HERITAGE • INTEGRITY • COMMUNITY
Conservation campaigns can shape the future of buildings, neighbourhoods and communities. With that influence comes a responsibility to campaign accurately, transparently and with respect for the people and places involved.
The ConserveConnect Ethical Campaign Charter establishes the principles applying to heritage and community campaigns published through ConserveConnect. It reflects our commitment to conservation-led outcomes, responsible stewardship, community participation, public accountability and the sustainable future of historic buildings and places.
Campaign organisers are required to accept this Charter before a campaign can be considered for publication. Acceptance does not mean that ConserveConnect endorses every argument, statement or future action of the campaign. It means that the organiser has committed to the standards set out below and that the campaign is eligible for editorial consideration.
Heritage is material, social and cultural. Responsible conservation recognises the relationship between buildings, people, memory, identity and place.
The Charter applies to campaigns submitted to or published within Heritage & Community Campaigns on ConserveConnect. It supplements our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy and other applicable platform policies.
Its purpose is to ensure that campaign listings contribute constructively to ConserveConnect's wider mission: helping historic buildings and places find informed, conservation-led and socially responsible futures.
We particularly welcome campaigns concerned with:
ConserveConnect may decline, amend or remove a campaign where its purpose, conduct or representations are materially inconsistent with these principles.
Campaigns accepting the Charter commit to the following principles:
01 — PLACE
Historic buildings and places should be understood before decisions are made about their future. Campaigns should recognise architectural, historic, cultural, social and community significance.
02 — STEWARDSHIP
Campaigns should favour appropriate maintenance, repair, conservation and sensitive adaptation before avoidable demolition, clearance or unnecessary replacement of significant historic fabric.
03 — COMMUNITY
Conservation should recognise the people who live, work, worship, trade, create and build communities around historic places, particularly where proposed change materially affects them.
04 — TRANSPARENCY
Campaign organisers should accurately represent their aims, governance, significant affiliations, relevant financial interests and material sources of funding.
05 — PARTICIPATION
Campaigns should encourage informed and respectful participation by affected communities and should not claim representative authority that they do not reasonably possess.
06 — PUBLIC BENEFIT
A campaign should pursue legitimate conservation, community or public-interest objectives and must not use heritage campaigning primarily to conceal or advance undisclosed private commercial interests.
Campaign organisers are expected to use ConserveConnect responsibly and in good faith. In particular, they agree to:
ConserveConnect exists to encourage outcomes in which historic buildings and places are understood as resources to be cared for, repaired and adapted thoughtfully rather than treated simply as development sites or financial assets.
Campaigns do not have to oppose all development or change. Conservation frequently requires adaptation, new investment and viable new uses. What matters is whether proposals respond seriously to historic significance, existing fabric, environmental impact, community needs and long-term stewardship.
ConserveConnect supports conservation-led change, not conservation as a pretext for unnecessary demolition, displacement or speculative redevelopment.
Acceptance of this Charter allows a campaign to be considered for publication within ConserveConnect's Heritage & Community Campaigns. It does not create an automatic right to publication.
ConserveConnect retains editorial and platform discretion over whether a campaign is listed, how it is categorised, how its description is presented and whether additional context is necessary.
A campaign listing may contain:
This status means that the campaign organiser has accepted the Charter and that the campaign has been considered suitable for publication on ConserveConnect at the time of review. It is not a ConserveConnect endorsement, accreditation or guarantee of every claim, action or future activity associated with the campaign.
ConserveConnect provides a platform through which relevant heritage and community campaigns can be discovered and followed. Publication does not mean that ConserveConnect adopts every position, argument or strategy advanced by a campaign or its organisers.
Campaign organisers remain responsible for their own statements, representations and conduct. ConserveConnect may provide additional information, analysis or editorial context where this is appropriate.
Campaign publication cannot be bought. Payment, advertising, sponsorship or another commercial relationship with ConserveConnect cannot purchase campaign acceptance, Charter status or editorial endorsement.
ConserveConnect may review a campaign where credible information raises a reasonable concern about its continued compliance with the Charter.
Depending on the circumstances, we may request clarification, supporting information, a correction or an update before deciding whether further action is necessary.
A listing may be amended, suspended or removed where credible evidence indicates that the campaign has:
Campaign organisers should notify ConserveConnect of significant changes in purpose, leadership, control, affiliation or funding where those changes may materially affect the basis on which the campaign was originally listed.
ConserveConnect may decline to publish a campaign where its principal purpose, presentation or conduct:
Acceptance of the ConserveConnect Ethical Campaign Charter is required before a campaign can be considered for publication.
During submission, the organiser will be asked to confirm:
☐ I have read and accept the ConserveConnect Ethical Campaign Charter. I confirm that, to the best of my knowledge, the campaign and information submitted are consistent with its principles of responsible conservation, accuracy, transparency, community participation and respect for historic buildings and places.
Recording acceptance establishes the campaign organiser's agreement to comply with the Charter for as long as the campaign remains listed on ConserveConnect.
Campaign listings on ConserveConnect and editorial coverage by ConserveConnect.News are related but independent activities.
A campaign listing provides a place for campaign information, updates and supporting resources. ConserveConnect.News operates under separate editorial judgement and may report on, analyse, question or contextualise issues connected with a campaign.
Listing a campaign therefore does not require ConserveConnect.News to adopt the campaign's position, and editorial coverage does not determine whether a campaign is eligible for listing on ConserveConnect.
ConserveConnect Ltd administers campaign listings under this Charter and may revise the Charter periodically as the platform, its policies and its campaign work develop.
Anyone with relevant and substantiated information concerning a listed campaign's compliance with the Charter may raise a concern with ConserveConnect. We may request further information before determining whether a review is warranted.
Contact:
team@conserveconnect.com
ConserveConnect Ltd | London | United Kingdom
OUR COMMITMENT
The Ethical Campaign Charter exists so that ConserveConnect can provide meaningful space for heritage and community campaigning without confusing visibility with endorsement or advocacy with exemption from scrutiny.
We believe the strongest campaigns combine care for historic fabric, credible evidence, transparency, meaningful participation and a willingness to pursue better alternatives. Those principles are central to the kind of conservation network ConserveConnect is being built to support.