Richie Hill from the Paper Street Tree company spoke to the club on 24 August
about the need for collaboration between local councils, businesses and the
community to get good solutions to issues like climate change.
about the need for collaboration between local councils, businesses and the
community to get good solutions to issues like climate change.
John Bishop reports
Richie began his working life as an arborist and he now provides consultancy services for councils, infrastructure companies and other organisations.
Richie wants to see client organisations get more value from their tree assets and he’s been working on partnerships and collaborative solutions since he set up the company in 2013. He’s been dealing with trees and people in the built environment for most of his career.
Richie is a big fan of trees, of all types of trees and the many uses to which they can be put.
“I am a tree man, you know what I mean,” he said almost tunefully.
“Trees help to reduce run off in urban areas as well as having aesthetic value in the urban environment,” he said.
On greenwashing – the practice of deliberately conveying a false impression or providing misleading information about how a company's products are environmentally sound. Richie said it was common even rife in the modern
business world.
Companies engaged in greenwashing typically exaggerate their claims or the benefits in an attempt to mislead consumers. He urged consumers to be alert and savvy about what was happening.
On climate change he said that trees have become a pathway to climate action and in answer to a question about the club’s planting of trees, Richie said it was a good idea and worth doing.