Government responds to Neal’s Yard Remedies’ Save the Bees petition

Neal's Yard Remedies' Save the Bees campaign and petition has garnered industry-wide support and received a response from the UK government.

The company took its long-standing Save the Bees campaign to the next phase with a parliamentary petition in July, setting national targets for pesticide reduction. NYR's national targets include reducing pesticide use, decreasing toxicity levels and supporting farmers to adopt nature-friendly approaches to pest management.

As of 8 August, the petition had received over 15,000 signatures which triggered a response from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. The written statement is mixed, saying that the long-delayed National Action Plan (NAP) for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides will be published later this year, but the targets set out in the action plan will be assessed.

In the response, the Government says that the long delayed National Action Plan (NAP) for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides which will "set out measures for increasing the uptake of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and sustainable crop protection" is due to be published later this year but adds that it is "assessing the role of targets as well as the benefits and challenges of developing them, to support the ambitions of the final NAP".

Anabel Kindersley, Co-Owner of NYR explained: "Removing targets risks watering down protections for our pollinators. The government should be incentivising the use of nature-based solutions for our farming, not making it easier to use toxic pesticides.

"Last week, I met with Tony Lloyd MP, the Chair of the All-Party Group for Bees and Pollinators. He agreed that we need to keep the pressure on the government to make sure the NAP is published and to guarantee that our pollinators are protected from dangerous pesticides."

The brand has also partnered with British designer Bella Freud, who has designed a limited-edition t-shirt for the cause. All proceeds will be donated to bee conservation and nature-friendly farming initiatives.