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Sustainability
We firmly believe we have a duty of care to leave as little impact on our environment as possible at Spicers of Hythe. Approaching every facet of our business not only to deliver the finest hand-packed gifts & service possible, but with the intention of minimising our carbon footprint. Every business faces different opportunities when it comes to reducing their impact on the environment. Here are just a few ways in which we look to improve on our carbon footprint and sustainability…
Our Packaging
You’ll only find FSC, Forest Stewardship Council approved, cardboard throughout the Spicers of Hythe gift packaging. In short, for every tree used to create our packaging, at least one tree is planted in its place.
The packing material we use to protect the products in our hampers during shipping is a product called “EcoFlo”.
It is made from starch and is completely odourless and dust-free. EcoFlo is biodegradable, compostable and reusable. Either re-use it yourself for your next parcel, or watch it dissolve in water.
To reduce the impact on the environment we are phasing out wicker baskets from our gifts & hampers range. Moving to recyclable materials, including card, paper & cardboard.
Our Transport
Filling our hampers with so many British-born food & drink products has ensured that the carbon footprint of our imports are kept to a minimum, while also supporting local business.
Year on year we're adding electric vehicles to the business to replace both petrol & diesel automobiles. We carefully select our shipping agents, ensuring they have the same drive to care for the planet as we do. With over 1,500 vehicles operating across the United Kingdom, our shippers are quickly becoming the largest all-electric fleet in the U.K. In addition to a hub fixed with over 6,000 solar panels, & 0% of their waste reaching landfill, this is the kind of approach to our environment we love to be associated with.
Our Heat Pump
Operating as a privately owned business, we endeavour to make conscious decisions not just about our short-term business operations, but for our lasting carbon footprint on the planet. This directly affects the level of investment we make on creating a more long-term, sustainable business, less reliant on single-use plastics & fossil fuels.
From our home in Gateshead, we are pioneering the use of world-changing heat pumps. Using technology to loop water freely around our site, both to cool & heat the appropriate areas of the business. Everything from heating the office space, to cooling wine. Our two Open Loop Water Source Heat Pumps have a combined capacity of 4mW (4 million watts) of heat.
To give you a scope on just how effective this technology is, we are currently heating 33,445m2 (360,000 ft2) of warehouse, including the precise temperature control to ensure each and every part of your gifts & hampers are stored at the perfect temperature.
Our Energy
Over 5.5 million kilowatt hours of clean, renewable electricity are produced each year by our four wind turbines. Only a portion of this energy is required to run operations throughout the Greencroft estate. Including, Greencroft Bottling, our sister company that houses most of the fantastic wine that we use in our luxury gifts & hampers.
The remaining green energy is fed into the National Grid & is enough to power 800 three-bedroom homes. The day-to-day use of electricity at our head office complex is covered by the 41-kilowatt solar array that can be found of the roof.
Our Buildings
Throughout the group, over £10,000,000 has been invested into generating renewable energy throughout our sites. State of the art Electric Vehicle charging points have been installed at our Gateshead office, providing a solution for all employees that are considering, or have moved to electric vehicles.
Hi-tech glass has been installed throughout our offices to help control temperatures both in the summer & winter, to reduce the reliance on air conditioning & heating systems.Automatic lighting can be found throughout the warehouse & office space, conserving energy by only switching on when the space is in use. Our warehouse roofs are all double or triple skinned, depending on the individual property, reducing the reliance on heating & cooling during extreme weather.
Our Processes
Everytime you shop online with Spicers of Hythe we process our payments using ShopPay, a business at the forefront of preventing climate change.
Offsetting the carbon emissions from the atmosphere every time you make a purchase has lead to over planting over 4 million mangrove trees in Africa. Benefitting not just the planet itself, but the habitats for endangered species & wildlife.