idverde Awarded Carbon-Neutral Contract with Warwick District Council

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15 December 2020

Grounds maintenance and landscape creation specialists, idverde, have secured a pioneering contract with Warwick District Council, which will see the authority’s street cleansing and ground maintenance work become carbon neutral by 2025.

Driven by a major £400,000 investment by idverde in electrification and zero-emission assets, the 16-year contract, which starts in April next year, is being driven by the partnership’s commitment to sustainability.

idverde is Europe’s leading provider of grounds maintenance services and landscape creation projects, with an annual turnover of €700m and in excess of 7,000 colleagues operating throughout France, the UK, and the Netherlands.

"As councils and businesses continue to embrace sustainable objectives, we believe this type of contract is pioneering and industry-leading because it’s built around high performance and climate change."

 

– Saule Huxley
Organic Development Director, idverde

Flagship Parks and Other Green Spaces to be Managed
 

The contract will see 28 square kilometres of green space being maintained by idverde, using a range of electric and zero-emission tools, from handsaw and mowers to ride-on tractors. The green spaces include many of the council’s flagship parks, including:

1. Jephson Gardens in Leamington – awarded Green Flag Park status for 14 years in a row
2. Crackley Wood in Kenilworth – ancient semi-natural woodland is also a Green Flag site
3. Oakley Wood in Bishop's Tachbrook – 116-acre plantation woodland with Green Flag status
4. St Nicholas Park in Warwick – established family-focused park in the heart of Warwick, next to the River Avon
5. Abbey Fields in Kenilworth – historical 68-acre park, which is home to the remains of St Mary’s Abbey, spacious grassland and a lake and a stream

A Contract Ideal for the Future

Saul Huxley, idverde’s Organic Development Director said: “As councils and businesses continue to embrace sustainable objectives, we believe this type of contract is pioneering and industry-leading because it’s built around high performance and climate change.

“The sheer size of the areas being covered by this partnership is testament to the council’s commitment to the care and the maintenance of their green spaces and pursuing a sustainable agenda.

“We are proud to be leading the way in such innovative partnerships, that place carbon neutrality at its core, that benefit the community and the environment.”

Councillor Moira-Ann Grainger, Warwick District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhood Services said: “We are very pleased to have awarded this important new contract to idverde. Having worked with them for many years during which we have received a number of awards, we are confident in their ability to fulfil the strict environmental objectives we will be setting them in our ambition to become carbon neutral by 2025.”

It is clear that many organisations are taking sustainability and carbon reduction as a priority for this decade. Mitie was recently awarded Private Sector Fleet of the Year in the Medium to Large category, at this year’s Green Fleet Awards, recognising their progress towards carbon neutral goals.

The results of the USA presidential election also highlight recognition that duties of corporate social responsibility are growing exponentially – Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ winning campaign goal, to put the US on the path to carbon-free electricity production by 2035, provides good opportunity for sustainable trade with the UK. According to edie.net, "By 2025, three-quarters of the UK’s working population will be millennials that want to buy from companies that have a purpose beyond their products and services."

Picture: an idverde employee tending to a park.

Article written by Bailey Sparkes | Published 15 December 2020

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