documents, Accreditations and policies
To view our certificates and documents, please click on the links provided, company policies are explained below.
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1. Customer Care Policy
At Austin Family Tree Care Ltd we strive to achieve the highest standards of customer care.
We aim to provide:
The quality of our arboricultural practices and the service we can offer to our clients is of paramount importance to our company. We ensure that we offer services of the highest quality by adhering to the following standards:
Austin Family Tree Care Ltd recognises and accepts a legal and moral responsibility to provide health, safety and welfare protection to our staff, clients and other people who may be present in or around our sites of arboricultural works.
As a company our responsibilities are to:
As a company we take our responsibility to the environment very seriously, the wildlife habitat and ecological value of trees is immeasurable and working on them should be for their benefit and to that of the environment whenever possible. Although this is not always feasible there are other steps we can take to mitigate our environmental impact at work.
Arisings from arboricultural works are recycled/repurposed in the following ways.
The objective: To minimise the impact of on-site operations on local wildlife, enhance biodiversity by retaining or creating habitat where possible, and abiding by the relevant legislation in place to protect wildlife.
Legislation pertaining to the protection of wildlife includes The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 1994, 2007, 2010, 2011 (England and Wales), The Countryside Right of Way Act (2000) and The Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981).
To achieve our objective at Austin Family Tree Care Ltd, we follow these procedures:
At Austin Family Tree Care Ltd we strive to achieve the highest standards of customer care.
We aim to provide:
- Accurate and up to date arboricultural advice.
- Arboricultural works adhering to the relevant standards (e.g., BS3998).
- Polite and courteous interactions with clients.
- Well-presented employees.
- Fair and understanding interactions with individuals or communities that have differing needs.
- A service that listens to what our clients want/need and clearly explains the options they have available to them to achieve their goals.
- A neat and tidy work site once the tasks have been completed.
The quality of our arboricultural practices and the service we can offer to our clients is of paramount importance to our company. We ensure that we offer services of the highest quality by adhering to the following standards:
- Works are completed in a safe, efficient, and professional manner.
- Statutory laws and local policies are followed.
- We will provide aftercare to our customers where necessary.
- We regularly review our systems, processes, and work quality to ensure company standards are being upheld and make improvements where possible.
- Customer feedback is sought after on a regular basis and taken on board for possible improvements.
- Our staff are encouraged to contribute their thoughts on how we can improve our efficiency, working atmosphere and client satisfaction levels whenever they feel changes can be made.
Austin Family Tree Care Ltd recognises and accepts a legal and moral responsibility to provide health, safety and welfare protection to our staff, clients and other people who may be present in or around our sites of arboricultural works.
As a company our responsibilities are to:
- Provide a working environment free of accidents and occupational health problems as far as reasonably possible.
- Ensure our staff are trained and qualified to undertake tasks competently.
- Ensure the safety of the public who have access to our work sites or premises.
- Provide PPE to staff and replace it when damaged or out of date.
- Ensure annual inspections and servicing is carried out on plant and vehicles when necessary.
- Provide appropriate containers for hazardous substances and fuel.
As a company we take our responsibility to the environment very seriously, the wildlife habitat and ecological value of trees is immeasurable and working on them should be for their benefit and to that of the environment whenever possible. Although this is not always feasible there are other steps we can take to mitigate our environmental impact at work.
- Always follow the company wildlife policy – a copy can be found in every vehicle.
- Consider the environmental impact of a task when completing the site-specific risk assessment.
- We ensure our vehicles meet ultra low emissions standards.
- Use the shortest or most economical route possible when travelling between sites.
- Process branches through the wood-chipper once they have been stacked in bundles and the space available for this is full, the machine should not be running while arisings are being collected around the site, the machine should not be left idling in between chipping sessions.
- Petrol driven machinery, plant and vehicles are turned off when not in use.
- Hand-tools and battery powered machinery are used in place of petrol power whenever possible.
- Encourage the retention of deadwood and monoliths when safe to do so.
- Educate clients on the ecological value of trees and the flora and fauna that lives in/on them.
- Where possible, hand digging out young trees that customers wish to have removed and replanting them in local woodland projects.
- Encouraging our clients to replant where possible when a tree is removed and to do this with a suitable native species.
- Following company biosecurity procedures to mitigate against the spread of pests and diseases.
- Meeting government legislation when disposing of contaminated or diseased waste.
- Complying with the Environmental Agency and holding the relevant waste carrier’s licence.
- Communicating with customers in an electronic, paper-free way whenever possible.
- Turning off lights and electronic devices in the workshop and office when not in use.
- The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 1994, 2007, 2010, 2011 (England and Wales)
- The Countryside Rights of Way Act (2000)
- Control of Pesticides Regulations (1986)
- Food and Environment Protection Act (1985) part III
- The Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981)
Arisings from arboricultural works are recycled/repurposed in the following ways.
- Logs, where possible, are to be retained as eco-piles, if they cannot remain on site or relocated to local woodland projects they will be dried and processed for firewood.
- Wood chip is provided to local allotments for use, used as mulch around plantings and flowerbeds at customers’ properties or composted.
- Green waste is to be composted.
The objective: To minimise the impact of on-site operations on local wildlife, enhance biodiversity by retaining or creating habitat where possible, and abiding by the relevant legislation in place to protect wildlife.
Legislation pertaining to the protection of wildlife includes The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 1994, 2007, 2010, 2011 (England and Wales), The Countryside Right of Way Act (2000) and The Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981).
To achieve our objective at Austin Family Tree Care Ltd, we follow these procedures:
- Educating our staff on the relevant acts of law and how they relate to arboricultural works via induction meetings and toolbox talks.
- Working with local authorities, conservation groups and organisations to minimise harm to wildlife and create habitat.
- Having honest and open discussions with our customers about the value of local wildlife and encouraging them to provide habitat where possible.
- Providing advice to our employees on best practice to avoid the disturbance of wildlife.
- Inspections of the site for indications of wildlife are made prior to the commencement of works and the site-specific risk assessment is completed to include the risk to wildlife and other ecologically significant factors.
- Reducing the environmental risk of our works to a level as low as reasonably practical and stopping works if necessary.
- Treating the site-specific risk assessment as a live document which allows for changes to be made should evidence of wildlife be discovered during the working day.
- If a species of ecological significance is discovered during works appropriate advice will be sought from qualified experts.
- Encouraging a working culture amongst our staff that protects wildlife and respects the environment.
- Regularly updating our policies when legislation changes or new discoveries are made in the field of ecology.