Armitage's As a Greener Business

Here at Armitage's we are always looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint.

Environmental Statement 

1. Automatic exit and entry doors are regularly checked to ensure they are working efficiently especially during the winter months and overhead door heaters are used only when required
   
2. Thermostats for heaters and air conditioning units are all set at minimum recommended levels and not altered under any circumstances
   
3. All non-essential electrical equipment is switched off (not left on standby) at night.
   
4. Any outside lighting other than security or CCTV lighting is automatically timed to switch off no more than one hour after store closure.
   
5. Future alterations to buildings and utilities that reduce our carbon footprint without detrimental economic implications will be investigated and implemented.
   
6. Our toilets and urinals are equipped with intelligent  flush systems, to reduce the amount of water used
   
7. Hand wash areas are fitted with Infra-red taps to reduce water wastage and the paper hand towels are made from a combination of recycled cardboard and sustainable wood-pulp avoiding the use of electric hand dryers, while supporting recycling and rural businesses. Foam soaps and soap dispensers  reduce packaging and wastage.
   
8. Low watt lighting and motion sensing switches are being introduced as and when replacements are required, this avoids wasting existing resources invested in current systems and ensures the most up-to-date and environmentally friendly systems are used when required.
   
9. We recycle, every year, approximately 50 tonnes of waste cardboard and plastic, approximately 18,000 glass bottles, over 1,900 litres of cooking oil and more than 5,500 litres of compostable waste. To do this, we collect, sort and separate clean plastics, glass bottles and cardboard every day. It is then stored and sent for recycling on a weekly or monthly basis. Although this is a large cost to our business, the reduced carbon footprint return is worth it.
   
10. Using water butts, we collect over 2000litres of rainwater, which is re-used for irrigation, reducing the need to use clean drinking water to irrigate the plants. At our Pennine centre, we also have the ability to pump 427 cubic metres of water from an on site bore-hole for irrigation in the planteria.
    
11. All paper used is from recycled and sustainable wood-pulp and printer inks are recycled.
    
12. Fridges and freezers are regularly maintained to ensure they are working effectively while the chilling mechanisms are pooled where possible to increase efficiency.