Environmental Policy

At Hintons Nursery, we are committed to reducing our environmental impact and continually improving our environmental performance as an integral part of our business strategy and operating methods. We recycle almost everything, avoid printing (except our labels), grow as much as we can and if we can't grow something ourselves - we only buy from other English growers. 

Mission Statement

At Hintons Nursery, we are committed to reducing our environmental impact and continually improving our environmental performance as an integral part of our business strategy and operating methods. We believe this is much more sustainable and makes economic sense. We encourage customers, suppliers and other stakeholders to do the same.

Responsibility

All our employees have a responsibility in their area to ensure that the aims and objectives of our policy are met.

Objectives


General

  • We comply with, and where possible, exceed relevant regulatory requirements.
  • We incorporate environmental considerations into our business decisions.
  • Our policy is included in our staff awareness and training.
  • We minimise the use of paper in the office by not printing anything, unless unavoidable e.g. plant labels and prices.
  • We use recycled cardboard packaging wherever possible, encouraging our customers to do the same.
  • Lights and electrical equipment are switched off when not in use.
  • The nursery is unheated, although we do occasionally need to heat our glasshouses. 
  • The energy consumption and efficiency of new products is taken into account when we are selecting new products.
  • We minimise the number of journeys we have to make by combining trips or by using mail where possible.
  • We use local labour and materials where available to reduce CO2 and help the community.


The Plants We Sell

  • We grow as many of our plants as possible so we can be sure of their quality. We don’t like using pesticides or plant regulators, and seldom need to.
  • We use controlled release fertiliser (only where fertiliser is necessary) to prevent excessive nutrient leaching.
  •  We recycle our own undamaged pots, trays, packaging, cardboard, polystyrene, plastic and paper.
  • We use air circulation fans in the glasshouses to help improve the cultural environment and reduce the need for chemicals.
  • Any surplus green materials go on our compost heap.
  • There are no road miles for plants grown on the nursery.
  • We use efficient irrigation systems for plants to conserve water and minimise pollution run-off risk.
  • If we buy in plants or products, we endeavour to source these from other local growers & businesses, and not from outside the UK.


This policy is revisited annually to ensure it is current and accurate.