Sustainability Pledge
Scarlet & Violet embarked on a sustainability project in January 2024. With the aim to understand negative environmental implications of our business and our industry. We set out to make long-lasting, practical changes, and to instil a company-wide awareness of environmental issues.
Rosie, who previously worked here as a florist, completed a Master’s in Agriculture, Ecology and Environment. She returned to Scarlet and Violet, working as the full-time Sustainability Officer until October 2024. Our Sustainability and Finance Director, Emma, completed the Business and Climate Change course at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. She used Scarlet & Violet as a case study. Emma continues to track our carbon footprint along with the other indicators of our environmental performance set out during the project.
Our florists and office team are all completing the Sustainable Floristry Network's Foundation in Sustainability Floristry. We found this course incredibly helpful as a guide for making well-informed and realistic decisions.
Our Flowers
We have found that the biggest contributor to our carbon footprint are the flowers themselves. To ensure year-round supply we import many of our flowers. The carbon footprint of transporting these is high. Consequently, we aim to buy from British growers where possible.
From September 2023 to August 2024, on average 20% of our flowers and foliage were British grown. This figure reaches 38% in August 2024. Once we have a full year’s data, we will use this as a baseline to build from.
When we do import flowers, we try to choose the most socially and environmentally conscious ones. We prioritise buying from flower farms with certifications such as Rainforest Alliance, MPS ABC and Flor Verde. These international certification bodies guarantee that flower farmers meet certain welfare and environmental standards.
We have created a list of farms we regularly buy from and their certifications. We use the list to inform our buying decisions, so that where possible we are choosing the farms with the best practices. If you would like to use this resource, we are happy to share it. Please email sustainability@scarletandviolet.co.uk.
For our aims, choosing flowers based on their level of certification is more appropriate than based on how they have travelled. This is due to the improved farming practices on certified farms. As well as the growing conditions in the Global South requiring less energy than in the Global North.
We are therefore aiming to avoid flowers flown in from uncertified farms, and prioritise flower buying in the following order:
- Flowers grown in the UK.
- Flowers grown on certified farms in the Netherlands.
- Flowers grown on certified farms in all other countries.
- Flowers grown on uncertified farms in the Netherlands.
- Flowers grown on uncertified farms in all other countries.
The line graph shows the gradual change in our buying patterns since we made this decision in February 2024. We will update this graph as time progresses.
Packaging and Waste
We try to limit the amount of waste we generate and employ First Mile, a BCorp-certified waste removal company. Thanks to First Mile, nothing that has gone in any of the bins at Scarlet & Violet has gone to landfill since May 2023.
When the flowers need to travel with water, we use glass vases, jam jars, and tins. These are reusable and recyclable. To avoid unnecessary packaging, we encourage our customers to bring their own vases or jars in. Our tins are made using solar power in London by P. Wilkinson Containers Ltd. Our postcards are carbon-positive, recycled, and chemical-free. They are printed using non-soy vegetable inks by Anglia Print.
Although we try to avoid it, we do still wrap our flowers in cellophane. This is not recyclable in domestic recycling bins. Despite trailing alternatives, we are yet to find a practical and sustainable replacement. We encourage customers to bring the cellophane back to the shop, where we can recycle it with First Mile. Our bags are fully recyclable. We do not use floral foam, ribbon or preserved, painted, or sprayed flowers. If you would like to discuss alternatives to these, please give us a call or pop into the shop.
Energy
In the shop, we use LED lightbulbs, motion sensors, and a 100% renewable energy tariff with Octopus. We have a water management plan.
Our team
Scarlet & Violet are accredited by the Living Wage Foundation. Our employees have access to HR support.
We realise that our sustainability credentials are far from perfect. Although we no longer have an ongoing full-time sustainability project, we hope to continue making progress where we can. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any feedback, questions, and ideas.
