Earth Day

What does Earth Day mean to Hilltop?

Earth day is taking place on Saturday April 22nd, and this year is set to be the biggest yet. It’s theme is ‘Invest in our Planet’- and what better message can we spread than that? It IS time to invest in our planet, and that applies to us ALL- not just the few.

We ALL need to grab this opportunity to invest in our planet, in the future of generations yet to come, and in the wildlife who so desperately need our help. And by the way, you don’t need to wait until the 22nd April to make the changes you need to make. Let’s start today. And let’s make it Earth day EVERY day. 

How Hilltop supports Earth Day every day

So how do we support Earth Day every day here at Hilltop? It’s in the small things we do, which add up to the big things.

It’s in the recycling we insist on ( all our glass jars and bottles are made using 30% recycled materials and our caps have always been recyclable) and the work we’re doing behind the scenes to improve this, to use paper tampers over plastic where we can and to use only 100% FSC certified cardboard.

It’s in our bee welfare policy. We know how vitally important pollinators are to our eco system, and we do everything in our power to protect our amazing little buzzy buddies. Without them, we would have nothing. Here at Hilltop, we’re fully aware of the responsibility we have to safeguard the future for everyone- and we do this by carefully choosing our suppliers, by sourcing fully traceable honey and by ensuring our bees are protected every step of the way. So when you choose Hilltop, you too are protecting our planet, investing in it’s future. Amazing!

It’s in our work to become carbon neutral. As a business, we’re always looking for new ways to reduce our carbon emissions- and we’ve been through many changes recently to get us to this point. We now have charging points on site for electric cars; we operate a bike stand and offer a cycle to work scheme for staff; we support a selection of certified carbon offset projects that assist the communities who are really suffering due to climate change…

It’s in our work with Climate Partner, who enable us to support national and international projects that offset our carbon emissions, limiting the damage on our planet. We support these projects because they help to sustain both UK woodlands, and tropical rainforests too. They establish and protect eco systems for local wildlife (which is SO essential for our beloved bees and other pollinators!). They restore and create sustainable habitats for future generations, investing in our planet so that we can look to the future. Projects like this support biodiversity, at a time when that support is critical.

Let us know how we’re doing. We’re not perfect, but we really want to make a difference to our planet, and we’re always happy to answer your questions on our endeavours. 

How you can support earth day

Everything we do here at Hilltop, we do with a conscience. We’re continually striving to improve, both as a business and the way we do things as a brand, and on a personal level too. We don’t claim to be perfect, but we’re trying our hardest to protect the world we live in- and we urge you to do the same.

You can help to restore our planet. You can invest in our future:

• Know how big your carbon footprint Use this calculator to see if there are ways that you can offset your carbon emissions too.
• Plant some bee friendly flowers. It really is such a small thing, but it will have the biggest impact. Our bees rely on us to protect them and to create a world they can thrive in. So planting flowers such as lavender or heather can be your investment today. Alternatively, look for schemes such as The National Trust’s Plant a Tree programme- you could help to plant 20 million trees by 2030.
• Ditch the pesticides! According to Pest Strategies, our bees are being devastated by the use of pesticides, with the number of honey bees dropping globally- particularly over the last 75 years. But our bees, and other pollinators, support 70% of the world’s flowers and plants… so if we don’t have them, what do we have? An empty world. Pest Strategies highlights the damage that commercial agriculture is doing to our planet, with increased pesticide use over the years. And the risks that these pesticides pose can last for months or even years after their original use, which is a truly terrifying thought. We need to end the use of them NOW. We need to pick harmful insects off our plants, instead of spraying them. We need to encourage helpful bugs into our gardens (planting flowers will help, and so will building a bug hotel!). For more ways to cut out pesticides, see Pest Strategies’ guide.
• Cut down on plastic. And if you see it littering our planet, no matter where you are, pick it up and dispose of it. Say no to single use plastic. Join your local community litter picking group and take steps to clean up our planet, one rubbish bag at a time.

All of this matters. Our planet matters. Our actions matter. This Earth Day, invest in our planet, in our future and in all the creatures who depend on us to protect them. Together (all 1 billion of us who are ready to fight for our planet!), we can make a difference.