Green Initiatives

A leader means more than being the most successful or the most on-trend. It means anticipating our guests needs to improve their experience while setting an example in corporate social responsibility. We have designed an Environmental Plan that will see changes at our offices, farms and garden centres as part of a long-term commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainability.

Green Initiatives

Environmental Plan

Sheridan Nurseries is committed to continuous improvement of all processes that affect the environment in all areas of our business. We will accomplish this by:

  • Ensuring that all staff are aware of the environmental issues that impact our business
  • Continuing to research innovative, sustainable solutions to incorporate into our products, our internal processes and every aspect of our growing, distribution and sales chain
  • Recognizing our vendors and product suppliers who use environmentally responsible practices
  • Ensuring that our environmental objectives support our fiscal goals
  • Monitoring, measuring and communicating the progress of each task

Gardening is Ecologically Advantageous

  • Plants add oxygen to the air
  • Plants attract beneficial insects, birds & other wildlife
  • Plants can be moved, divided or shared, even environmentally composted
  • Maturing plants appreciate, adding value to your home or property
  • Plants reduce CO2
  • Plants are natural air filters and help to combat indoor air pollution

Grown Locally

The benefits of purchasing locally-grown plants:

  • Since they have been grown nearby, they are tolerant of local growing conditions and weather
  • These plants won’t have an opportunity to bring in any new or exotic insects and diseases from far away places
  • Buying locally means shipping less distance — reducing fuel consumption and harmful emissions

We take pride in offering products and services that enhance our customers’ living space. We also want to ensure that the means of creating this living space is at minimal cost to the environment.

Environmentally Responsible Initiatives

  • Coco-fibre discs have been added to every container-grown plant produced at our farms to reduce moisture loss by up to 30%
  • A 117 million litre pond has been built to catch rainwater and run-off
  • drip irrigation has replaced sprinklers & broadcast watering reducing water consumption by up to 80%
  • Recognized by the Credit Valley Conservation Authority for our water conservation initiatives
  • Our Garden Pharmacy offers organic pest control products
  • Introduced degradable plastic shopping bags and trunk liners
  • Introduced our exclusive plastic pot recycling program

Plan of Action

Sheridan Nurseries is a leader in the gardening industry however being a leader means more than being the most successful. It also means clearing new paths and setting an example concerning corporate social responsibility. We take pride in offering products and services to consumers that will enhance their living space but we need to ensure that the means of creating this living space is at minimal cost to the environment. While it is true that Sheridan Nurseries is in the green, as in gardening business, we also want to continue to promote and work in an environmentally responsible and sustainable way. This is, and always has been, an important business initiative and one of our biggest priorities. At every level of operations, we need to think and conduct ourselves to further identify ourselves as a green company. While we have always been actively ‘green’, recycling and/or reusing paper and cardboard, recycling glass and metal, reducing the use of pesticides in our growing methods, we want to do more. The green approach must be applied to the products we buy, sell, grow, and the way we perform tasks throughout our workday. We have outlined below the categories where our greening challenges lie and the specific pro­grams or actions within these categories. Project leaders have been chosen to implement and manage the monitoring of the programs and provide regular updates on our progress.

Waste Reduction/Landfill Diversion

The need to reduce the amount of garbage that ends up in the landfill is at critical levels. The tasks in this category are simple to implement and adhere to. In a very short time, these practices will become quite natural, to the point where you will find it difficult to remember a time when it was done any other way.

  • Reduce use of plastic bags by switching shoppers to recyclable shopping bags
  • Replace plastic bags and trunk liners with bio­degradable material
  • Compost organic waste at the farm
  • Re­directing organic waste at the stores to appropriate facilities
  • Reduce the use of paper wherever possible
  • Use of recycled materials for all company printed materials
  • Research options for returning outdated/broken items such as phones, PDAs, etc.
  • Yard waste bags available and promoted at all stores
     

Recycling

Part of the current issue on recycling is whether it will be worth the effort. Will there be more energy required and negative impact on the environment with recycling than simply throwing waste into the landfill? Studies have shown that in most cases, it is in fact the better way to go. Not only does it reduce a country’s carbon dioxide emissions by millions of tons per year, but it conserves natural resources since re­using means less need to produce new products. Recycling also decreases the amount of waste in landfills that emit methane, a green­house gas, and reduces emissions of pollutants that can contribute to smog and the contamination of water tables. Therefore, we would ask that everybody be mindful of “tossing in the garbage” versus recycling. We must all contribute to reaching our recycling goals.

