Annual Accounts 2011-2012 (pdf - 973 kB) - Royal Botanic Garden ...

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The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Page 2 of 47
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh - Annual Report and Accounts for the year to 31 March 2012 Report of the Board of Trustees incorporating Foreword The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), founded in 1670, is a renowned centre of excellence, recognised by its peers as one of the world’s four most important research botanic gardens. Working through active partnerships in over forty countries it is focused on researching and protecting the plant diversity that sustains all life on our planet. It has been at the forefront of international initiatives to conserve plants under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (the CBD). RBGE recognises that it has a unique opportunity in Scotland, as a research institute that also provides four leading visitor attractions, to engage with the public and enlist their support in tackling global environmental change. It delivers an extensive programme of formal and informal educational activities in response to this opportunity. The RBGE continues to maximise value for money through prudent expenditure decisions; strong investment from the Scottish Government and the success of our strategies has enabled the RBGE to make a strong contribution to National Outcomes. It continues to make strenuous efforts to increase delivery by building upon the Grant-in-Aid it receives through strategies for increasing self-generated income. This has been particularly important in the current climate of restricted public funding. Sustained investment in our infrastructure and people will allow us to build on this success. The RBGE is a Scottish charity under the provisions of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and is registered as Scottish Charity number SC007983. RBGE has two wholly owned subsidiaries: the Botanics Trading Company Ltd (BTC) which carries out retail and catering activities across the four gardens; and the Centre for Middle Eastern Plants Ltd (CMEP) which was set up to exploit commercial opportunities employing our scientific, horticultural, and educational skills in that region, where there is a clear demand. During the year it became apparent that CMEP’s continuing losses were becoming unsustainable and it was decided to put the company into a dormant phase with the accumulated losses being met from a grant from RBGE. With effect from 1 January 2012 responsibility for delivering CMEP projects was moved within RBGE. BTC donates its taxable annual profits to RBGE in accordance with the Government’s Gift Aid legislation and both companies’ financial results are consolidated into the annual accounts. The remit of RBGE is set out in the National Heritage (Scotland) Act 1985, which empowers the Board of Trustees, who are appointed by Scottish Ministers: a) To carry out investigation and research into the science of plants and related subjects and to disseminate the results of the investigation and research. b) To maintain and develop collections of living plants and preserved plant material, books, archives and other related objects. c) To keep the collections as national reference collections and make them available for the purposes of study. d)To provide advice, information and education in relation to any aspect of the science of plants or of any related subject. e)To provide other services (including quarantine) in relation to plants. f)To allow members of the public to enter the gardens for the purpose of gaining knowledge and enjoyment from the collections. From the 1985 Act the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh derives its mission: exploring and explaining the world of plants for a better future. Strategy and Planning The Corporate Plan developed during Financial Year 11/12 continued with the successful format employed during the previous financial year in that it aligned our strategic objectives with those Page 3 of 47
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Annual Accounts 2011-2012 (pdf - 973 kB) - Royal Botanic Garden ...

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