Social responsibility policy

Author: Leanne Werner and Helena Smith

Responsible Executive: Director 

Date of document: Nov 2020

Date of next review: Nov 2023

Who we are and what we do

We create spaces for wildlife in the city. We design, plant and maintain outdoor spaces. We promote biodiversity through wildlife-friendly planting and low-carbon gardening practices. We support education in wilding practices, and set up community and staff gardening clubs.

Our ethos

• We buy plants from local growers

• We use peat-free compost

• We minimise plastic use

• We use organic bulbs and pesticide-free plants

• We use reclaimed wood for our planters

• All our plants are wildlife friendly

Employees

We engage in local communities with decision making and provide job opportunities by working in partnership with the Bankside Open Space Trust (BOST) Future Gardeners scheme. The Future Gardeners scheme upskills unemployed people in gardening skills – we have already begun to provide work for Future Gardeners.

Customers

We aim to retain our customers by treating them with respect, and by carrying out our duties in a timely, safe and appropriate manner. We are committed to clear communication with customers.

Suppliers’ standards

·       Our suppliers adhere to the Modern Slavery Act 201

·       Our suppliers operate in line with the Bribery Act 2010

·       We use local suppliers or suppliers that use organic methods that do not harm the environment

·       We are committed to paying our suppliers properly and on time

·       Our suppliers have all got CSR policies in place

·       We are committed to clear communication with suppliers

Protecting the environment

We are committed to reducing our environmental impact:

·       We re-use gardening waste for compost and we use up-cycling methods

·       Our plants are drought tolerant, and we use water butts to help reduce water waste

·       We use cargo bikes for the majority of our work