COMMUNITY INVESTMENT

Through a variety of training programs and opportunities, McQueens Flowers supports the local communities in which they run their business. They are working towards providing even more employment opportunities for local young people by April of 2020, and four full-fee bursaries each year to young people living in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets so they can join the Flower School’s four-week course.McQueens Flowers also donated part of their Chelsea Flower Show installation to The Cambridge University Botanic Gardens so all of their visitors can learn more about the role of bees in growing plants. In addition to this, McQueens Flowers works with the British Beekeepers Association to raise awareness at a government level and protect the honeybee.

CONSCIOUS SOURCING, DESIGN AND DELIVERY

McQueens Flowers works directly with their suppliers and stays on top of any issues they might have by helping them develop an action plan. They only work with suppliers who share their same standards of ethics and sustainability. All of their suppliers sign a variety of flower industry-specific codes of conduct, they are members of the Floriculture Sustainability Initiative, and they sign up to McQueens Flowers own policies. When it comes to floral design, McQueens Flowers gives customers the option to receive their arrangements without floral foam, and they have introduced a gardening division so customers can create longer-lasting designs. They also redesigned their packaging and ensured that their flower bags are 100 percent biodegradable. They have also reduced their consumption of cellophane by 80 percent, and introduced a biodegradable alternative, Nativia. Lastly, McQueens Flowers switched to recyclable cardboard boxes rather than plastic crates for the transport of their retail orders, and they combine orders to maximise efficiency.