UK: Wyevale Nurseries wins Chamber of Commerce Excellence in Sustainability Award

Wyevale Nurseries has scooped the Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce Award for Excellence in Sustainability at the organisation's recent annual celebration evening at Worcester Arena (June 12, 2025).

The Chamber Business Award, sponsored by Herefordshire Council and Worcestershire County Council, recognises companies across the two counties that have excelled in their environmental practices.

Managing Director at Wyevale Nurseries in Hereford, Andy Johnson says: "We're so delighted to have been presented with this wonderful award sponsored by Vinegar Works for our environmental initiatives. Sustainability is at the heart of our long-term business goals. We're focused on carbon capture, water management, lowering chemical use, investing in efficient infrastructure and reducing our carbon footprint. We're continuously improving practices and are invested in good biosecurity to support a resilient and thriving local ecosystem too.

"All our teams, in every part of the business, work exceptionally hard to deliver solid annual sustainability targets and it is a testament to their dedication and commitment that we've received this fantastic award. I can't thank them enough for their contribution."

Wyevale Nurseries, which celebrates its 95th anniversary in business this year, has a proactive approach to sustainability, which involves leading with innovation rather than reacting to environmental challenges. Its activities encompass responsible sourcing, environmentally-sound production methods and biodiversity enhancement.

Andy adds: "Our key policies include peat reduction and the use of sustainable substrates, water conservation, energy efficiency and managing biodiversity and ecological impact, as well as sustainable land management and waste reduction.

"Our future goals include introducing a greater climate-resilient plant range, aiming to be fully peat-free by 2028 and integrating technology and sustainability, such as AI-driven resource management, into our systems. The focus is on doing the right things, at the right scale and time, to ensure our business thrives while contributing positively to the planet.

"We're also working on implementing a full carbon audit across our supply chain to measure and reduce emissions further and are encouraging suppliers to adopt closed-loop recycling systems for materials and packaging. We're looking at increasing the use of solar and wind power in production with growers and suppliers too.

"Strategic logistics planning has cut unnecessary journeys, reducing transport-related emissions and a shift to recyclable packaging has removed thousands of single-use plastic items from circulation.

"By embedding sustainability across our supply chain, we're helping drive the horticultural industry towards a net zero, climate-resilient future, ensuring that every plant grown supports a healthier planet."