An unwavering commitment to environmental sustainability
Chessgrove has an unwavering commitment to the environment and operates it’s businesses according to a set of principles that govern how we generate and use energy, our processes, and the everyday use of materials which makes us one of the most sustainable businesses in our relevant industries.
Specific to Chessgrove Swim, the pool and building is heated by biomass. All electricity is generated by solar panels when the weather allows, and EDF supplies electricity from 100% renewable sources at other times.
All of our waste is sorted locally to minimise the amount returned to landfill.
A continued investment in biomass
Chessgrove invested in emerging biomass technology in 2005 which proved to be a great success. In the last 11 years we have invested over £1 million in an efficient, comprehensive biomass system to fuel our warehouse and offices, including the supply of heating and hot water. Burning biomass is as near to carbon-neutral as any energy source, with flammable plant matter being burned to release energy in the form of heat and power.
Why Biomass
Biomass is an especially attractive fuel source because huge amounts of it are generated inadvertently through industrial and agricultural production. Harnessing this waste material and extracting more energy from it improves all-around efficiency and reduces the ecological impact mankind has on the environment.
Owning our own woodchipping company means we can control all elements of this sustainable process
Fews only use wood that cannot be used for other purposes like clippings, prunings, and other arboricultural arisings. Our in-house collection team are the “wombles” of the industry – making sure we use and recycle wood that would otherwise be discarded.
What This Means
Utilising this renewable fuel source means we avoid using 2,500 litres of diesel fuel per week.
CO² avoided = 327,600 kgs p/a*
Woodchip from sustainable sources
Fews utilises its own wood-chipping service to produces biomass woodchip from sustainable sources through brash removal and site clearance. We are the “wombles” of the industry and only collect within a six mile radius of our head office. Once prepared on our drying floor it is used as fuel for the biomass boilers. This helps to make our operation as sustainable and efficient as possible.
Our in-house team sources wood that cannot be used for other purposes:
Industrial sites
Clearing woodland designated for building projects where the wood would normally be mulched
Forest clearance
Looking for small wood trapped on the ground that has no commercial use
Tree surgeons
Dangerous trees which are usually logged and dumped.
Farm waste
This consists of low hanging branches at the edge of fields which are trimmed off and typically burnt as brash. This trimming is done to allow access for large machinery.
Arboricultural waste
Material that cannot be used for any other purpose
Our wood-chipping business is called Chessgrove Woodchip – there’s more information here:
chessgrovewoodchip.co.uk
A commitment to solar power
In 2015 we further extended our commitment to the environment by introducing solar power with an investment of over £300k. Panels were fitted to the roof of the office and warehouse buildings to generate on average 2400kw/hr per week proving all the businesses electricity and returning surplus to the grid.
Solar Storage Technology
The next step here will be to install batteries on site and be “off-grid” when we feel that the technology is robust enough.
Further investment
In 2023 we invested another £155k in new panels to increase our capacity.
What does this mean in reality?
Through the use of an App, we can monitor exactly how much electricity we are generating, and can see what we are delivering back to the grid during summer months.
Using solar power helps us to avoid this level of CO²
Power generated = 355 kW/h
CO² avoided = 71,000 kgs p/a
General Recycling
All Chessgroves’ general waste is collected, sorted and recycled by a local specialist minimising what is sent to landfill.
Approximately 92% of the waste collected from our facilities is recycled.
