Frequently Asked Questions

We use Ecologi a reputable environmental company that keeps a record of all the invoice receipts for the trees it plants around the world. If you want to know more about the records that are kept you can find further information here.

Ecologi only works with the leading ecosystem reforestation organisations, they have a strict due diligence onboarding system that covers everything from quality of wood to risk, and focuses on social impact, equity & fairness. All projects are actively monitored including spot checks from their team. They have a record of over 80% of the trees planted surviving and support projects around the world like the Eden Project & the Future forest company as well as projects in the UK like Project Earth. For more information on the projects being supported click here.

We use an independent expert company who work out the carbon footprint of the products for us. This is based on a Life Cycle Assessment which looks at the Material sourcing, Component manufacturing, Final product assembly, Product transport, Product use and End of life recovery.

The criteria it uses to measure those levels are defined by the 16 principles of impact according to the European PEF.  The carbon footprint is then measured against an industry standard product and a carbon saving or increase is created. Allowing the customer to compare products on a like for like basis.

Our entire mantra is to help people buy more sustainably. Giving a carbon footprint is like putting calories on a menu, it just makes people feel bad. However showing people the differing savings encourages them to buy better.

They can simply compare products to see which one is the most sustainable and move to that product secure in the knowledge that the move is saving carbon and making the world a better place.

We believe the best way to explain this is first of all to focus on the why. We use the metaphor of a restaurant menu that shows all the calories of every dish and almost makes you feel guilty for selecting anything. It is the same with carbon footprints on products, we know you need the goods so rather than feeling guilty for buying your essential products we help you buy better by focusing on the savings. To do this we compare the carbon footprint of the product you are buying against an industry standard product. If they are different volumes or units we take that in to account by breaking it down by usable product in kgs and building it back up again, so that the saving of buying a super concentrate that makes 100 spray bottles compared to a box of 6 x RTU spray bottles is calculated on how many boxes of 6 x RTU bottles would you have to buy to match it then creating the real cost in use carbon saving on that basis.

What products do we compare to, we did a a lot of research to make sure our line in the sand products are correct. Paper toilet rolls and hand towels are compared to a standard plastic wrapped 320 sheet and c-fold hand towel coming out of Spain & Italy.  Chemicals and soap although a lot do come from Europe & further afield more are made in the UK so it is a UK chemical with virgin plastic containers and no recycled packaging that we use. Waste sacks are compared to a Chinese import. All of these allow us a real line in the sand product as bought currently in the UK and help us encourage people to buy better, whether that is products with more recycled or natural material  ingredients, or ones simply made closer to home.

This is a simple one, they are not ours. We don’t create our carbon footprints not can we change or influence them, we just pay for them because we know it is right. They are created by an independent company, based on the information supplied by our suppliers at our request. Where that information is not forthcoming or available data from Wellow is used. They hold a massive amount of data on all areas that effect the footprint of a product like energy consumption and creation across all countries, as well as the impact of transport, and end of life disposal and how that differs in geographical locations. So in short we leave that to the experts, so you can have full peace of mind that the figures are more than just surface deep.

A life cycle assessment as it sounds, is a way of looking at the impact of a products across their entire life span.

Stages in looks at are – Material Sourcing > Component manufacturing > Product final assembly > Product transport > Product use > End of Life. It also looks for key sustainable indicators. These are :- Low carbon design > Energy efficiency > Renewable electricity > Direct emissions abatement > carbon removal > Water stewardship > Zero waste to landfill > Mapping & engagement > Assessment > Innovation.

It uses the EU PEF (Product Environmental Footprint) which has been introduced to deliver a common European evaluation method to measure the environmental impact of each of the LCA stages, so covering the entire lifecycle of the product.

The criteria used by the EU PEF are – Climate change, total > Ozone depletion > Human toxicity, cancer > Human toxicity, non-cancer > Particulate matter > Ionising radiation, human health > Photochemical ozone formation, human health >Acidification >Eutrophication, terrestrial > Eutrophication, freshwater > Eutrophication, marine > Ecotoxicity, freshwater > Land use > Water use > Resource use, minerals & metals > Resource use, fossils.

This broad spectrum of analysis gives an incredibly accurate view of the impact and footprint of a product. it also has a clear picture of what a sustainable product should look like.

Our goal as a ecological community should always be to try to reduce our carbon footprint as far as we can. Once that is done you can then look at how to offset what is left. This is done by using a reputable company, we have chose Ecologi as our partner as they only support schemes that adhere to the Verified Carbon Standard or the Gold Standard.

