We are proud supporters of Business Wales' Green Growth Pledge. This is how we do our bit for the environment...

- We recycle and reuse all of the packaging we receive from our suppliers. All of the boxes and inner packaging are reused for online deliveries or customer collections. We regularly keep packaging aside for customers requiring boxes for sending their own parcels, and we will ask them for a small donation to our charity box in return.

- Most of our suppliers now use recyclable packaging which we in turn reuse, but in the past we have requested that they reconsider their packing materials and continue to do so when we feel excessive plastic is being used.

- When we send items out in the post, we use recycled/recyclable paper padded envelopes and environmentally friendly paper adhesive tape. We stopped using sellotape in 2018.

- 4 out of 6 of us walk to work!

- When the shop is quiet, we will turn our lights off. This also helps us keep our electricity bills down...

- We use energy efficient heaters during the colder weather, we don't have a gas connection.

- We adhere to a circular business model by selling only high quality and long lasting products which we back up with a customer care and repair service.

- With a large degree of success, we encourage schools to consider a repair option for their musical instruments before committing to buying new equipment. 

 

Sustainability and Environmental Policy Statement

Vision Statement

We support the Welsh Government’s objectives outlined in The Well Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and the 17 UN Sustainability Development Goals.

A Strings understands that its activities have both direct and indirect environmental impacts and sees the protection of the environment as an integral part of its business.

We consider our main environmental impact to be:

• indirect carbon emissions associated with our supply chain manufacturing and distribution

We are therefore committed to improving our environmental sustainability performance for the benefit of all our key stakeholders including our customers, employees, and the wider community both now and in the future.

To support these aspirations, we are committed to:

• Adopting environmental policies to effectively manage our environmental impact and reduce our carbon emissions
• Continually improving our environmental performance through setting targets and regularly measuring our success against these targets
• Following circular economy principles to limit the amount of waste we produce and to ensure the safe disposal of waste where reuse or recycling is not viable
• Continually measuring and evaluating our business activities against this policy and the environmental impacts we are having
• Communicating this Policy effectively and raising awareness of environmental issues with all employees and stakeholders

 Specifically, we will focus our efforts on the following:

• Implementing a circular business model by offering our customers additional support and training so that our products are used correctly to prolong their life and to ensure they get the maximum value from them.
• Reducing how much waste we send to landfill by using sustainable packaging and reusing packaging as much as possible.
• Encouraging sustainable travel amongst staff, customers and all other stakeholders such as walking, cycling, and the use of public transport.
• Reducing our overall energy use and emissions from conservation and efficiency improvements such using LED lighting and turning lights off when not needed.
• Engaging staff in initiatives to minimise environmental impact and nominating a Sustainability Champion who will support the implementation of this policy.
• Educating staff on environmental best practices by providing training for individuals with environmental related duties.
• Sourcing and procuring, where feasible, more local, sustainable, and ethical goods and services.
• Evaluation of new suppliers prior to the awarding of contracts to determine if the supplier can meet requirements set out in our Sustainable Procurement Policy.

Signed

• Name: Andrew Morgan
• Position: Director
• Date: 08/05/2024
• Next review date: 08/05/2025