Group reaches special environmental goal at Aylesbury Vale pub

A tree was planted at an Aylesbury Vale pub to recognise a special environmental milestone it achieved.

Members of the Oakman Group visited The Akeman Inn in Kingswood to plant the millionth tree in the history of the company.

When the pub group was formed nearly 15 years ago, founder and chairman Peter Borg-Neal developed an environmental strategy.

At the nine pubs under the Oakman Group umbrella for every cup of coffee sold, one tree is planted.

Peter planted an Oak Tree which has been named Quercus Palustris at the Aylesbury Vale pub.

Team supervisor, Marisa Blackman, and Oakman’s gardens and sustainability manager, Philip Jones, were on hand to witness the achievement as well.

The Akeman Inn has space for further trees as it has recently opened a brand new 1.2 acre Oakman Kitchen Garden.

It was only in September 2021 when the first tree was planted in the project.

In September last year, 1,400 trees were planted, one for every Oakman employee.

The group now hopes to plant a million trees every year.

To help reach this goal, Oakman has linked up with tree-nation a not-for-profit organisation that helps support local communities.

This project helps offset the daily carbon emissions produced by the nine Bucks-based pubs.

Tree-nation specialises in protecting biodiversity through reforestation and conservation projects worldwide.

Oakman’s Cup of Coffee campaign helps the charity’s tree planting schemes further afield in Madagascar and Tanzania.

Currently, 80% of the million trees are in Madagascar’s Eden project, with the other 20% planted in Tanzania in the Usambara Biodiversity Conservation project. That is almost 450 hectares of reforested land, representing some 50,000 tonnes of recaptured Co2 - all from selling around 2,500 cups of coffee per day across Oakman’s 40 strong estate.

Peter said: “Planting this young Oak, which might live for 1,000 years, is a simple commemoration of what small groups can do with little effort or personal impact, but which can have profound effects. For example, we were the first pub group to ban plastic straws, eventually leading to their national disappearance. We were the first pub group to install electric charging points in our new pub car parks. We always seek ways to make a difference without losing sight of our commercial responsibilities."