Pro Landscaper magazine’s Green Up Campaign
The climate change movement is an unstoppable force – and so it should be. The global temperature is rising, ice sheets are shrinking, glaciers are retreating, sea levels are rising. Time’s up.
At Pro Landscaper magazine, we are constantly striving to showcase people, projects and initiatives which are joining this ambitious but wholly necessary fight against climate change. In fact, our ‘Green’ issues of Pro Landscaper dedicate themselves solely to all things sustainable, ecological, biodiverse and environmentally friendly. But we’re always asking our readers and ourselves what more we can do.
That’s why we’ve launched the Green Up Campaign, committed to seeing more green and less grey in supermarket car parks – after all, green is the new grey.
Because despite Tesco’s partnership with WWF, Aldi and M&S’ carbon neutrality – achieved in 2019 and 2012, respectively – and Sainsbury’s becoming a Principal Supermarket Partner of COP26, there doesn’t seem to be the same regard for what’s on their doorstep – and it’s pretty significant.
According to Frank’s Geospatial Team on behalf of Ministry of Housing, there are 103,000 public and private surface car parks across the country which comprise of a land area of 20,000ha. Of this, some 12,445 are owned by the private sector. What’s more, according to USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, by 2023, the total value of the UK grocery sector is projected to grow 14.8% to £213bn.
Imagine the benefits to biodiversity if supermarkets across the country utilised their car parks and their profits and made their car parks just a little bit greener.
With the help of our sponsors GreenBlue Urban, idverde and Hillier, our end goal is to see legislation that states supermarkets need to have a certain amount of greenery within their car parks. But if we can start a conversation with one supermarket and make a change there, that would be a win for us.
So, we’re shining the green spotlight on supermarkets and their car parks, and we’ll be showcasing the good, the bad and the ugly challenging and championing supermarkets to make a change.
Though we’re aiming this campaign at supermarkets, we need the help of this industry and the public to be heard.
What can you do to help?
We’ll be sharing examples of supermarket car parks over the next few months, as well as interviews with some key figures and suppliers in the industry to get their take. Help share this as well as your own snaps as far and wide as possible, using #Greenisthenewgrey so we can catch the attention of supermarkets and champion change.
We know there’ll be challenges along the way, but ultimately, it’s a win for the supermarket and its customers, a win for the industry and, most importantly, a win for the environment.
