What steps has your organization already to made to change into extra environmentally pleasant?

Vigilis Tree Shelters are dedicated to sourcing sustainable supplies the place doable. It is very important us that our timber merchandise are PEFC and FSC Licensed, originating from responsibly managed forests that present environmental, social and financial advantages.

We’ve got additionally invested closely in researching and creating our personal vary of biodegradable Vigilis tree shelters. We’ve got invested over £500k in analysis and improvement, laboratory testing over 750 samples for mechanical properties, weathering and biodegradation over a simulated 7-year interval. Our dedication to biodegradable tree shelters extends past this. We proceed to carefully monitor over 70 area trials throughout the UK, taking measurements and monitoring the shelters for energy, flexibility and biodegradation to make sure our merchandise are functioning to the best commonplace.

Vigilis Tree Shelters have a fleet of electrical autos which workers use for website visits, decreasing our carbon footprint.

How are your merchandise sustainable? / Are you stocking extra sustainable merchandise?

Our Vigilis-Bio biodegradable tree shelters are constituted of bio-based derivates (potatoes, wooden & corn) and a customized biodegradable polymer. No plastics are used within the manufacturing course of and fewer carbon is emitted in the course of the manufacturing course of. They’re soil biodegradable, subsequently, they may embrittle, fragment and biodegrade onsite – solely water, minerals and biomass will stay after biodegradation. That is the way in which ahead for a sustainable forestry trade and to deal with the massive plastic air pollution challenge that we face with polypropylene tree shelters.

Are you implementing any additional modifications to proceed reducing your carbon footprint?

We’re dedicated to reducing our carbon footprint throughout the entire enterprise, spanning to our on-line presence. We’ve got constructed an internet site with low carbon emissions which is 89% cleaner than different comparable web sites

We’re phasing out polypropylene tree shelters and we’re dedicated to solely supplying Vigilis-Bio biodegradable tree shelters inside the subsequent few years. It’s not environmentally or socially acceptable for standard tree shelters to be left within the atmosphere after use as they may find yourself as microplastics within the soil. Whereas, biodegradable tree shelters will fragment and supply a meals supply to soil microbes.

What have you ever discovered to be the most important problem in going greener?

One of many greatest challenges has been transitioning from polypropylene tree shelter manufacturing to biodegradable tree shelter manufacturing. The entire manufacturing course of is totally different, requiring funding in state-of-the-art equipment, specializing in smaller manufacturing runs and utilizing customized supplies.

Gaining belief inside the forestry trade is one other problem: biodegradable tree shelters are comparatively new to the market and a large selection of suppliers have now began manufacturing them from a wide range of totally different supplies. Nevertheless, the efficacy of biodegradable shelters is considerably debated inside the trade. To handle this challenge, now we have undertaken rigorous laboratory exams and area trials to validate efficiency and benchmark biodegradable tree shelters in opposition to their conventional counterparts. Going forwards, trade requirements must be established to instil confidence within the high quality of biodegradable merchandise and that is one thing we’re working in the direction of.