Aims

A Little Bird Company produce waste-free seed blends for wild birds, packaged in compostable cardboard and pouch packaging. A Little Bird Company recognise that we have a responsibility towards the environment and sustainability that goes beyond legal and regulatory requirements. Our approach to sustainability is at the heart of every decision we make for our business and everything we do. We are committed to reducing our environmental impact and continually improving our environmental performance as an integral part of our business strategy and operating methods, with regular review points. We will encourage clients, suppliers and other stakeholders to put sustainability and concern for the environment at the heart of their decision making.  

As a small business, we created our Environmental Management Policy to communicate to employees, suppliers and clients the value we place on minimising our environmental impact. Our site and operating systems have been designed with minimal waste and care for sustainability and the environment at the heart.

We seek to:

Comply with and exceed all relevant regulatory requirements.
Continually improve and monitor environmental performance.
Continually improve and reduce environmental impacts.Incorporate environmental factors into business decisions.
Raise industry standards and awareness when it comes to sustainability.

Packaging

We only use completely compostable packaging for our bird food. Everything we package our food in can be composted in 10 weeks in a household composting environement. We don’t supply packaging that requires recycling or industrial composting methods. Currently we use a combination of compostable pouches and top quality corrugated cardboard cartons, but we seek to switch to locally produced, FSC-Grade corrugated cartons and paper sacks only by mid-2022 as they have less environmental impact. The products we source for our online store (including bird feeders) come in the manufacturer’s packaging – we have selected manufacturers with sustainability policies in line with our own. We use as little packaging as possible – any packing materials are made from recycled products and can be composted. All of our labels are printed on recycled paper using water based inks and non-toxic adhesive. Pallet wrapping materials are compostable. Our Monthly Titbits booklet and invoices are printed on recycled paper and card.

Education

At the heart of our business is a concern for the welfare of birds and wildlife. We seek to encourage our clients and users of our website in the following ways:

Promoting waste-free food blends for wild birds. We disagree on a fundamental level with the production of wild bird food blends that contain seeds and bulking agents which will go uneaten by garden birds. Our seed blends are designed to be consumed without waste.Through our website, blog, social media and the information we send out to clients, we seek to encourage clients to:
1. Regularly feed their garden birds and other wildlife, keeping feeders clean to avoid the spread of disease;
2. Make their gardens more hospitable to wildlife through planting and landscaping design.
3. Learn more about local birds and wildlife to increase investment in the local environment.
4. Choose plastic-free and sustainably sourced products from responsible suppliers for their home and garden.
5. Make gardening choices with wildlife and the environment in mind, including avoiding the use of pesticides and weed killers.
6. Provide food and habitats for wildlife other than wild birds, including pollinating and other insects and hedgehogs.
7. Support local and national wildlife charities financially and through volunteering.
8. Understand the links between time spent in nature and personal well-being.

Suppliers

We take time and care to select manufacturers and wholesalers who have Environmental Policies in line with our own. Any products we sell will be plastic-free or constructed using second-life recycled plastics. Due to the subscription model nature of our business, we seek to reduce waste by only ordering and storing stock that has been pre-ordered by customers, reducing waste and the need for storage.

Charities

We donate money from every bag sold to our chosen wildlife charities to support birds, pollinators, wildlife and green spaces. By mid-2022, we aim to have signed up to the 1% for the Planet initiative. We aim to offer eco incentives, including tree planting, in lieu of sales encouraging unnecessary purchasing.

Paper Use

We run a paper-free workplace as much as possible. All of our documents and policies are stored on protected servers. We use recycled paper, card and labels where needed.

Energy and Water

We seek to reduce the amount of energy used as much as possible. Lights and electrical equipment are switched off when not in use. Heating will be adjusted with energy consumption in mind. The energy consumption and efficiency of new products will be taken into account when purchasing. We seek to use solar energy by the end of 2022.

Transportation

We will reduce the need to travel, restricting to necessity trips only.We will promote the use of travel alternatives such as e-mail or video/phone conferencing. Our delivery schedule will be planned to reduce our carbon footprint.

Operations, Maintenance and cleaning

We ensure that our operating systems negate the need for waste, and include relevant aspects of our EMS in our operating manual. Cleaning materials used will be as environmentally friendly as possible (while maintaining statutory guidelines). Materials used in warehouse refurbishment will be as environmentally friendly as possible. We will only use licensed and appropriate organisations to dispose of waste.

Monitoring and improvement

We will comply with and exceed all relevant regulatory requirements.We will continually improve and monitor environmental performance. We will continually improve and reduce environmental impacts. We will incorporate environmental factors into business decisions.We will increase employee awareness through training. Clare Foskett, the management team and employees will review this policy and any related business issues on an annual basis and at any time new suppliers, operating systems or purchases are being considered. We will ensure staff employed by us receive regular training to ensure they act inline with our Environmental Policy.