We kicked off our 2025 calendar of social value activity by getting green fingered on two tree planting days with the Woodland Trust.

In January a team of five APS colleagues headed to the Woodland Trust’s largest estate in England, Smithills in Greater Manchester, to support the development of a new plantation. We planted over 600 saplings, including Oak and Willow, whilst also checking previously planted trees and removing guards from those that were established, replacing any that hadn’t survived and filling spaces between them.

Team APS were then back at it in February, this time joined by some of our clients from Versus Arthritis at Hayhills Farm Wood in West Yorkshire. The primary purpose of this day put their DIY skills to good use as they were tasked to build and erect wooden pens to protect the saplings from grazing wildlife, and the group still managed to plant another 120+ trees – cue some very achy bodies the next day!

Made possible through the Carbon Capture Scheme, these tree planting days are one of our favourite and most rewarding volunteering events of the year. We can’t wait to see where we’ll head to next!

This week, we cemented our commitment to combat climate change in collaboration with the Woodland Trust by helping to plant 3,500 native saplings on the picturesque former Frodsham Golf Course in Cheshire. We joined 20 other businesses and around 100 of their enthusiastic employees and customers for a day of planting saplings which will one day grow into a thriving native forest.

Native trees such as Maple, Oak and Silver Birch, hold the key to addressing the immediate challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. Being a part of Premier’s tree planting initiative, Carbon Capture®, demonstrates a joint dedication to providing sustainable solutions for excess CO₂ emissions within our industry.

The Frodsham site is set to be transformed into native broadleaf woodland, contributing to the growth of The Mersey Forest and the larger Northern Forest, which spans from Liverpool to the Yorkshire coast. With tree cover in Merseyside and Cheshire at 6 to 7%, some way below the national average of 13%, this initiative serves as a beacon for environmental conservation and mitigating climate change.

The objectives for the Frodsham site are to support nature recovery, climate change mitigation, and increase community involvement. The new woodland will also provide habitats for wildlife, offer public recreation spaces, and contribute to long-term carbon storage.

“APS Group have engaged with the Woodland Trust for many Years and actively takes part in the Tree Planting days organised through one of our key Suppliers ‘Premier Paper Group.’ The Carbon Capture programme focuses on the UK, protecting ancient, veteran and valuable woods, plus creating new quality woodland and growing UK native trees to benefit nature, the climate and future generations. It is a perfect initiative which we at APS are glad to support and gives companies and their clients the opportunity to mitigate carbon and demonstrate their sustainable development goals.”

Brian Henners, Global In-Direct Supply Chain Director at APS Group

We’re proud to contribute to the UK’s ‘net zero by 2050’ target by being a part of Premier’s Carbon Capture® programme. This initiative has created over 3 million square meters of new native woodland in the UK, which equates to 107,571 tonnes of CO₂e to be mitigated. We can’t wait to join the initiative again next year!

Read more out about our sustainability commitments here.