What is Peoples Better World Initiative? Peoples Better World Initiative is a company-wide effort to minimize our environmental footprint by embarking on a path of more green and sustainable practices. Peoples Flowers is proud to announce the launch of the Peoples Better World Initiative on Earth Day, April 22, 2009. As a long-standing member of the Albuquerque community, we at Peoples Flowers believe that it is time we played our part in working to conserve our natural resources and improve the environment we all share as a global community. That’s why we have inaugurated our Better World Initiative in association with Better World Communications. We invite you to join us as we strive to become part of the solution to improve the health of the planet.
Watch us on Good Day New Mexico discussing our new sustainability project.

Our Company Reduce, Reuse, Recycle One of the first things available to all of us is to simply look at the amount and different kinds of materials that pass though our lives every day, and try to reduce the impact we have on the environment from the waste that we generate. Less waste means fewer landfills, which directly impacts our community. And landfilling materials that have reusable value is doubly wasteful, as it requires the unnecessary production of new materials from limited resources.

At Peoples, we are implementing a program to recycle all waste materials that can be effectively diverted from the landfill. Our paper, glass, metals, and plastics will be separated in designated containers and sent to appropriate recycling facilities for future use. The cuttings from our flowers and plants will be separated and composted to provide nutrients for other plants to grow.

Our Suppliers Sustainable Products Environmental responsibility involves everyone who touches our business. This is particularly true with the primary product we sell – flowers. The good news is that a growing number of flower producers have taken the lead in changing the way they care for the land and environment that supports their livelihood. Many have achieved third-party certification that they are organically grown and operate their overall business in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.

At Peoples, we are working to identify the source of all of our plant products with the goal of increasing the percentage of those we buy from certified growers and those who manage their fields in an environmentally responsible manner. We intend to inform our customers of how we are progressing in this effort through in-store signage and product labeling. Our goal is to strive for complete transparency in our product selection.

Our Customers Product Promotions Customers in all industries are increasingly asking for more environmentally responsible products. Millions of consumers want to know where their products come from, how they are packaged, and even how the people who produced them are treated by their employers. With the ready availability of this kind of information on the internet, customers are increasingly able to express their environmental concerns through the purchases they make.

At Peoples, we want to offer all of our customers the opportunity to make a better environmental choice when purchasing their flowers for friends, family, and loved ones. Starting April 22, we will be offering a monthly feature of 100% certified flowers, in 100% recycled vases, with a promotion to have the customer return (recycle) the vase for a discount on their next flower purchase. We want our customers to know that we are taking this Initiative seriously, and that we want them to directly benefit from this effort in the flowers they buy.

Our Employees We Need Your Help Our Better World Initiative can only be successful with the help of everyone involved. From our suppliers and business partners, to our employee associates, and customers, we all need to try and change the way we think about the environment and how we can help preserve our precious natural resources. We believe that this is possible, while still providing our customers with the quality and service they have come to expect, our employees with a healthy and meaningful workplace, and our community with a better environmental citizen.

In fact, the goal of Peoples Better World Initiative is to actually improve the quality of all aspects of our business as we improve our environment.

We will be looking for creative ways to engage everyone connected with our business, and encourage participation at all levels, so that we can not only be successful, but have some fun along the way. Please join us.

Our Future The Next Steps As we progress along the path of greater sustainability, we plan to look at all phases of our operation for opportunities to minimize our environmental footprint and engage the community with our efforts. The list of opportunities is long, and we are not sure where it may lead, however, the key to a successful journey is in taking the first steps.

Among consideration for the future are:

▪ Reducing energy consumption in all facilities. We have already begun this process with the complete changeover of our lighting systems.

▪ Exploring our options for renewable energy.

▪ Evaluating the efficiency of our delivery fleet and exploring alternative fuel options.

▪ Developing our own in-house composting system for our customers.

▪ Any suggestions? Visit any of our four locations or call us anytime.