Barratt Homes and Barratt London is encouraging school children across London and the South East to celebrate Christmas in a more sustainable way this year, as the housebuilder has donated over 2,500 Christmas tree saplings to a range of schools across the region. The pupils were able to take home their very own ‘kidmas tree’ to plant where it will grow and can be enjoyed for years to come.

According to the Carbon Trust, a 2m tall real tree that ends up in a woodchipper or bonfire has a carbon footprint of 3.5kg of CO2. This increases to 16kg for the trees that end up as landfill. But neither of those figures compare to the 40kg of CO2 that is used to dispose of an artificial tree. The donation of sapling trees encourages families to make more sustainable decisions at Christmas and have a go at growing their own.

The schools that received the donation have used the saplings in a range of ways. Some have chosen to plant the trees on site, others have gifted them to their students, and one has chosen to sell the sapling and use the money raised to support a local foodbank.

Stephen Pearce, Headteacher at East Acton Primary School, local to Barratt London’s Western Circus development, commented: “As a school we always like to engage in activity which encourages pupils to think more sustainably and this is an especially important message at Christmas. We welcomed this donation from Barratt London as we approach the festive season when there is typically so much waste. We have sent the saplings home with students and staff to plant them in their own garden or to share with relatives over Christmas – we look forward to seeing how they grow!”

Pam Reardon, Sales and Marketing Director for Barratt East London said: “This year we have pledged to reduce our carbon emissions by 29% by 2025 and to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in our operations by 2040. To support this message, we felt it important that our school activity reflected our ambitions to meet these targets and in total we have donated thousands of sapling trees. We hope the pupils enjoy growing their saplings and I hope these young trees can be enjoyed for years to come.