Just as business centres, serviced offices and shared offices in London and around the UK are being adapted to meet environmental targets, the new home of the King’s Troop regiment will see some innovative use of waste materials to help improve its ecological profile.
The regiment, and its 170 horses, take part in a variety of Royal Salutes and other state occasions over the course of each year, and the MOD is hoping that turning the Troop’s manure into bio-diesel will help cut its overall carbon footprint.
A spokesperson for the ministry said: “The MoD is fully committed to the government’s sustainable development agenda and to aggressive reductions in carbon emissions.”
“In 2008/09 the MoD met the goal to reduce emissions by 12.5 per cent, compared to 1999/00 levels – two years ahead of the target date.”
The Troop will be based in Woolwich from 2011, and while not all office spaces in London can use bio-fuels to help cut their carbon emissions, many are being used as shared offices or virtual offices to the same end.
In other environmental news, a recent report from the European Union’s statistical office, Eurostat, insisted that the UK is “continuing to lag behind” when it comes to its use of ‘green’ energy.
Editor’s notes: The MoD announced in 2016 that its Woolwich site would close in 2028, with all units currently stationed in Woolwich scheduled to be relocated.
The council of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, within which the barracks sit, however, initially opposed the institution’s proposed sale of the site.
The Ministry of Defence continued to be committed to helping to control climate change, and in the MOD’s 2021 report Climate Change and Sustainability Strategic Approach, it was stated that the MOD “are determined to play our full part in helping the government address climate change head on and achieve our legal commitment of net zero by 2050.”
It recognised that defence accounted for 50 per cent of the UK central Government’s emissions and also that extreme temperatures and increased flooding could create new, unfamiliar and complex reasons for conflict.
It also outlined innovative measures such as enhancing biodiversity across the UK’s rural landscapes and using algae, alcohol and household waste to power aircraft.
Research in May 2026 found that the BBC reported in February 2025 that Greenwich Council had opened a consultation to “see how people feel” about future developments at the barracks, which have been in situ for 250 years.
In March 2026, it was reported that plans for the redevelopment of the 250-acre site that were subject to Cabinet approval had been put forward by the Royal Borough of Greenwich council.
They included the delivery of nearly 2,000 homes, 50 per cent of which would be affordable housing, plus commercial and community space on the site.
The community space could include shops, cafes, gyms, nurseries, and other facilities.
The plans would be considered alongside the council’s Climate Resilience supplementary planning document (SPD), which outlined measures to help the borough become carbon neutral by 2030.
The SPD set out practical measures to prepare for the rising risks of extreme heat, flooding, and pollution.
It was also found that the army would maintain a presence in Woolwich, with the King’s Troops remaining on site at adjacent Napier Lines, following the sale of Woolwich Barracks.