The Westbury Garden Rooms Environmental Policy

Our commitment to the environment

We are committed to acting in an environmentally responsible way and maintaining our low carbon footprint. We love building garden rooms because we love nature and the sense of well-being that inviting the great outdoors into your home can bring.

We have minimised our environmental impact in many ways including reducing the transportation of timber and increasing the energy efficiency of our garden rooms once they are built. We source building materials from local suppliers, cutting down on transport emissions and lowering our carbon footprint.

To the furthest extent possible, we use redwood and Accoya for the construction of our garden rooms instead of high waste-producing tropical hardwood. By choosing these as our primary timber, we decrease our waste by approximately 35%.

We have also invested in the latest machine technology to optimise the cutting of our timbers and minimise our waste further. We use a biomass boiler system which converts the waste we do create into sustainable heating for our workshop and offices.

The longevity of a building’s design also plays a part in its environmental impact. Westbury’s long-lasting wooden garden rooms save on resources simply because they only have to be built once; their timeless designs and durable materials mean they can last a lifetime without an aesthetic or structural need to be rebuilt.

With the right expertise, modified wood (such as Accoya) far outperforms traditional, solid hardwood. We’re more than happy to discuss this if you’d like to know more.

The environment and the current threat facing it is a big deal here at Westbury, and as a result we do everything we can to ensure that we are doing our bit, not only to minimise our impact on the planet, but to actually improve the environment in which we all live. Westbury also aims for self-sufficiency wherever possible, using all leftover offcuts and materials to feed its onsite biomass boiler which generates the company’s heating.

Westbury achieves its high standards in environmentalism by adhering to a strict code of conduct as a result of our dedication to, sustainable, carbon negative wood sourcing, quality and engineering.

The Westbury Code

Sustainability in wood sourcing is at the heart of what we do; without wood we wouldn’t have a product and we know we have an obligation to ensure that our production methods are both ethical and sustainable.

Only 4% of the wood we use at Westbury is hardwood, instead we use a much more environmentally friendly, stable and durable product that actually outperforms traditional hardwood in almost every respect, and this product is called Accoya®.

What is Accoya®?

Accoya® is a revolutionary wood created from only fast-growing and copiously available FSC® or PEFC™ certified tree species such as Radiata pine.

The pine used at Accsys Technologies to make Accoya® goes through a (non-toxic, environmentally friendly) chemical process, called acetylation, which makes it a super-strength version of its original form – more durable and more stable. The acetylation process also improves its paint retention and in-ground performance. Accoya® is just about as durable as wood can be and is rated as a Class 1 timber.