As part of its sustainability roadmap, the Horticultural Trades Association has launched a new scheme to enable its members to share best practice and experience with each other and build a supportive community. 

Sustainability Reference Sites are HTA member businesses who are already doing considerable work in terms of implementing positive change and embedding sustainability into their business plans.  

The first HTA Sustainability Reference Sites have been named as Hillier Nurseries, The Barton Grange Group, The Gardens Group and New Wood Trees.  

Liz Williams, HTA Sustainability Executive said “I am thrilled to be able to announce our new Sustainability Reference Site scheme. We have some members who are doing fantastic things to improve their businesses in a sustainable way and can share their experiences with other HTA members. This is an exciting step to continue helping our members along their own sustainability journeys.”   

The reference sites are ready to share their knowledge among HTA members and to champion the industry to those outside of it.  

George Hillier from Hillier said “We are delighted to be included in the Horticultural Trades Association’s reference sites programme and are thrilled to have the opportunity to share some ideas around reducing carbon footprint. We have implemented various green alternatives when designing Hillier Garden Centre Three Legged Cross, and we hope to spread this knowledge and create action amongst our friends and colleagues throughout the industry.” 

Mike Burks of the Gardens Group added “I quite often hear people say that the scale of the environmental and sustainability challenge is so great that they don’t know where to start. But my belief is that no matter where we each start from, it’s important to take a first step so that collectively we can make a huge difference.” 

Philip Nieuwoudt of New Wood Trees said “Sustainability is a huge topic, and it can be very difficult to know where to start. There is an overwhelming amount of information available and knowing what to focus on is not easy. Most businesses do not have the luxury of having a staff member dedicated to sustainability and finding the time to understand and implement changes is challenging. This is why we feel it’s important to take part in this scheme. Businesses need to share their knowledge and help each other make the changes which are so desperately needed.” 

There will be opportunities for HTA members to engage and interact with our Sustainability Reference Sites throughout the year, so members should look out for more on this soon. 

Find out more about what the reference sites have done to make their businesses more sustainable at hta.org.uk/SustainabilityRefSites