UW Woodland of 100,000 broad leaved trees on Bryn Arw in the Brecon Beacons
Utility Warehouse (UW) recently announced that the company’s first UW Woodland will be on Bryn Arw in the Brecon Beacons (Wales). From Autumn 2020 and through the UW Foundation, the planting of this new UW Woodland will commence. The plan is to plant 100,000 broad leaved trees on this 73-hectare site (the size of 70 Wembley football pitches), which is situated opposite Monmouthshire’s well-known Sugar Loaf Mountain. UK Broadleaved trees include Hazel, Oak, Beech, Sycamore, Ash and Horse Chestnut. Such trees can consume 48 pounds of carbon dioxide per year and are known to release enough oxygen for a person to breath for two years. For 100,000 trees, this equates to over 2000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
The amount of CO2 that a single tree can offset will depend on factors such as the type of tree, where it is planted and the amount of room it has to grow. On average, one broad leaf tree will absorb in the region of one tonne of carbon dioxide during its full lifetime (approximately 100 years).
UW plans on planting these 100,000 trees by Express Day 2021, with one tree planted for every new UW Member taking all the company’s home services. The UW Foundation reports that this will absorb 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Interestingly, it is also reported that these 100,000 UW Woodland trees represent more broad-leaf trees than were planted in the whole of Wales during 2019.
Planting trees on behalf of their customers is just one example UW’s commitment to green initiatives. In addition, UW offer their customers the opportunity to benefit from 100% renewable electricity. Alongside this, UW fit free LED light bulbs for their customers – resulting in electricity savings of 15% per year. They also install free smart meters which further reduce energy consumption, resulting in further CO2 savings. Furthermore, UW support environmentally focused charities such as Plastic Oceans UK.
