Our Environmental Policy
As a team here at Pacific, we are passionate about all the benefits that horticulture brings to the environment, however we also recognise there is a need for everyone to improve their environmental footprint and take responsibility of how our actions and operations impact the world around us.
We are continuously working on improving our sustainability awareness and taking action towards operating in a more environmentally friendly manner.
Compost
We have used Westland as our compost supplier for over 20 years.
Westland are working towards reducing their Peat-Consumption over there next few years, bringing out more peat-free compost ranges and offering reduced-peat composts across every product.
We provide information for our customers so that they can make their own decisions for which compost to choose.
We grow all our own plants in peat reduced compost.
Garden Products
We offer organic alternatives to chemicals used in horticulture.
We are working with suppliers to understand the different products we offer so that we can advise accordingly.
We encourage composting, mulching and water conservation. We offer examples of mulching across all our display beds.
Our Plants
We sell wildlife friendly plants for the local area. Our labelling system makes it easy to know which plants are bee and butterfly friendly.
90% of our plants are grown in Britain.
75% of our plants we sell are homegrown. All our seasonal bedding plants are grown in our own on-site poly tunnels on the Chester Road, and the rest at the Pacific Nurseries growing site at Little Hay, just four miles away. This reduces the plant-miles.
All our homegrown plants are grown in peat-reduced compost.
Wildlife
Our display gardens are wildlife friendly.
We have our own Pacific Bees and their honey is available to purchase in The Pantry through the Summer.
We offer a wide range of wildlife friendly products such as bird feed, bird houses, hedgehog and squirrel food and insect ‘hotels’.
Cafe & Farm Shop
We recycle all glass, plastic and paper packaging and also food waste.
We choose locally sourced ingredients to reduce food miles.
We change our menu seasonally and offer range of different diet-friendly foods.
We offer cardboard takeaway cups and cartons for taking away cakes or drinks.
Our fresh fruit and vegetables comes in plastic-free packaging.
We sell local foods from as little as one mile away.
Packaging
We have moved away from black non-recyclable pots, instead using only grey, recycled plastic pots for all plants grown at Little Hay and Chester Road. These are more widely recyclable.
We are working with suppliers who are reducing their plastic packaging, in particular single-use plastic.
We offer all our customers spare trays or cardboard boxes to take their goods away instead of plastic bags,
In compliance with the Government changes in October 2015, plastic carrier bags are no longer free. We only offer fully biodegradable plastic carrier bags.
We are in talks with suppliers to change our plastic boot liners to biodegradable ones.
In the Office
We ensure that our external suppliers for printing are operating in a sustainable way.
All paper waste is shredded and/or recycled accordingly.
Our POS is relative to the shop size, we do not print any more than is necessary.
We recycle all printing cartridges across the offices.
Our Peat Policy
It is our responsibility to offer our customers the very best products for access so they can enjoy their gardens whilst also acting in an environmentally friendly way.
While peat is undoubtedly a great growing media for plants, it is hugely damaging to our environment. The harvesting of peat damages our ecosystem.
Every year we are offering more peat free alternatives at a competitive price. Westland are working hard to eliminate peat from all their compost bags by the 2024 deadline, whilst ensuring we are all still getting the most out of our plants.
We have been stockists of Westland compost for over 30 years, and our team have expert knowledge straight from Westland so we can continue to educate our customers and promote peat free products.
Powered by the sun
In May 2023, we had 242 solar panels installed on all the south facing parts of our roof!
In a bid to become more environmentally friendly and reduce our carbon footprint, we're now using solar power to generate our own electricity. On sunny days, we are generating around 80% of our own electricity through our solar panels over 24 hours!
We understand the importance of protecting the environment for our future generations and are committed to reducing our impact on the climate.
See how we're getting on with our solar generated power on our new TV in the shop.
