way that saves about 90% of the carbon emissions compared to if you are building with steel or reinforced concrete. "Construction is a huge emitter of carbon and the government wants to build lots of homes so we need to find ways that don't damage the planet so much. "This is one solution that we are testing."