{ Pot Recycling }

Public Awareness

Sheridan Nurseries is a leader in garden product offerings and now we want to establish ourselves as a company who informs the public about sustainable issues. Whether it’s about communicating the positive impact of planting a tree on tree wraps, teaching the basics about a plant’s life cycle to kids in our Little Diggers program or passing on gardening tips at the retail level, we need to let the public know that not only do we sell gardening products but we are experts on green gardening.

  • participation in the “Take It Back Halton!” Recycling Program
  • Growing up Green school program – outreach to schools
  • participation in the LEAF Program ­highlighting native plants
  • tree wraps promoting the benefits of oxygen generation by planting trees
  • participation in the Fusion Garden Campaign with the Region of Peel for water efficient gardening

Natural Solutions

Ten years ago, for most commercial growers operating on a scale like Sheridan Nurseries, changing to natural and organic pest control solutions was unthinkable. Now, it’s an important objective. The consumer wants healthy plants and they want these plants to be naturally healthy, and with continued research and applications of the newest natural controls, over time we will be able to deliver to our customers – both trade and retail – plant materials that have been produced in a more sustainable way.

On the retail side, educating the public about sensible gardening techniques will continue. The message needs to reach our guests in new and engaging ways so that the plants they purchase can be kept in optimum health. We all know that healthy material planted properly and in the right place is less likely to need pest control products. But if they do choose to use a control, a natural choice should be readily available.

  • 100% natural/organic pest control products at the stores
  • Adoption of natural products for pest control, herbicides and fertilizers at the farms where feasible
  • Use of recycled materials for growing media
  • Replacement of plastic pots with biodegradable material
{ Browse our brochure... }

Water And Energy Conservation

Of course we need water and energy to run our business. We will approach this category just as we will the others and shift to more sustainable solutions over a period of time. Again, these are long term goals, not overnight requests. At its basic level, by following the advice we give to our guests – like installing rain­barrels and using drip irrigation –and applying it on a commercial level, we can achieve our goals of water and energy conservation.

  • Replacing conventional above­ ground watering with drip irrigation to improve water reduction
  • Award Winning Water Recapture System - Construction of a 32 million gallon (117 million litres) large capacity integrated water recycling system to capture and re­use excess irrigation and storm water run­off
  • Construction of a 100,000 gallon (378,000 litre) cistern to capture rain water from our production greenhouses
  • Minimizing use of electrical devices in off hours (lighting, office equipment, such as computers, printers, registers, display lighting, etc.)
  • Maintaining air conditioning and heating levels in stores and offices at a comfortable vs. unnecessarily cool or warm temperature (1º C warmer in summer and 1º C cooler in winter)
  • Growing plants that require less water (Xeriscaping)

With the costs of gas, insurance, maintenance, parking, depreciation, and monthly payments – the cost of operating a car is very expensive and makes a big dent in our wallet. When we also consider the environmental impact of a car – the emissions of CO2, wear and tear on the roads and accidents – carpooling really starts to make sense. Try cutting your mileage down by carpooling to work and especially when you go to work functions like meetings, trade shows and conferences. For farm, garden centre and office operations, we want to decrease fuel consumption both from a heating and vehicles perspective therefore minimizing damaging effects to the environment. For the farms, this may entail researching new fuel sources like bio­fuels, different growing systems or even identifying plants that grow more efficiently with less energy.

  • Reduction of mileage for personal and commercial vehicles
  • Reduction of fuel consumption for all farm equipment and vehicles
  • Promoting the benefits of buying locally vs buying from growers in other parts of the country or from the U.S.

There is much more we can do, and together we will reach our goals. Even the smallest change we make can have a significant impact on the environment. We invite each of you to consider your actions at work and at home on the personal carbon footprint you are making.

As we continue to look for new and innovative ways to reduce our mark on the environment, we want to hear from you with your ideas and suggestions.