‘Reliable power for a sustainable world’ is the overarching Riello UPS philosophy and it’s something we try to adhere to across the entire business, whether that’s ensuring customers have the most efficient possible UPS, minimising waste in our day-to-day operations, or how we improve the environment around us.

As part of this commitment, we’re proud to partner with GreenTheUK, a nationwide wildlife conservation scheme that helps businesses get involved with projects that increase biodiversity, protect species, and enhance local communities.

As part of the programme over the next 12 months, we’ll contribute the planting of 2,000 trees along with a further 300 trees at local schools and community groups.

This is an important step as the UK only has 13% tree coverage compared to an average of 38% across the rest of Europe.

Volunteering At Leighton Redwoods

Our team will also get the chance to volunteer at various local conservation projects.

The first of these opportunities saw several Riello UPS staff enjoy a fun and informative day at the Leighton Redwoods forest near Welshpool, Powys.

Originally dating back to the 1850s and now spanning more than 1,000 acres, the forest is home to some of the oldest coast redwood trees in the UK, as well as oak, sycamore, cherry, ash, and larch trees.

In their native Californian habitat, coast redwoods are some of the tallest trees in the world (as tall as the 96 metre-high Big Ben in London!) and can live for more than 1,000 years.

No one quite knows how big the UK trees will eventually grow to, although the tallest is already over 47 metres high!

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As well as an informative guided tour of the woods and pinetum, which is home to more than 100 different tree specimens, we also got to check out ‘The Chalet’, a timber educational structure crafted from some of the forest’s redwoods, which won a 2001 Timber Industry Award for excellence of design and construction.

Then it was time for plenty of hard work to help the Royal Forestry Society maintain the woodland and ensure the trees continue to grow healthily.

We cut back the footpath down to ‘The Chalet’, increasing access by clearing brambles and overhanging branches, while we also cleared a disabled access car parking area of brambles and weeds.

In addition, we collected and moved deadwood and branches to clearly define the edges of paths running through the woodlands. This  discourages adventurous mountain bikers from riding through the forest and potentially damaging the tree roots.