Boningale Limited launches Sustainability Plan to make growing ‘greener’
Boningale Limited has signed up to the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) ‘Sustainability Roadmap Supports pledge,’ publishing its own Sustainability Plan in response to climate and biodiversity issues.
The Shropshire-based nursery, which produces around 2.2 million shrubs, herbaceous and perennial plants per year supplying commercial landscapers, Garden Designers, Green Roofing Installers, and domestic and retail markets has been ISO14001 accredited since 2007. Recent training sessions with the HTA and PlanetMark have provided Boningale with guidance on how to put together a structured sustainability plan which will drive the changes that are necessary.
The plan puts forward eight social and environmental indicators to balance the traditional financial performance measures. Many of the environmental themes relate to the KPIs in our Environmental Management System and include measures that are externally audited.
All of the five areas of focus in the HTA sustainability roadmap and charter are covered, and by signing up to support these goals Boningale plans to significantly promote sustainable progress in the commercial landscaping sector.
The sustainability plan is a live document and will be updated as plans and actions change. Each theme includes a brief explanation and note about our business context, in addition to an insight of the company’s current position and next planned steps.
Many of the areas covered in the sustainability plan already have more detailed plans or policies in place, like the plan to make retail production peat-free by 2024 and the audited Plant Health Management System. There are still several areas like carbon foot-printing where the baseline and time-bound targets are not yet fully defined, and others such as the support of the Young People in Horticulture Association (YPHA) where the first step involves partnering with another organisation specialising in this issue.
Sustainability is a prominent topic at industry events as standard and is increasingly queried by clients and customers.
Kersten Catella, Sales and Marketing Director at Boningale, said ‘We have had one of our biggest commercial customers ask us to provide information on our sustainability plan for their clients, which shows a requirement for more effort and transparency in sustainable plant supply.’
Viridis Director Phil Newman added ‘There is huge expectation from the domestic landscape market to be reassured plants are being supplied in the most sustainable way. We owe it to ourselves to support our customer base with sustainability initiatives and are keen to develop links and stronger working relationships in this area.’
It is necessary to communicate with suppliers and competitors to ensure a ‘collaborative’ approach, and the Boningale senior management team look forward to finding out more about how the industry can collaborate to move forward at the upcoming HTA conference.
The HTA Conference takes place at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham on 14th September 2022, with an array of speakers discussing a range of topics from ‘What will our industry look like in the future?’ to ‘How will automation, artificial intelligence and the metaverse change the world we live in?’