Green Credentials

From Green Fingers to Green Issues We've got it Covered...

Powered by our principles we have identified key areas where we as a business can make a difference to the world around us; helping to maintain sustainability and making it a better place to be.

We believe passionately in our surroundings and have a vision of a healthier, happier and greener future. If we all take small steps, together we can achieve a bigger goal...

We are committed to our Green Footprints and are constantly reviewing and researching new opportunities for improvement. We aim to reduce our own carbon footprint and by growing almost 60% of our plants at our own on-site nurseries we have cut our transport requirements; another small step in helping the environment and the world around us.

Water Efficiency

• To help maintain sustainability for our future generations we operate a highly efficient and self-reliant water recycling programme:
• Our 3.5 million gallon reservoir has been helping reduce our impact on the environment since we built it in 1976.
• All rain and run off water from throughout the centre and car parks is collected in the reservoir.
• Water in the reservoir is filtered and re-used for watering the plants on our growing nurseries and plant area.
• We are trialing an automatic watering system in our bedding plant department to improve efficiency and labour.
• Investing in more capilliary matting to keep plants moist for longer.

Recycling, Reducing & Reusing

• We reuse cardboard and plastics to pack all our online orders and deliveries.
• All non black plastic plant pots and trays can be recycled and customers are encouraged to do this by using their own council pavement collections.
• Customers can drop off old batteries in store for recycling.
• We use compostable, recycled and biodegradable consumables.
• We are part of the recycle your electricals campaign. Customers can drop off old electrical items for recycling in store.
• We recycle our used coffee grounds by making them available to our customers to use in the garden as a fertiliser, composting and as a slug/snail repellent.

Protecting our Environment

• Changes in the way we live and modern lifestyles can have an effect on natural habitats. We are committed to seeking out initiatives which will help redress the balance.
• We are sourcing more eco-friendly, vegan and organic products.
• We have already planted over 5 acres of land with indigenous local trees which are providing food and habitat for wildlife and as part of our 10 year vision to help improve land surrounding the centre we have also planted over 1000 saplings.
• We are replacing our lightbulbs with low energy LEDs.
• With much of our indigenous wildlife under threat we actively promote ways in which our customers can provide habitats to encourage wildlife back into their gardens.
• Solar panels delivery 2% of our electricity.
• We are committed to helping achieve the national peat reduction targets, wherever possible sourcing peat free or peat reduced products from our suppliers. We also encourage the use of alternative soil improvers such as organic fertiliser, chicken poultry manure, home compost bins and our complimentary coffee granule station.
• We actively encourage customers to ‘grow their own’ fruit and vegetables rather than buying from the supermarkets.

Healthy Living

• Keeping fit and maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be achieved in many ways. We encourage our customers to discover what’s right for them and help them reap the rewards:
• Research shows that gardening provides a great form of all-round exercise, which utilises all major muscle groups. We encourage our customers to spend time in the garden which helps reduce stress levels.
• Our Garden Explorers growing scheme encourages children to look beyond computers and the TV and learn more about gardening and their surroundings.
• Our commitment to healthy living extends into our dining destinations where we use the highest quality, local ingredients in many of our meals, with organic, gluten free and healthy choices available every day.
• Houseplants can help to turn our homes, schools and workplaces into better places to be through improved psychological well-being and physical human health.

Social Responsibility

• We always look for opportunities to support our local community and work with them to maintain a strong and healthy society:
• Wherever possible we support schools and local initiatives, particularly those which involve outdoor activities.
• Every year a different charity is chosen to be the ‘Bents Charity of the Year’ and we raise funds through various activities.
• We actively support many good causes throughout the year and take part in nationwide initiatives such as the Macmillan Coffee Morning and Comic Relief.
• Bents’ Community Allotments provide gardeners with a blank canvas to indulge in their love of gardening; somewhere to design, plan, grow and harvest seasonal ingredients straight from the soil. With 40 plots in total, the allotments are great addition to the local community and local residents enjoy seeing and being involved in their development.
• Situated adjacent to the garden centre, Weeping Ash is one of Cheshire’s most beautiful gardens and one of only 29 Cheshire Gardens of Distinction. Created by retired nurseryman John Bent it has been carefully designed to create tranquil scenes of clarity and perfection.

Trading Fairly & Responsibly

• We believe in trading fairly and responsibly with all of our suppliers from local sources to those further a field:
• Where possible we buy from local suppliers and are looking at ways of increasing relationships to improve the quality of our supply chain throughout the centre.
• Through events such as our Ladies Evenings and Meet the Makers we invite and support local companies to attend and showcase their products here at Bents.
• Many of our garden furniture and landscaping products are sourced from sustainable sources and we are working with our suppliers to ensure future FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) recognition or a similar accreditation on all appropriate products.
• We produce more products for the Food Hall in our in house kitchens, thus reducing our carbon footprint.