A Better Tomorrow
Previous NextAll David Harber artworks have been inspired by naturally occurring forms in nature. The environment is at the centre of everything we do. We believe it incredibly important that we take steps to preserve it, and see it as our responsibility to protect the beauty around us that inspires each and every sculpture we make on site within our Oxfordshire workshop.
As a company, we have made the decision to strive to become carbon positive and have set a timeframe of five years to achieve this. With this in mind, we have undertaken an environmental audit to calculate the carbon impact of running the company in terms of employees, facilities and operational processes.
In addition, by the end of October we will have evaluated the carbon impact of each design within our Classic collection, and plan to use this data to establish an estimated carbon impact of all Bespoke projects. This will enable us to determine a finite figure in terms of our carbon output on an annual basis, and support our efforts to become carbon positive.
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This year, we have committed to:
- Introduce a carbon offsetting fee when clients opt for shipping via air freight, rather than sea freight
- Since August, we have been installing 60 m2 of solar panels for our workshop, and two electric vehicle charging points
- Our newly landscaped gardens at David Harber HQ will be planted this autumn with trees and wildflower areas to support wildlife and pollinators
- From October, we are switching to an electricity supplier that provides 100% renewable energy for power not generated by ourselves
- We have committed to using 100% recycled material for our marketing material
Over the coming year we will keep all David Harber clients updated with ongoing developments in our environmental programme. We welcome any suggestions from our network on how we can further play our part.
We are also thrilled to announce that as part of our endeavour to become carbon positive, we have agreed a partnership with RAIN (Regenerative Agroforestry Impact Network). Under this partnership, we have pledged £15,000 over 12 months for RAIN to provide carbon offsetting services.
RAIN's projects go well beyond offsetting. They are designed to maximise biodiversity, replenish topsoil and improve the hydrological cycle, all with social impacts in mind, such as improved food security, and stronger local economies. RAIN works with indigenous nations in Brazil, with women's groups in urban slums and with poor rural populations.
We are delighted that our pledge this year will be supporting a creative sector through Rain's Tree of Music project. This project will plant 50,000 pernambuco trees used to make bows for stringed instruments – a trade that has pushed the tree to the brink of extinction. Half of the trees planted will be harvested to produce sustainably produced bows and the other half will be planted at degraded water springs to increase water flow, regenerate the Atlantic forest and provide habitat for many endangered species.
We are excited to be the project's corporate partner alongside a number of ambassadors and pioneers within the classical music industry.
David Harber chats with Marco Raposo, driving force behind the Green Brazil Institute which partners with Rain to support the pernambuco tree. Over the last 20 years, the Green Brazil Institute has planted nearly 700,000 pernambuco tree seedlings.
