We all want to enjoy living our lives in more planet-friendly ways. 

Here at Highfield, we are passionate about adopting and investing in green initiatives. In fact, our whole team is constantly on the lookout for more sustainable ways to run our business and source the thousands of different products we sell – from eggs to compost and pet toys to birthday cards.  Here’s a snapshot of what we’re doing to help the planet and give our customers more choice to do the same.

We make our own electricity!

In 2022 we made a big investment in green energy and installed 900 solar panels tucked away on top of our roof space. They are incredibly effective, and right now the amount of electricity generated on-site is about to hit the amazing carbon offset equivalent of planting two thousand trees! 

Hello Sunshine!

Our pioneering retractable roof over our planteria was a huge investment for us in both money and design time.  But the result is that we now have a standout planteria space for our customers, and some extra environmental benefits as well.  The roof is made up of 12 different sections – each of which we can open or shut individually.  So when it’s raining we can let the rain in to naturally water the plants which need it, while covering those that don’t.  Similarly with sunshine – we can have some or all of the roof sections open on sunny days depending on what is a comfortable ambient temperature in the area for our customers and staff.  On balmy days it feels truly Mediterranean.  

The new planteria also fits right into our ethos of using natural sunlight throughout the store wherever possible.   Even on the dullest day our atrium restaurant is flooded with light, and elsewhere we use light-reflecting paint on walls, and light coloured flooring to help light bounce around and minimise our use of electric to light and heat Highfield.  Natural light is also much more soothing as well as kinder on the eyes!

Greener gardens

Native pollinator plants and biological pest control products are also enjoying a rise in demand, and our team enjoys helping educate customers wanting to make more ethical, nurturing buying decisions for their gardens.  We offer a range of pest control products which help gardeners love their gardens whilst still creating habitats for beneficial insects and wonderful wildlife.  Plus our excellent range of peat-free compost products has just expanded even further with the arrival of one made primarily from sheep’s wool! 

The new planteria also fits right into our ethos of using natural sunlight throughout the store wherever possible. Even on the dullest day our atrium restaurant is flooded with light, and elsewhere we use light-reflecting paint on walls, and light coloured flooring to help light bounce around and minimise our use of electricity to light and heat Highfield.  Natural light is also much more soothing as well as kinder on the eyes!

Greener Gardens

Native pollinator plants and biological pest control products are also enjoying a rise in demand, and our team enjoys helping educate customers wanting to make more ethical, nurturing buying decisions for their gardens.  We offer a range of pest control products which help gardeners love their gardens whilst still creating habitats for beneficial insects and wonderful wildlife.  Plus our excellent range of peat-free compost products has just expanded even further with the arrival of one made primarily from sheep’s wool! 

Waste not want not

Wherever we can, we focus first on minimising waste.  Restaurants are often hives of waste production, but not here at Highfield.  A crack team left no stone unturned in a recent restaurant waste audit to make sure the waste we produce is kept to an absolute minimum.  We even offer our customers free packs of coffee grindings for their compost bins!   Elsewhere in the business, the motto is very much that if something can possibly be recycled, we will recycle it.  From cooking oil to cardboard we carefully stack, store and ship out all of our recycling every week.  And for the things we can’t so easily recycle, we look for other ways – such as offering old wooden pallets to customers to make planters and garden furniture.