Orbit Homes has made the commitment to plant a tree for every home sold as part of its new welcome pack for purchasers.
The welcome packs contain contents sourced from sustainable businesses and social enterprises, showcasing the housebuilder’s commitment to delivering a positive social and environmental impact to its communities.
In addition to planting a tree in association with The Heart of England Forest, the pack includes ground coffee from Change Please, organic teabags from NEMI Teas, an AromaWorks reed diffuser, a stainless-steel water bottle and a Desktop Garden Bee Mix. All the products embody the Orbit Difference, investing in and contributing to the community by creating responsible partnerships and a sustainable supply chain.
Helen Moore, Group Director of Orbit Homes, commented: “It’s simple to just hand over a bottle of fizz to new homeowners but we decided this was an opportunity to think differently and welcome our residents with a gift that we hope they will find useful, thought-provoking and also give them an idea of our values as an organisation. We have a strong social purpose and are committed to deliver long-term positive impact to support society, empower local economies and protect our environment.”
The organisations that are contributing to the welcome packs include social enterprises Change Please, NEMI Teas and Brightkidz, in addition to award-winning lifestyle brand, AromaWorks, and the Heart of England Forest.
Change Please reinvests its profits to support people to move out of homelessness across the UK through training and employment. It has built a brand using social impact as its USP under the initiative, ‘Life Changing Coffee’, showcasing the value and untapped potential of people experiencing homelessness who face significant barriers to employment.
NEMI Teas provides employment to refugees to give them local work experience and job readiness skills and help them integrate into broader society. The teabags used are plastic-free, packaging is biodegradable, and the teas are Organic, Fairtrade and Rainforest-Alliance certified.
AromaWorks offers home fragrance, bath, body and skincare aromatherapy products that are handmade in its manufacturing facility in Berkshire. The formulas are all 100% natural, cruelty-free and vegan-friendly, pregnancy-safe and free from parabens, sulphates, petrochemical, mineral oils and pesticides.
Brightkidz was set-up as a social enterprise to help promote walking to school and road safety for children. Sales of products such as reflectors and high-vis waistcoats enable Brightkidz to earn the income needed to keep going. This also funds the development of more products, resources and projects with schools to support active travel initiatives.
Helen Moore continues: “We are increasingly engaging social enterprises in our supply chain and, through the Community Impact Partnership (CIP) we co-founded, we actively support social enterprises by providing investment funding and create growth opportunities for businesses with a social purpose at their heart. I hope our residents will not only enjoy their welcome packs but by introducing them to these ethical products and negotiating them an on-going discount, they will also go on to support these very worthy causes in the future – allowing us to make an even bigger and more positive impact.”
