THE team at a Bradford-based garden centre group - which includes Otley Garden Centre - has achieved the bronze level of a national sustainability accreditation after becoming the first garden centre group to accredit its own Carbon Literacy Training.

Earlier in the year, the team at Yorkshire Garden Centres developed the training programme in conjunction with Manchester charity, The Carbon Literacy Project, in order to equip its team of 460 with the skills to contribute to becoming a carbon-neutral business and a Carbon Literate Organisation.

Yorkshire Garden Centres' Sustainability Lead, Steph Harrison said: "The Carbon Literacy Project is based on the premise that, in order to cut carbon emissions by the kind of reductions demanded by science, then the culture needs to change alongside technology.

"Now we have the bronze award, we plan to roll out the Carbon Literacy workshops to all of our employees to reach the silver level. The training is designed specifically for our team, our industry and our location, and helps to foster a culture of collaboration as we focus on carbon reductions that are within our control, including waste management, sustainable supply and travel options.

"The project is one of many of our sustainability initiatives and will see our whole team do the training and make over 800 carbon-reducing pledges that will impact waste stream management, new starter training, water-wise initiatives, sustainable travel policies (including the launch of an EV company car scheme) and many other positive changes that our team can make at work and at home."

For every pledge made by its team, Yorkshire Garden Centres are donating £5 to support Carbon Literacy Education in Schools and Community Groups.

The Carbon Literacy Project was recognised by the UN at COP21 as one of the 100 worldwide Transformative Actions Programs and has certified over 60,000 learners worldwide.

The Yorkshire Garden Centres (YGC) group comprises Tong, Tingley, Otley and Bingley Garden Centres. Otley and Bingley were known as Stephen H Smith's before they were acquired by YGC in 2022.