Our Environmental Policy

A Helping Hand: Action for the Environment

At Dobbies, we recognise that there are some serious environmental challenges that come with running a business responsibly. The last few years have seen important steps forward in this area:

Environmental Policy Statement

The Directors of Dobbies Garden Centres plc recognise that there are important environmental issues associated with the distribution and retailing of horticultural products and the operation of the chain of garden centres. We believe that good environmental practice is an integral part of how we run our business.

In order to manage these issues effectively the directors are committed to:-

• Providing a safe and healthy working environment for all those who use our facilities.
• Promoting plants and other products which have associated environmental benefits and to provide, where appropriate, information relating to these products.
• Using resources efficiently and minimising their consumption by, where practicable, using materials that are renewable, recycled or reusable.
• The prevention of pollution.
• Meeting or exceeding those regulatory requirements which relate to the companies activities.
• Minimising waste generated by our business, promoting recycling and to reuse materials where applicable.
• Provide customers and staff with public transport options which serve the garden centres.
• Working with our suppliers to improve the environmental performance of the entire supply chain.
• Having regard to environmental considerations in design, site and management of all our facilities.

We believe that it is the shared responsibility of all company employees to understand and act in accordance with this policy. We will continue to promote internal awareness of environmental issues through communication with new and existing staff and will provide training programmes to support this. We will consult staff on the effectiveness of our environmental commitments, and engage with our key stakeholders to ensure we are responsive to their needs and expectations.

The directors will continually review and monitor its environmental policy in order to further improve its performance.

Dobbies Peat Policy

As part of its Environmental Policy Dobbies are committed to “using resources efficiently and minimising their consumption by, where practicable, using or selling materials that are renewable, recycled or re-usable.”

To this end; Dobbies has joined the Growing Media Initiative (GMI) which is a horticultural industry scheme, led by the HTA, to encourage the use of peat-free and peat-reduced growing media. The scheme has been developed by the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) in association with DIY and Garden Centre retailers, DEFRA, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).

Through our membership of the GMI we are looking to demonstrate our progress towards peat reduction and our commitment to offering our customers environmentally sound and sustainable growing media which perform equal to or better than peat. To ensure that the peat used in Dobbies growing media products causes the minimal environmental impact, the following principals will be followed:-

GMI Peat Sourcing Policy

• Peat should only be extracted from legally-approved peatland sites that are not designated as a SSI or are not sites of recognised ecological, archaeological or other conservation value (worldwide); this includes all areas that have been designated under the relevant national or international regulatory regime from the country from which the peat is sourced.
• Peat is extracted only from sites with an agreed environmentally sound and socially responsible after-use plan. Planning consents may have their own specific requirements for restoration/after-use that the peat extractor has to comply with.
• Peat is extracted only from sites operated in such a way as to protect un-worked adjacent peat areas and maintain water tables to enable them to act as refuge for peatland flora and fauna.
• Sites are operated in such a way as to leave a sufficient layer of ombotrophic peat to facilitate the re-establishment of bog flora and fauna.
• Peat should be sourced from named bogs to allow traceability and should not be sourced from any peat concessions opened since 2004.

Press Area

Welcome to Dobbies Press Area

Media releases
Facts and figures, horticultural features and out latest news.  We regularly update the information on our website to cover:
-   Openings and redevelopments
-   Events
-   Seasonal features

Image Library
Visit our online image library to browse low resolution files and order high resolution versions for publication.

General press enquiries
Call Dobbies Head Office on 0131 663 6778 and ask for the Press Office.  You can also email pr@dobbies.com 

Advertising 
Call Spirit Media on 0131 478 3456 

Marketing
Call Dobbies Head Office on 0131 663 6778 and ask for the marketing department. 

Charity & Sponsorhip Requests
Support of local charities and local event sponsorship is decided at store level.  Please contact individual garden centres directly and ask to speak to the manager.

Building Design

We are trying to design our buildings with a more sustainable edge. That means raising the profile of energy conservation as a key aim, using more timber in the construction process and improving the landscape setting.

Prevent Pollution

We use resources as efficiently as possible to prevent pollution during the building and running of our centres. While we already meet our regulatory requirements (such as the Duty of Care Waste Management and the Packaging Waste regulations), our aim is to exceed them.

Grey Water

Many of our centres are fitted with low-energy lights and solar light switches. A gowing number use ‘grey water’ systems to collect rain water for irrigation and internal uses. And our Milton Keynes and Stirling centres can access a natural water source. Last year we also installed solar panels to heat water in our new Cirencester and Milton Keynes stores, and plans are in place to do the same at our new developments for this year at Dunfermline and Sheffield.

Recycling

We’re also getting better at recycling. We’ve introduced cardboard bailing machines into our larger centres. We are looking to take part in the plant pot recycling scheme wherever it’s in operation. Our carrier bags are now made from 70% recycled materials and are themselves fully recyclable. This year we are also hoping to trial plastic recycling in our flagship Edinburgh store, and want to be recycling plastic in all of our centres by the end of the year.

Environmental Information

Our environmental concerns continue to be reflected in a wider choice of organic products.  All of our new garden furniture is 100% FSC (Forestry Steward Council) compliant, and we’re offering our customers environmental information on both range and also our centres – such as what environmentally friendly public transport options are available to get to them.