While we are quick to shout loudly about new projects and innovations that are being developed within our world of sporting facilities and industrial warehousing, our environmental agenda continues to evolve and progress discreetly in the background.
PVC recycling is a hot topic in team meetings, vehicles are being switched over to electric, we’re registered as an upper tier waste carrier, we’re using more local contractors to reduce travel, our yard is a hub of structural upcycling and we closely monitor the fuel consumption of plant hire.
It’s not enough! We need to do more and it is a priority, not just because we care about our planet but, let’s be honest, it also pays to be environmentally friendly from a business point of view as customers are increasingly keen to know that measures will be taken to offset the carbon footprint of their project. Our children, who are so much more knowledgeable about our planet and concerned about what we’re doing to help save it, are also very keen that we pick up our pace on sustainability. As a business built on family values, the children’s input is important. Typically, we don’t act on their suggestions, although sometimes a chocolate fountain in the meeting room might be the perfect solution for livening up a lengthy conference call and a “wake and shake” dance-off at the beginning of each day could be a great way of releasing those positive endorphins that will inspire productivity.
However, in our efforts to show the children that we do listen to them from time to time, we recently recruited our youngest team members to help us plant some beautiful Redwood saplings around the business park, which have further enhanced our views of the Wiltshire countryside surrounding us.
Aside from their aesthetic appeal, Redwoods help keep our air clean, absorbing substantial amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and filtering pollutants from both air and water. Old-growth Redwoods store as much as 5 times more carbon above ground than any other type of forest on the planet. In areas prone to erosion, the robust root systems of Giant Redwoods can provide essential stability to the soil where heavy rainfall can lead to degradation. Planting Giant Redwoods can also help to preserve local ecosystems and enrich biodiversity. So really, they’re superheroes of sustainability.
Full transparency, we haven’t planted a whole forest…….yet! We’re well aware that our collection of saplings is not enough to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the world’s atmosphere but it can play a part in our local environmental goals as well as be a valuable addition to the landscape. These trees stand as a reminder of the potential for our stewardship to make a positive impact on the environment and as a reminder that we probably ought to listen to the CopriSystems’ children more because, on top of their multi-faceted super-powers, the Redwoods really are quite beautiful!
