ETHICAL TRADING AT ESSENTIAL ENGLAND
At Essential England we are committed to reducing the flower industry’s enormous environmental impact, by using British blooms in their correct season. Where possible our flowers are grown naturally in the fields, using very little additional water, approved fertilizers and virtually no artificial heat or light. We support a zero ait miles policy and transport flowers direct from the grower to florist at night, so no cold storage or refrigerated transport is required.
OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT
This year we will be working with the Carbon trust and the Edinburgh centre for Carbon Emissions to compare the carbon footprint of our Home grown flowers to those imported from abroad.
We are calculating all the greenhouse gas emissions associated with growing the flowers, transporting the flowers, packing flowers, manufacturing the packaging, distributing the flowers and keeping them cold in transit . Early indication suggests that buying British blooms is likely to be over 60% more carbon efficient.
RECYCLED PACKAGING
We are committed to further reducing our carbon footprint. Our aim is to use 100% recycled or 100% renewable material in our packaging. Currently all our flower boxes and marketing material is made from 50% recycled and 50% FSC stock. All our vinyl stickers are produced from 100% recycled material.
Where possible we re-use packaging. We try to use the least possible amount of material per pack, and use materials for which there is a widely available sustainable waste management option.
RESPONSIBLE SOURCING
At Essential England we are proud of the British flowers we use and the traditional farms that produce them. We prioritise buying our blooms from farms that look after both their workers and the environment. We favour farms certified by independent environmental and social organisations, and pay a premium for flowers from farms with the highest ethical accreditations, such as those certified by LEAF and the Soil Association.
As some of our farms have not applied yet to be covered by existing certification schemes, we have our own set of standards. They are extremely comprehensive, and cover all relevant areas from labour conditions to appropriate growing techniques to protection of biodiversity.
IMPORTED FLOWERS
Cut flowers that are imported into the UK from overseas are increasingly becoming associated with adverse affects on the environment. Once cut the flowers may be stored in energy consuming cold stores before they are then transported long distances in temperature controlled trucks or aeroplanes. In some cases flower may have been cut over 14 days prior to the customer purchasing them. It has been noted that one East African country shipped 17,000 tonnes of flowers to the UK in 2004 alone, releasing some 33,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (Defra in 2004).
What is surprising to learn is that our European neighbours, Holland, are responsible for an equally large carbon footprint. The cultivation process required for Dutch roses (continually grown out of their natural growing season), emits fifteen times more carbon dioxide than that for English roses, the reason for this being the vast amounts of energy consumed in providing heat and light in the winter months.
It is not just the carbon footprint associated with the cultivation and transport of cut flowers to the UK which is a cause for concern. Other environmental costs include deforestation in equatorial regions to make way for flower farms. Water pollution, loss of biodiversity and human illness has also been linked to the fertilisers, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides used abroad in flower cultivation.
Toxic Chemicals such as methylbromide (linked with ozone layer depletion) and DDT are used freely in developing countries where lax environmental laws fail to inhibit their use. Closer to home many florists report dermatitis as a result of handling treated flowers, with high levels of the chemicals remaining on petals and leaves.
Finally the water footprint left by the cut flower industry cannot be ignored. When one considers it takes about 5 litres of water to produce a single stem (Helen Nyambura, Reuters) it is easy to appreciate the massive demand put on precious water supplies in countries such as Kenya. It has been said that as a result of irrigation needs “every single lake in Africa is in crisis”(Maude Barlow, Senior adviser on water to the UN General Assembly).