Ecologi keeps a record of all the invoice receipts and tracking for it’s certified carbon offset projects around the world so you can see how it retires verified carbon credits. If you want to know more about the records that are kept you can find further information here.

We ask our customers to vote on which project to support every quarter, allowing us to spread the assistance while building buy in from our customer base on where they want to invest.

The short answer is yes. We offset carbon using approved schemes and these can be directly offset against your scope 3 emissions. We are working on calculating your exact emissions which we can do with our independent carbon footprints on products. They currently cover over 75% of our customers purchasing but in the near future that will rise to over 90%. We will then be able to show you what your Scope 3 emissions are from us and we will then compare that directly to the Carbon we have offset making those deliveries and that part of your Scope 3 neutral and you will not have to count it in your reporting.

Combine that with our tools that help you reduce your carbon footprint by moving to products that are more sustainable and together we can help offset your Scope 3 emissions.

The short answer is no. Lime Sustainable Supplies as a business is committed to creating a greener, cleaner earth and we believe in it so much that we are not just investing profit but turnover in to the tree planting and offsetting.  The systems we have invested heavily in are to help our customers buy better, by doing this we are helping slow down and reverse the impact we are having on the environment. We invest in the trees and carbon offsetting for the same reason, it is tangible metric that our customers can see so acts as a carrot to incentivise our customers to improve their sustainable profiles.

Everyone needs to make a profit, and as we are also competitively priced on top of all the functionality we offer it is always going to be a larger challenge for us. We believe that customers will understand the importance of what we do, and by building a larger community and bigger business we will make a real difference even if it does hit our bottom line!

Our deliveries are free for all orders over £85 for the mainland United Kingdom. For orders below that value you will pay a £9.00 delivery charge as standard. Some b business accounts who are ordering regularly may have slightly different carriage rules and charges.

Lime Sustainable supplies is a passing trade website and is open to everyone, we offer competitive prices so you know you are getting a good deal. We also offer you all the sustainable information on products so you can make better choices, including the monthly reporting so you can measure and improve your purchasing behaviour going forward. You can pay at checkout, using Apple pay, Google pay or securely by card through Stripe.

Yes if you look on the site for the open an account link, we will ask you for some basic information then set you up. We will then get in contact to check we have everything correct and make sure you are are ready to order.

Of course you can we know it is sometimes nicer to speak to a human being so you can phone our helpful customer care team from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday on 0845 5575675 or email them an order to order@limesupply.com. However if you want to pay for your order, you are still best ordering online, but we can help you do that if you are having a problem.

We aim to dispatch all orders that come in before 10am for next day delivery. We are realistic and even our magnificent level of service doesn’t always hit 100% but we do hit over 95% with the other orders following on the next day. If we have a problem and the order is out of stock we will endeavour to contact you to let you know, but you can also see this when you place an order and in your customer dashboard, so you can decide what you want to do. On electrical lighting and paint items and some other selected products we aim to deliver within 2 days as this is supplied direct dropship from our supply partner.

Absolutely we use Stripe which is seen as one of the safest ways to order online. We also don’t record any of your card details so worries about leaks! You can also pay by Apple pay or Google pay fi you prefer.

If you haven’t had your goods within 48 hours then contact us via the online chatbot quoting your order number (please use the full reference) or email us at customerservice@limesupply.com or ring us 0845 5575675 and we will chase your order up for you. Please have your sales reference available which you should have received on your order confirmation email or is on your dashboard.

If your goods are damaged then please contact us via the online chatbot quoting your order number (please use the full reference) or email us at customerservice@limesupply.com or ring us 0845 5575675 and we will resolve the issue for you. Please have your sales reference available which you should have received on your order confirmation email or is on your dashboard.

Don’t worry we will do our best to help, we can offer to collect and credit the goods and help you find the correct product that you were searching for. There may be a small charge for collection and restocking, or you can return the goods to us, contact customer service for the return address. Returned goods must be clearly labelled with your original sales reference which is on your confirmation email or available on your customer dashboard.  Goods will only be credited once returned and if they are suitable for resale.

Don’t worry we will do our best to help, we can offer to collect and credit the goods and help you find the correct product that you were searching for if that is the case. There may be a small charge for collection and restocking, or you can return the goods to us, contact customer service for the return address. Returned goods must be clearly labelled with your original sales reference which is on your confirmation email or available on your customer dashboard.  Goods will only be credited once returned and if they are suitable for resale.