The real price of year-round roses
As Little Flourish is formed around the sustainability of enjoying all things floral whilst also being a socially conscious business, I thought it to be pretty important to write my first blog post about this. I don’t want this to be a long and arduous read filled with ‘sciency’ names and numbers BUT there may be a few. I’m going to keep it short so I keep your attention as I feel it is so important for people to see the real truth behind those roses etc we are supplied with at all times of the year. There is little media attention given to the floral industry in comparison to other retail industries despite the critically high carbon footprint. Considering the current environmental issues the world is contending with this is no longer sustainable or acceptable and change must and CAN happen whilst still being able to use the beautiful gifts of Mother Nature.
One of the most common methodologies for quantifying sustainability is something called life cycle assessment (LCA). Put simply, LCA is a systematic analysis of environmental impact over the course of the entire life cycle of a product, material, process, or other measurable activity. The data I show below is from an academic report produced by Rebecca Swinn who has a Distinction MSc Environment & Development including 'best collaborative dissertation' award, and a 1st class undergraduate degree. You can find Rebecca here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-swinn
When we talk about climate change, we often tend to focus on carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) — the most dominant greenhouse gas that comes from burning fossil fuels, industrial production, and land use.
However, CO2 is not the only greenhouse gas that is driving climate change. There are a number of other gases that significantly contribute to global warming, all of which together are quantified in one single metric called CO2e.
The unit of kgCO2e gives a measurement that considers all the 6 greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change (Carbon dioxide, (CO2), Methane (CH4), Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Nitrous Oxide (N2O), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6), although additional gases can be reported if desired.)
Have a look below and prepare to be shocked (& hopefully converted).
Dutch lilies are the worst contenders. On first thought it would seem likely that any flower from Kenya would be of the highest value but it is not only the transport emissions that are the bad guys here. As well as considering these, heating and electricity use are also up there. Just consider how cold Holland can be in the winter.
Have a look through the list.
You’ll see that the emissions are significantly lower for all flowers grown in the UK. Also you’ll see that ‘like for like’ comparisons are not used here. There are no roses to compare. British growers often deliberately grow varieties different to those offered by supermarkets or florists. Substitution is now common in considering the climate impact of different foods, for example, and it seems appropriate to take this approach to flowers.
Emissions per stem:
Dutch Lily: 3.478 Kg CO2
Kenyan Gypsophila: 3.211 Kg CO2
Dutch Roses: 2.437 Kg CO2
Kenyan roses: 2.407 Kg CO2
British lily: 0.819 Kg CO2 (approx. 1/4 of Dutch lily)
British snapdragon (or any outdoor, locally grown flower) 0.114 Kg CO2per stem
British Alstromeria: 0.052 Kg CO2
Generally, the emissions saved by growing outdoors in Kenya are cancelled out by fertiliser use and air freight emissions, and the emissions from the Dutch greenhouse grown flowers remains high due to highly automated systems and relatively inefficient heating and lighting, plus several hundred miles transport.
Below you will see the difference in emissions per bouquet between commercially grown Kenyan, Dutch and British flowers.
5 Kenyan roses + 3 Dutch lily + 3 Kenyan gypsophila – 31.132 Kg Co2e
5 Dutch roses + 3 Dutch lily + 3 Kenyan gypsophila – 32.252 Kg CO2 e
5 (outdoor grown) UK snapdragons + 3 UK lily + 3 UK alstromeria – 3.287 Kg CO2e
*15 stems mixed outdoor UK grown flowers, grown and sold locally (eg to Booths supermarket, Lancashire) – 1.71 Kg CO2e
Whilst there is little difference between the Dutch and Kenyan grown bouquets, they have approximately a carbon footprint 10x higher than that of the British flower option.
*A locally outdoor grown bouquet of mixed garden flowers is estimated to have even lower CO2emissions, around 5% of the Dutch or Kenyan bouquet.
Seasonal produce tends to create less greenhouse gas because it’s grown without artificial heat, and if it’s homegrown it doesn’t have to be shipped or – worse – flown in.
To put things in context for you a bit, the. Carbon footprint of a banana is 80g CO2e, a Christmas Turkey dinner with vegetables for 6 people is 19kg CO2e and flying to Paris from London in economy class, one way is around 50kg CO2e per passenger.
In Mike Berners-Lee’s book ‘How Bad Are Bananas’ (which is a frickin’ great read by the way. A sustainability Bible-of-sorts that we all need right now), a red rose picked from your garden using no inorganic fertilizer would be Zero co2e, whilst a single rose grown in a heated greenhouse in the Netherlands and then flown to the UK is 2.5 kg (5.5 lbs.) CO2e
SHOCKING FACT ALERT!!!!!
A single red rose could have the same impact on climate change as about five kilos (11 pounds) of bananas. So, on Valentines day, instead of half a dozen imported red roses, you could give the equivalent in my body weight in bananas to your love! Yes? What’s not to like?!
Do not fret my dears! This is where myself and my like-minded eco-friendly floral lovers can help you out and save you from that all-mighty crash and banana-burn.
So, here is an excerpt from Mike’s book that sums things up perfectly:
‘The numbers here sum up the Hobson's choice that you are faced with if you want out-of season cut flowers. You either have to put them on a plane or grow them using artificial heat. Both of these are bad news for climate change. After all, Holland is a cold country in winter and roses take a long time to grow.
In my work on U.K. supermarket products, out-of-season cut flowers emerged as some of the products with the largest carbon footprint per pound generated at the tills. In other words they are one of the most carbon-unfriendly ways of getting rid of your cash. There's another concern too. All commercial cut flowers use land that could otherwise be growing food. The demand for agricultural land is already driving deforestation (see page 151), which in turn is responsible for around 18 percent of man-made emissions. Looked at in those terms, cut flowers have to mean less rainforest-so the true footprint is probably even bigger than my numbers suggest.
…Quite a few people I've spoken to have said that their attraction to cut flowers wilted once thev made the connection with the huge emissions and pressure on land that they bring about.’
To actually consider that those pretty (although not nearly as pretty as the organically shaped home grown varieties!) flowers we buy to brighten up our lives and homes are contributing to deforestation is a sickening thought.
Once I became aware of these facts, I knew I could never go back.
Don’t feel in despair though. As you know, there are so many other ways to enjoy flowers. By growing your own or buying locally you will not only avoid causing harm but actually benefit the planet. Home and locally grown flowers will help pollinators a huge amount and we all know the importance of that.
You can find Mike’s fantastic book through the links below or better still, have a look in your local bookshop.
https://www.foyles.co.uk/all?term=how+bad+are+bananas%3f
https://www.waterstones.com/book/how-bad-are-bananas/mike-berners-lee/9781788163811