The TreeStation is part of the growing movement towards living and working in an environmentally and socially conscious way. We believe that through the decisions we make we can take personal responsibility for shaping the world we live in and encourage others to make positive changes. We are genuinely driven by our values and don’t do ‘greenwash’.
Our Ethical Policy is available to download and provides detailed information about our values and ethical positions, as well as explanations on how we put those into practice. In summary, all aspects of our work are managed with care for the environment, people and communities. We recognise that we operate within a complex framework and aim to address ethical dilemmas in a fair, transparent, discerning and far-sighted way.
What our customers say:
… an ethical supplier with such a strong commitment to its community and with genuine care for the environment…(Philip G, firewood customer, Stockport, 2013)
… when I buy wood from the TreeStation or have tree work done I can be certain that I am supporting a responsible and green business…(Julie J, firewood and treework customer, Whalley Range, 2013)
… Having a working relationship with Phil we have been impressed with his ethical attitude towards the industry…(Seth Rolph from Alderwood Tree Care, customer of our sub-contracting services, 2012)
Our commitment
We use locally sourced material for our products, generally generated from essential treework and woodland management operations – undertaken by us and others. The complement of our timber is sourced sustainably and locally, so that our products deliver the environmental, social and economic benefits of using wood as a fuel or a material.
From firewood processing to treework and woodland management operations, we constantly strive to minimise our waste and energy use, respect biodiversity and the environment. Our consultancy work is environmentally-focused and impartial. Our ethics also influence our procurement and finance decisions, as well as our trading relationships, governance style and marketing practices.
We aim to provide our employees with good working conditions, fair pay and support them through aspirational professional development. We sell our products/services at affordable prices – with various grades of fuel matching various budgets and desires– and we offer bespoke products and services to satisfy individual expectations and avoid uniformity.
We believe in co-operation and sharing of resources, so we collaborate with and support various projects working towards positive social change, such as food growing projects, recycling initiatives and mental health art charities. We also want to contribute to the public’s education regarding issues we care about, such as carbon footprint and environmental impact reduction.
We are a not-for-profit organisation, registered as a Society for the Benefit of the Community (BenCom). This allows our customers and employees to have a share in the business and elect the board of directors – making it a more democratic and accountable organisation. Any financial surpluses are re-invested in developing the TreeStation or similarly-minded projects.
By working with nature and integrating complementary activities on a sustainable scale, the TreeStation seeks to make its operations ecologically sound, socially constructive and economically viable – so that it can deliver its benefits in the long term.
In practice, our ethical commitment guarantees that:
- We strive to put as much treework and woodland management arisings from the Greater Manchester area to good use as possible, using each piece to its best potential and keeping our woody waste to zero.
- When we need to purchase timber to complement our feedstock, we always do so legally, sustainably and as locally as possible, and we only use virgin wood. We will never buy imported timber.
- We manage our core activities, offices and logistics with the view to keep our overall environmental impact as low as possible. We use second-hand and environmentally-friendly equipment wherever possible
- We only use electricity made from non-nuclear renewable sources and minimise our use. We thoroughly segregate our office and workshop waste, and only a tiny portion ends in landfill.
- We do not support the use biofuels (including biodiesel) produced from cleared forests or agricultural land, but where possible we will use biodiesel made from recycled waste oils.
- We sell affordable and competitively priced products and services. We work to the highest professional, environmental and safety standards and give extensive consideration to our customers’ satisfaction.
- We treat our staff with respect and provide them with a fair pay, as well as a reliable and flexible employment wherever possible.
- We actively seek to purchase goods and services from local community enterprises and businesses with strong environmental and ethical policies and practices, and to avoid working with/for or to purchase from any organisation whose practices or interests conflict with our values.
- We manage our finances in a responsible, transparent and accountable manner, and we bank with a more ethically-minded bank. As a Community Benefit Society we prefer to secure financial support directly from our community, for example via community share issues rather than relying in intermediaries and financial institutions.
- Any financial surplus generated will be re-invested in the business and/or used to support like-minded projects. We never individually profit from the TreeStation’s operations and money.
- We’re working to ensure the longevity of traditional wood industries, enhancing the sustainable management of UK woodlands and supporting emerging new technologies that are environmentally beneficial.