Our Blog - Why we treat every day like Earth Day

Why we treat every day like Earth Day

 

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Why we treat every day like Earth Day

Since we opened our doors in 1981, we’ve been dedicated to helping you live happier, healthier lives while safeguarding the environment. It’s (literally) rooted in everything we do, from how we source our ingredients to how we operate as a business. So, this Earth Day, we’re shining the spotlight on some of the ways we work to protect, preserve and invest in caring for our precious planet every day.

Plus, we’re celebrating the work of our long-standing partners, World Land Trust, and donating £1 of every purchase made on 22nd April 2022 to the conservation charity.

The wonderful work of the World Land Trust

The World Land Trust is an international conservation charity close to our hearts. Dedicated to saving threatened habitats acre by acre and creating protected nature reserves worldwide to safeguard the world’s most vulnerable wildlife, we are honoured to support their work. Since 2012, we’ve helped save 3 million m² of endangered forest and have offset over 250 tonnes of CO2 with our Carbon Balanced packaging, all through the World Land Trust. This Earth Day, we’re celebrating the charity and donating £1 of every purchase made on 22 April 2022 to them.

Our CarbonNeutral® journey

Treading lighter on our planet is ingrained in our ethos, and we’re always working on ways to make our footprint as gentle as possible. In 2008, we became the first UK high street retailer to be certified CarbonNeutral® and offset our greenhouse gas emissions every year since. With each step we take forward, we’re committed to pioneering ways of tackling climate change by setting a Science-Based Target (SBT) to reduce emissions and meet the United Nations’ goal of halting a global temperature rise at two degrees above pre-industrial levels.

Putting renewable energy first

At Neal’s Yard Remedies, we’re proud to prioritise diversifying our energy supplies and focusing on maximising our renewable energy sources, helping to reduce air pollution and carbon emissions drastically. Our Dorset eco factory was designed with renewable energy front of mind and installed 700m² of solar panels. We generate 5% of our electricity there, which is topped up by a 100% UK sourced renewable tariff, and we use 100% renewable electricity and gas across all our stores. We recycle over 20% of our water and have a water recycling system at our eco factory that recycles up to 1 million litres of water every year. Over the years, we’ve continued to fund freshwater availability projects, such as rainwater collection tanks for our tea tree oil suppliers in Kenya.

Saving the bees

We’re always in awe of the treasures we find in nature and believe that acting with the greatest care and respect for wildlife is crucial in how we work and live. But sometimes, it takes more than merely maintaining a level of care, and certain species need our help to reverse the damage already done. Our precious bees are no exception: over the past 50 years, UK bee species have declined by more than half and 97% of wildflower meadows have disappeared since the 1930s.

In 2011, we rolled out our Bee Lovely campaign, joining forces with our partners, including Friends of the Earth, to raise awareness and petition for a UK ban on neonicotinoids. Shortly after, we launched our Bee Lovely range, where 3% of sales go to bee charities, and since then, we’ve raised over £250,000 and helped save 50 million bees.

Still, bee-killing neonicotinoids continue to be used in certain circumstances, despite one teaspoon of the pesticide being enough to kill 1.25 billion honeybees – the equivalent of over four lorry loads. So, in March 2022, we wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for a total ban on the use of neonicotinoids in the UK, even as an emergency measure, and for the government to support farmers transitioning to nature-friendly alternatives. The letter was signed by over 50 British businesses and organisations, including The Body Shop, Yeo Valley, the British Beauty Council and Greenpeace.

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