Rugby’s MP Mark Pawsey was invited by local business OpusVL to plant two new trees at Coldwells Court, on Rugby’s gyratory, as part of the business’ ongoing work to reduce their carbon footprint.
Mark joined Stuart Mackintosh, OpusVL’s Founder and CEO; Sam Reddy, Sustainability Lead; Jon Allen, Head of Product and other members of OpusVL’s team to plant the two four-year-old ‘Cardinal Royal’ trees on the green space at the front of Coldwells Court, opposite Rugby School. The trees were provided by Rugby Borough Council’s parks team, who have consistently supported tree planting in the town as part of the Council’s response to the climate emergency.
OpusVL is a Rugby-based business who help organisations solve their problems with bespoke software solutions using Open Source technology. The team there is passionate about social causes and are committed to reducing their carbon footprint, both through their own working processes and by supporting carbon reduction offsetting such as local tree planting.
Speaking after planting the trees with OpusVL, Mark commented:
“I was very pleased to be invited by Stuart and the team at OpusVL to plant these trees at Coldwells Court in the heart of Rugby. Both Rugby Borough Council and Parliament have recognised the challenges our climate faces by declaring a climate emergency and even what can seem like relatively small actions, such as planting trees, can produce significant results in terms of carbon reduction. It’s really important that we all play our part and this action by OpusVL is just one way that local businesses can support our net-zero initiatives.”
Mark continued:
“OpusVL are a really great Rugby success story with a track record of supporting local projects and community work. Planting two trees in Rugby is a continuation of this and I was delighted to help plant them, as well as picking up a couple of good techniques from the Rugby Borough Council staff who ably assisted us.”
On why OpusVL chose to plant trees, Stuart commented:
“We’ve always been a local business and many of us live in Rugby too, so it was important to us that we could do something that not only offsets our carbon footprint but will be a welcome addition to the local area. Planting trees offers more natural beauty for the town centre, and having them just a stone’s throw away from our office means we can monitor their progress and have a physical reminder of the actions we’ve taken to promote more sustainable practices.”
