Working with Business - contact Tony Talbot on 01234 762601 or tony.talbot@marstonvale.org

The Forest of Marston Vale presents outstanding opportunities for business to develop and engage in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) both within the business and externally with customers and stakeholders. The Forest has developed outstanding partnerships with the corporate sector which have resulted in cost savings to the business and significant improvements to the landscape, biodiversity and quality of life for those that live and work in the Marston Vale, Bedfordshire.

The Forest Team is currently working with:

Timberland UK, HSBC, Earthwatch, Ikea, Pearce Recycling, Cawley, Nissan, The Carbon Neutral Company, Norwich & Peterborough Building Society, The Conservative Party, Berkley Homes, David Wilson Homes, Barclays Bank, Avis Car Rental, Emerald Acorn, F&R Cawley, Pearce Recycling, British Car Auctions amongst many others.

Blue Chip Plants 10 acres of trees to celebrate new ‘green data’ centre

Blue Chip, the IT service specialists, have launched unique partnership with the Marston Vale Trust in early 2011.  Together they have set out a shared vision to plant up to 3/4 million trees within new woodlands across the Forest of Marston Vale.

This is the latest in a series of green enterprises for Blue Chip that began in 2009 with the award of a £500,000 grant from the Carbon Trust to invest in their new data centre. The result is a 25,000 square foot facility on a five acre site that is one of the most energy efficient data centres in Europe.

“Achieving massive energy savings through green technology has allowed us to dramatically reduce our carbon footprint and this partnership means we can now go even further,” said Brian Meredith, Managing Director of Blue Chip.

Blue Chip has calculated that planting 2,000 mature trees will compensate for the carbon generated from the operation of each server rack at its data centre. For the next ten years Blue Chip will ensure that more trees take root each time a new rack is commissioned. Box Clever, the largest TV rental company in the UK became a Blue Chip client in 2010 and the first 2,000 trees were planted in ten acres at Shocott Spring, a new woodland, owned and managed by the Marston Vale Trust, between Shortstown and Cotton End.

Blue Chip MD Brian Meredith and Bedford Mayor Dave Hodgson plant a tree at Shocott Spring

• Pearce Recycling have a strong brand in the name of Paper Planet and pledge to plant a tree for every 50 bags of waste paper that is recycled by their customers who include NHBC, and Mothercare.
• Pearce Recycling and their customers have just completed a very successful third year's planting. More than a hundred customers and staff planted over one thousand trees at Rectory Wood Phase lV on 27th November 2008. We look forward to their return next year
• www.pearce-recycling.co.uk

Pearce Recycling staff planting trees at Bedford's Green Gateway

• In 2001, we launched the Marston Vale Timberland Trail www.marstonvale.org/timberlandtrail
• Following the successful launch of the new Regent Street store and the 'plant one on us' campaign, Timberland UK have now expanded the 'plant a tree for every pair of boots sold' campaign across all their UK retail outlets from November 2006
• 220 Timberland employees created a new wetland marginal habitat at the Forest Centre on September 21st 2006 as part of Timberland's global celebration of Serv A Palooza. In December 2006, 10 hardy Timberland staff planted 350 trees at the Kill
• On February 21st 2007, Timberland sent teams from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Austria and Spain to complete the planting of Bedford's Green Gateway at Wiles Wood.
• In November 2007 Timberland announced sponsorship of a further 30,000 trees at Rectory Wood and Shocott Spring
• In October 2008 Timberland dedicated 15,000 more trees at Phase IV of Rectory Wood. Two groups from Wexham Springs have once again given their time and effort to help us plant these trees.

Timberland staff working to improve wetlands at the Forest Centre

• Phil Briggs of Emerald Acorn first approached the Forest in 2003 to create a 5 year planting partnership. In 2006, Phil agreed to extend the partnership to 2013.
• Emerald Acorn along with clients, friends and families have now completed tree planting at Rectory Farm, Cranfield (2003), Buttons Ramsey, Kempston Wood End (2004), Shocott Spring, Eastcotts (2005) and at Lidlington (2006).
• In November 2008 Phil and his team completed a 6th year of planting back at Phase IV of Rectory Wood, Cranfield.
• The Forest Team look forward to Susie's bacon rolls and enthusiastic, warm hospitality.

Phil Briggs of Emerald Acorn with one of many trees planted in the Forest

• Our relationship with HSBC has gone from strength to strength with a combination of funding and planting partnerships.
• In 2004, we set up an arrangement with HSBC to enable their on-line customers to opt for electronic bank statements and save paper - after just 3 months, 100,000 customers made the switch.
• November 2008 saw 35 HSBC employees plant a stunning 1,000 tress in one day.

• HSBC have now funded the planting of over 24,000 native trees and HSBC staff have helped plant trees at Buttons Ramsey (2005), Shocott Spring (2006) and Wiles Wood (2007).
• HSBC has donated £30,000 to match a WREN bid for the creation of 20ha of new woodland at Rectory Farm, Cranfield which is being created over the winter of 2007.

• To celebrate F&R Cawley's 60th Anniversary in 2007 and to demonstrate F&R Cawley's commitment to the environment, we have entered a partnership agreement to plant 6000 trees by February 2008.
• F&R Cawley's clients can help make the last phase happen by coming to plant trees on 3rd February 2008 and by registering to receive the F&R Cawley newsletter (Waste Matters) electronically by e-mailing kate.moore@frcawley.co.uk with your name, company and e-mail address or visit www.cawleys.co.uk

• Ikea's project to reduce the number of plastic carrier bags used in their stores netted the Forest £1500 to plant trees.
• A sponsored walk along the Greensand Ridge has raised a further £1000 in support of our annual Woodworks! event.

Ikea Milton Keynes employees walking the Greensand Ridge to raise money for the Forest

• Guy Salmon Jaguar, Northampton approached the Forest of Marston Vale in 2008 to explore ways in which they could use tree planting to thank their customers.
• For every new or used car sold, Guy Salmon Jaguar pays for a tree to be planted in the Forest of Marston Vale.  By January 2009, 145 trees had been paid for by the scheme.
• Customers are invited to join in the fun and to come and plant trees at the Forest’s planting events

Richard Harrison of Guy Salmon Jaguar planting trees at Rectory Wood, Cranfield in November 2008