Sustainable growing media
The Government's goal is that all growing media and soil improvers should be made from raw materials that are environmentally and socially responsibly sourced and manufactured.
The Government's goals are that:
- commercial horticulture uses only responsibly sourced and manufactured growing media
- audited products (growing media and soil improvers) that meet the threshold for responsible sourcing and manufacturing should be available on the market within the next 3-5 years
- the majority of growing media retailers make a public commitment to only sell products which meet the responsible sourcing and manufacturing standard in the next 2 years, and
- all public sector procurement will include a requirement to source plants and products that have been grown in sustainable growing media
A set of sustainability criteria has been developed for all growing media ingredients and integration of this into an auditable voluntary industry scheme is imminent.
Newleaf support growing media manufacturers and importers by helping to score their raw materials against the sustainability criteria and working with their growing media supply chains to improve sustainability.
We are uniquely placed to do this. Newleaf were instrumental in unravelling the environmental, social and economic sustainability hotspots for coir pith, an alternative to peat.
The work informed Defra's Sustainable Growing Media Task Force. Newleaf also supported the development of the sustainability criteria.
