Sanctuary Synthetics Sustainability Statement

Business:
Artificial grass pioneers since 2002, wholesalers and installers for the trade, private gardens, commercial, play & schools markets. Not Astro.

Sustainability Statement:
Originally landscapers, we continue to encourage our customers to plant/have gardens. Mostly we replace muck, not lawns. Our philosophy is you can have both a living garden and a practical low maintenance artificial lawn/multi play area as demanded by our customers. 

In our recently published book (available on Amazon) — ‘The Big Hairy Green book all about Artificial Grass’,  we question the credentials of high maintenance monocultural pesticide and fertiliser dependent real lawns and explore the history, development and pros and cons of the alternative including encouraging eco friendly progress. Via the LEAN process and more recently the ‘Green for Business’ ( formerly ‘..for micro’) programme in August — app i.d A734mr5560, including carbon footprint measurement as per GHG protocols & ISO 14064 reporting standards—we are significantly ramping up real change, following a specific plan, towards solving the obvious sustainability challenges in our niche.

Supply Chain
We’ve always ethically sourced from Holland and senior staff are visiting our manufacturers in December to see their progress, including vast solar, robotic automation, 30% certified recycled raw materials ( so far) and new non-laytex backing allowing for far easier recycling. For e.g see https://www.condor-group.eu ‘on a roll to zero Emissions’ policy and pledge.

Moreover we are just back from a conference in Germany with our new Partners LimeGreen OneDNA, working with world’s biggest yarn suppliers Tencate and major manufacturers Condor, who have perfected an industry first, much more energy efficient one part (PPE) grass that is fully and locally 100% recyclable. This is now economically viable. Their take back programme, with full traceability via an app/markings ensuring full circularity. With support from VisionGreen we’ve identified a collaboration locally with Paltech, a polymer engineering company, with samples in for testing. With 2030 deadlines in mind we now stock and promote this game changing innovation. See https://go LimeGreen.com for ‘the science’ iNc EU SGS certification of same.

In-House Steps
Based on annual energy and resource consumption our total footprint was circa 218.47 tCO2e. Currently, via Infinity Energy ltd, we are installing solar PV’S Resulting in an immediate certified 30% reduction in our CO2. A €21,000 investment with an 18 month payback for ongoing clean power Inc a €5000 rebate via SEAI. Our case study features on their website.

28% of our footprint is from general waste. This is being systematically reduced via better segregation of all waste streams starting with office waste management (via mywaste.ie advice). We separate and compact all plastic and cardboard packaging (significant volumes), donate off-cuts to ReCreate Ireland or otherwise reuse, watch out for our famous ‘Santa hat mats’ currently in production! Timber and rubble bays are in situ separate from topsoil and sod removed from gardens. 80-90% is regraded and recycled for use and/or sale. We have a plan to switch a portion of our fleet to HVO fuel drop in alternative, pending local availability (via CircleK). This will reduce emissions by 90% at only a slight cost premium.

Sustainability Pledge
Thanks to initial prompting via GLDA I'm proud to report the above tangible progress and commit to continue to press, across the board, for further measurable CO2 reductions. Harmonised EU methodology —LCA’s and the imposition of a standardised estimated cost indicator (ECI), developed in collaboration with our industry, should help with both awareness and tenders but ultimately we need designers and landscapers to spec more carefully to get to a win win scenario.

Mark O'Loughlin,
Founder & Director

Email mark@sanctuarysynthetics.ie