Although there is always more to be done, at Ruxley Manor we are making a conscious effort to reduce our negative impact on the environment and, where possible, support the local community around us who have supported us since opening the centre in 1964. Below is some more information about everything we are doing to give back.
RUXLEY MANOR HAVE PROUDLY SIGNED UP TO PLANET MARK
We’re furthering our sustainability commitment by becoming Planet Mark certified through measuring and reducing our carbon footprint.
Planet Mark is an internationally recognised sustainability certification for every type of organisation, for real estate and for products. A Planet Mark certification recognises continuous improvement, encourages action and builds an empowered community of like-minded individuals who make a world of difference.
OUR SUSTAINABILITY ACTIONS
In this crucial Decade of Action, we want to ensure that we are a force for good: positively transforming society and the planet by measuring our own impact on the environment.
Over the next year we will be working towards reducing our carbon emissions, and we want to share this journey with our community to encourage others to join us.
Through Planet Mark we are protecting an area of endangered rainforest thanks to Cool Earth; a charity working alongside rainforest communities to halt deforestation. Our pledge through Cool Earth goes directly towards supporting the Asháninka community in Central Peru.
Through our commitment to Planet Mark we are also helping the Eden Project – an educational charity building connections with each other and the living world, exploring how we can work together towards a better future.
Each and every one of you plays an important role in our sustainability commitments, and Planet Mark will help to embed sustainability in our business culture so that we can make continual progress.
We look forward to sharing our sustainability achievements with the wider community. We encourage you to get in touch if you have any questions, suggestions or would like to get involved.
AND A FEW THINGS WE'RE ALREADY DOING...
Sustainability is more than just an environmental issue, here at Ruxley we are integrating sustainability into the way we operate as the future is worth investing in. Sustainability will positively effect everyone and everything on our planet, so we’re doing what we can to help make that happen.
PLASTIC
Although we are constantly making the conscience effort to eliminate plastic from our store, we still have a long way to go until we completely eliminate single use plastics at Ruxley Manor. But we are proud of what we have achieved so far.
THE STORE
We’re making conscious efforts across the shop floor to also reduce plastic.
- In our Outdoor Plants department they favour suppliers who provide their stock on recyclable packaging.
- In our Lifestyle department we no longer sell disposable plastic straws, we now stock a range of reusable straws (not all sold singly) made from different materials, such as metal and paper. Soon a majority of the cards on sale in Lifestyle will be brought in and sold without cello wrap.
THE RESTAURANT
Our Mulberry Tree restaurant is making the conscious effort to eliminate the use of plastic. The Mulberry Tree has made a bold move to try and minimise the amount of single use plastic we have within the restaurant.
- We have changed as many of our drinks to recyclable glass bottles as possible.
- We have stopped as many of the condiment sachets as we can and now have a pump dispenser for our tomato ketchup and brown sauce.
- All the straws in the restaurant are now biodegradable
SOLAR PANELS
November 2015 saw the installation of 723 solar panels which generate around 153,637.50 KWH, saving around 27.7% of previous grid usage. (It is also the equivalent of electricity needed for an electric car to travel 451,875 miles each year!)
BIOMASS BOILER/AIR SOURCE HEAT PUMP
In 2013 a new biomass boiler was installed on site which allows us to turn our unwanted pallets and timber into energy that now supplies heat and hot water to both the Food Hall and The Mulberry Tree Restaurant. An Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) has been installed to assist in heating the covered areas of the site, the offices and Grace’s Day Nursery – supported by central heating systems only when necessary. The ASHP works by absorbing heat from the outside air and transfers that heat into our buildings across the site.
THE OFFICES
Our marketing team is cutting down on the plastics that they use on a daily basis. By the end of summer they’re aiming to transition from laminated and plastic based signage to recyclable options, which will save over 1200kg of single use plastics over the course of each year. We’re beginning to externally print our re-occurring product and seasonal signage, the results of printing our signage this way would mean our marketing department would use less paper and plastic based consumables.
GENERAL WASTE
Currently 83% of general waste is recycled with the help and support from a local recycling company, minimising the wastage that gets sent to landfills. All of our green waste is composted in one of our two composting units that are on site.
WOOD
80% of wood is recycled by either being sent to our local recycling depot, most wooden pallets are returned to our suppliers to re-use and any excess or waste timber is used in our Biomass Heater to provide heat to The Mulberry Tree Restaurant and the Food Hall.
CARDBOARD
With the investment of a cardboard compacting machine in 2008 we are now able to recycle 93% of our cardboard waste. All of our cardboard (around 375 tonnes a year) is baled in our compactor and sent to a Kentish paper mill for recycling.
A FEW EXTRAS
Ruxley Manor recognises that the use of peat in growing media has a limited future; we feel it is essential to offer a peat-free option to limit the exploitation of new peat bogs. We are therefore working to promote the sale of reduced peat products in line with the current government guidelines. Our aim is to continue to reduce the amount of peat used in the making of compost and continue to promote the use of peat-free compost throughout the center.
We take an active role in encouraging our customers to recycle water in their gardens by offering a range of water-saving water butts.
Currently we are working with suppliers to introduce non-black pots in our outdoor plants department which are kerbside recyclable, black pots are currently non recyclable due to the carbon pigment they are made with. Working with our local councils we are making sure that our plant pots are kerbside recyclable and therefore are not a single use plastic within our business.
At present Ruxley Manor’s aim is to recycle as much as possible and to continue to reduce the amount that is sent to land fill sites.
LOCAL COMMUNITY
Here at Ruxley, we want to give back to the local community, that’s why we’ve decided to push our efforts further and give even more back. We want to see the community blossom and to do that we’ve accumulated a list of projects that we can undertake to help make this possible.
Over the next few years we want to develop our projects into the community and watch them flourish. So keep your eyes on our website and social media to stay up to date with us and what we’re doing to help the community.
We currently support a local chosen charity, which you can find out more about using the link below, and run a free competition for local residents, schools and businesses. Find out more about Ruxley in Bloom using the button below.
