HTA launches Sustainability Roadmap
HTA launches Sustainability Roadmap to guide UK horticulture towards leading edge of sustainable business practice
As a green industry, the horticulture sector can and should lead the way in sustainable business practices and efforts to reduce climate change, says The Horticultural Trades Association.
The HTA has launched its first Sustainability Roadmap that identifies five key areas to place horticulture and landscaping at the forefront of sustainable business practice with ambitious targets for 2025 that will make a significant contribution to the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan.
Essential role in the Government’s plan
HTA Chairman, James Barnes, called on the industry to embrace the ethos of the roadmap, saying: “Horticulture has an intrinsic connection to the environment - we are a community who cares about the natural world and it is in our interests to safeguard its future…
“I believe we have an essential role to play in the Government’s plan to transition to a greener economy. As a sector which contributes around £24 billion to the UK’s GDP and supports over half a million jobs, we must demonstrate how we offer real opportunities for green employment and a more sustainable economy as the UK recovers from the impact of Covid.”
The roadmap outlines a goal to see 40% or more of the combined weight of plant pots and packaging, garden chemicals containers, and growing media bags sourced from recycled plastic, by 2025.
The Sustainability Roadmap focuses on five areas
The Sustainability Roadmap focuses on five areas and are a direct response to the threats of climate change, plastic pollution, water stress, and biodiversity loss, all of which pose risks to our health and environment:
- Reducing HTA members’ carbon footprints
- Reducing stress on the UK’s water supply
- Increasing circularity in horticultural plastics
- Actively shaping a peat reduction strategy by February 2021, engaging with all stakeholders
- Fostering innovation in pest and disease management
They are critical, both in terms of their commercial importance to the industry and in terms of the potential for making a difference to the environment.
Environment Minister, Rebecca Pow, said “We welcome the ornamental horticulture and landscaping industry taking a lead on this through the Horticultural Trades Association’s Sustainability Roadmap and the actions being taken to protect the natural environment and combat climate change.”
The latest information and resources on sustainability are available at: hta.org.uk/sustainability