We use all electric golf buggies for order selection and 2 john deere gators for general jobs around the nursery. We currently have only 2 John deere red diesel tractors in use and plan to replace these by 2027.
We run 4 company cars, one of which is fully electric and 3 of which are Plug in hybrids.
We run a VW Caddy, box van and a lorry. We plan to investigate whether the box van and lorry can use biodiesel or be converted to do so, and analyse the cost implications of changing over to this fuel.
We have solar panels installed in our pack house which run our offices and lighting in the pack house with the left over electricity generated going back to the grid.
We currently use both 40% peat reduced and peat free growing media for our finished product. Our propagation unit is 100% peat free.
We will continue to reduce our peat use in our growing media in our finished product to zero by 2026
We currently collect rain water into a purpose built reservoir onsite and recycle this water for irrigation. A cost analysis is required for a bore hole to be drilled onsite to supplement this reservoir at times of water crisis. We anticipate that climate change impact will mean that the reservoir may not be sufficient for our ongoing needs.
We only use mains water for kitchens and bathrooms and plan to replace taps with water saving versions by 2030.
We have installed separate bins in offices and staff rooms in order that paper and plastics can be recycled. These must be clearly labelled with images in addition to text, for staff who have English as a second language.
We currently use plastic cane caps on our finished product- after extensive market research it has proven that these are still critical to the health safety of Garden centre staff and customers. We are constantly researching a more sustainable cane cap.
Our picture label is currently held onto the cane with a clip that is virgin plastic, we plan to replace this by 2030 with a new label design that is fully recyclable and will not need the clip.
All cardboard waste is mixed into our green waste which is processed through our shredder onsite.
In order to implement these key changes, staff must be involved at all stages. We plan to canvas the opinions of key team members before SMT meetings to ensure we are on the same page.
We plan to give certain staff members extra responsibilities on site to help us to implement our challenging targets.
In order to achieve our challenging targets, we must ensure that we communicate with our staff so that we can all work together.
Many of our staff members have English as an additional language so we must ensure that all communication is clear and easily interpreted (pictures etc).
All new campaigns and targets will be shared with staff through appraisals and may be included in their personal goals.
Social media campaigns will include the ability to re-use canes/toppers/pots in gardens so that we communicate our goals with our customers and suppliers.