Bedford business and local charity join forces to ramp up initiative for a greener future

Local Community Forest charity the Forest of Marston Vale has entered into a 5 year partnership with award-winning company Midas Pattern Company Ltd, planting 500 trees per year near Bedford and selling verified carbon units to cut the manufacturing company's carbon footprint to absolute zero.

The first of its kind for the Charity, the venture will see Midas become the latest Corporate Friend of the Forest by investing in both tree planting and the purchase of Woodland Carbon Units generated from the young trees already growing in the Shocott Spring Community Woodland. In doing so, Midas have become the first company to buy verified carbon that's already been locked up by the young woodlands growing to create the Forest of Marston Vale. With a commitment to plant 2,500 trees in 5 years, and purchase a further 500 carbon units per year - known as "Pending Issuance Units (PIUs)", relating to carbon this woodland will lock up in the years ahead - the responsible polyurethane moulding company will go beyond their already achieved carbon-neutral manufacturing status, and achieve absolute carbon net zero for all products, benefitting the local environment and aiding national efforts to combat climate change.

The partnership is one of many measures introduced by Midas as part of the 'Midas Green Initiative': their commitment to support the fundamental principle of sustainability and environmentally friendly, zero-carbon economy through a company-wide carbon reduction journey.

To showcase this achievement, Midas Pattern Company welcomed Mayor of Bedford Dave Hodgson MBE to their factory at the Elms Farm Industrial Estate for a Covid-secure tour of the facilities, followed by a meeting at Shocott Spring with the team from the Forest of Marston Vale where 10 oak trees were planted to mark the start of the partnership and demonstrate the commitment to carbon net zero in action.

Dave Hodgson, Mayor of Bedford Borough said "It was excellent to tour the Midas facility and see first-hand the investment they have made in their buildings, plant and technologies while also partaking in tree planting at Shocott Community Wood. Since I declared a climate emergency in the borough in 2019, the council have worked to reduce its carbon footprint and also engage and work with the boroughs business community on efforts and actions they can take to reduce environmental impact. Midas are a great example of a Bedford borough business assessing their practices and putting in measures which not only reduces the impact of operations on the environment, but also achieve cost savings to reinvest in the company. I look forward to continuing to work with Midas and other borough businesses in sharing good practice and reducing carbon impact across the area".

James Russell, Forest Director for the Forest of Marston Vale agrees and said "We're delighted to be working with the team at Midas to lead the way on how local businesses here in Bedford and beyond can transform their environmental performance. We were happy to agree to the partnership and arrange the sale of some carbon units to Alan, because he's demonstrated his willingness to put people and planet before profit through this investment, and their values and vision is aligned with our own: the Forest becoming an area defined by trees and which demonstrates how communities, businesses and the environment thrive alongside each other, in a sustainable and balanced way."

Passionate environmentalist, Midas Pattern Company MD Alan Rance hopes that other Bedford businesses might be encouraged to think about their own carbon reduction plan, having demonstrated with a small dedicated team that it is possible to deliver a successful, profitable business which also demonstrates a long term commitment to local investment and the global environment.

Alan said "Having the opportunity to work in partnership with the Forest of Marston Vale, to not only support Midas net-zero ambitions, but where we can positively improve the local environment just 3 miles down the road from Midas, is amazing. I am enthused that our mutual partnership has commenced with such a positive day at Shocott Spring. I can't imagine having more fun than I've had planting the first 10 oak trees, but I also can't imagine doing anything more meaningful or symbolic either, this really is using our mutual platforms to their best. Working together with the Forest of Marston Vale can only enhance the spread of the green ethic that is the #midasgreeninitiative. We must all keep doing our level best if we to stand a chance of leaving this beautiful planet in any kind of decent condition for our children and our grandchildren, we are teamwork!"

You can see a video of Mayor Dave Hodgson's visit to Midas Pattern Company here.