Wyevale Sustainability Plan
Wyevale is a long-established UK grower and supplier of trees and plants. We recognise that we have a significant role to play in contributing to the greening of our landscapes and gardens whilst operating sustainably, making a valuable contribution to our people, community, and our shared environment.
It is a core commitment of Wyevale to make sure that in all activities and development sustainability is a primary consideration, and we fully support the HTA sustainability plan as a minimum base line target in our sustainability journey.
We have been implementing an ISO 14001 accredited Environmental Management Scheme continuously since 2010, setting clear and measurable targets on our journey towards net zero.
An annual independent audit reports on our progress.
Action Area: WATER
Objective:
- Reduce abstraction from borehole and mains
- Target of 50% of annual water usage from recycled water
- Reduce flooding (nursery and local environment)
Management:
- Three monthly review meetings
Relevant Factors:
- New 20,000m³ reservoir (equivalent to 8 Olympic sized swimming pools)
- New nursery wide pipe network giving improved better water use
Areas under investigation:
- Precision water application systems, eg increased use of drip systems, ebb and flow beds
- Weekly monitoring and adjustment of the drip water application system on the container tree unit to maximise water use efficiency
Action Area: WASTE REDUCTION
Objective:
- Reduce wastage volumes of crops produced – 2022-2023 target is to be below 7% of total numbers produced
Management:
- Set annual wastage reduction targets
- Record all wastage figures
- Monthly review
Relevant Factors:
- Recycling
- Separate and recycle cardboard
- Repair and re-use wooden pallets
- Collect, treat, and recycle green waste back onto tree fields!
- Separate and recycle pallet and trolley wrap
- Use of Recycled and recyclable materials
- Pallet and trolley wrap
- Taupe, kerb side, recyclable pots for retail sales
- Offering Biodegradable tree guards
- Development
- Taupe, kerb side, recyclable pots for amenity sales
- Biodegradable pots
Resource Depletion: CARBON TRUST TARGETS
Objective:
- Reduce our carbon emissions per unit of covered production areas. We have decreased 18% from 2018
Management:
- Monthly reporting and review meetings
Relevant factors:
- Solar panels currently generating a small proportion of our electricity usage
- Plans to increase this proportion through the installation of further solar panels in line with a recent energy audit
- Switching energy supplies to green tariffs
- Hybrid vehicles for the sales team
- Seventy-five percent of our delivery vehicles are Euro 6 compliant, 100% are Euro 5 and above compliant
Development:
- Increasing area of solar panels to target (%) of our annual usage
- Working to Carbon Trust energy reduction targets for all buildings
- Calculate our carbon footprint and our contribution to carbon capture
- Develop our own production capacity to reduce the need for purchasing and therefore plant miles!
- Installing LED lights across the business
- Home working where possible
Resource Depletion: PEAT USE REDUCTION
Objective:
- Reduce use of peat across the entire business
- Peat free production by 2026
Management:
- Monthly reporting and meetings
Relevant factors:
- Increase crops grown in 100% peat free
- Reduced peat content in all other crops
- Propagation unit 100% peat free
Development:
- Continued trials of peat alternatives
BIODIVERSITY AND BIOSECURITY
Objective:
- Healthy top quality plants with minimum impact to the environment and wildlife
- Maximise opportunities for increasing plant and wildlife diversity
Management:
- Annual audits
Relevant factors:
- Plant Healthy accreditation
- Increasing use of Biological Controls
- Increasing use of Bio Stimulants and plant-based feeds
- Green cover crops used on headlands, pathways and inter row areas
- Significant volumes of hedgerows and trees maintained across all sites
Development:
- Areas for water catchment and ponds
What’s next?
We can’t achieve this significant sustainability plan without the commitment of our dedicated team.
Each year we’ll set new targets to drive our sustainability and reduce our environmental impact, and will update this page accordingly.
