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Sustainability

   Biosecurity       Plant Healthy Certification      Going Green Range    Environmental Goals     FORS Silver

Introduction

From our early days Provender Nurseries has strived to do what is right for the environment.  One of the drivers of the business is to be sustainable where we can, when we can. Many decisions are made because it is the right thing to do, are beneficial eco-friendly practices and not just a tick box exercise.  

 

Biosecurity

Biosecurity is part of our backbone and plays an integral role in Provender Nurseries' environmental responsibility.

Our objective is to supply the highest quality plants. To do this we regularly train our staff on site and in our production sites, carry out regular visits to our suppliers to handpick our stock whilst also checking their biosecurity standards and doing our own risk register assessment on suppliers.

We spread the word of biosecurity to our customers and other trade businesses by holding events on site, talking at trade shows, showing customers what we do, how and why, as biosecurity affects all aspects of plant supply across the industry.

Our day-to-day practices when purchasing, unloading deliveries, carrying out checks on site, and advising clients all circulate around our biosecurity and plant health policies. Regular crop walks on all of our sites, undertaken by APHA and our trained staff, are helping us achieve a clean business.

Stuart Tickner, our Nursery, Production and Biosecurity Manager, is our dedicated biosecurity person on site. It is his job to keep up to date with all the latest legislations and changes for importing stock from European and non-European countries, to reduce the risk of bringing in and spreading any regulated pest and diseases.

If you have any questions on biosecurity, please feel free to contact Provender Nurseries, on 01322 622315 or email - stuart.tickner@provendernurseries.co.uk

You can view our Biosecurity policy here

 

Plant Healthy Certification

At Provender Nurseries, we are committed to being Plant Healthy certificated, ensuring that the highest standards are met and upheld in the day-to-day purchasing, maintenance, and supply of healthy plants to our customers.

Plant Healthy certification is voluntary, and our choosing to be part of this initiative shows that Provender Nurseries has a responsible and ongoing approach to plant health and biosecurity. Provender Nurseries are proud to say that we have been Plant Healthy certificated since the introduction of the scheme in February 2021.

Going Green

Requests for more environmental products have risen over the last few years. With this in mind, we have collated all our friendly products together in the Going Green range to make sundries easier to find. The Going Green range includes; lawn feeds, plant fertilisers, insecticides, natural pest and disease control, fungicides, mulches, soil improvers, and wildflower seeds.

As part of our green initiatives, our purchasing team is always looking for new products to add to our already extensive choice of product in the Going Green range, products that are either organic, wildlife-friendly, or have natural ingredients as their main components.

 

Environmental Goals at Provender Nurseries

We never stop looking at the environment and what we can do as a business to help improve it for everyone on-site, in the industry, and wider still. A small change can make a huge difference. Our environmental group with representatives from different parts of the business meets on a monthly basis to discuss and review current practices.

With this in mind, our Environmental Committee has created the 6 Rs. The 6 Rs of our environmental goals for the future are, Reuse, Reduce, Recycle, Review, Remove, and Reinforce.

  • Reuse

    • We take back all 18L pots and larger that we have supplied from our own plants. We reuse these on-site.

    • We reuse water fittings and materials on site to reduce wastage and costs.

 

  • Reduce

    • LED on motion sensors are installed around the entire site, reducing the use of electricity.

    • We have reduced our diesel usage on site, with all on-site forklifts and buggies now being electric.

 

  • Recycle

    • Cardboard and soft plastics are baled on site and sent for recycling.

    • All scrap metal, timber, batteries, and printer toners are collated and recycled.

 

  • Review

    • Review the products in our Going Green range on a regular basis.

    • New irrigation spikes are being tested around the site.

 

  • Remove

    • We have removed the polystyrene packaging from our supply chain.

    • All deliveries on Danish trollies are sent out with green reusable jackets, removing all plastic wrap from our deliveries.

 

  • Reinforce

    • The use of blue kerb-side recyclable pots in our production sites.

    • In-house recycling training.

 

FORS Silver

How does FORS Silver fit into our sustainability values as a company? FORS is a voluntary scheme with parts of the accreditation based on environmental protection.

FORS silver accreditation is a Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme, designed to drive up standards with operators and the construction industry and demonstrate exemplary levels of best practice in safety, efficiency, and environmental protection.

Much of the silver status is about measuring and managing emissions and being as efficient as possible. Our transport team work out our daily deliveries to our clients with route planning calculated to minimize the impact on the environment. For more information about our deliveries, please visit our deliveries page.