The P&A Group is a family-owned business based in Mold, North Wales. It was formed in 1985 and began by manufacturing wooden pallets and packing cases for local industry. It has subsequently expanded into supplying wooden garden furniture and structures through their ‘Zest Outdoor Living’ brand, and into operating Woodworks Garden Centre and Café on the town’s Bromfield Industrial Estate.
Environmental sustainability has always been a core value for this progressive business. Is it the Greenest Business in Wales? We have no way of knowing of course, but what’s certain is that it is an exemplar and shows how practical actions on sustainability are good for the business as well as the planet. Here’s what they’ve been doing.
Pallets and packaging
- This is the historic core activity. What sets P&A apart from the many standard wooden pallet manufacturers is that they firstly work with their clients to develop any Closed Loop opportunities (collect, repair & reuse) and offer options to cut the carbon emissions associated with pallets.
Rather than scrap broken pallets, P&A repair them and either return them to their clients, or offer them for sale. Beyond that, their ‘Tree-saver’ pallets are a new pallet made entirely from pre-used components. Anything beyond repair along with any process waste is shredded into Animal bedding and Biomass fuel with over 2500 tons produced in 2025.
The first time a broken pallet is repaired and re-used, that saves on average 50% of its original carbon footprint, rising to 80% if the pallet goes through the system five times.
Heat
Inevitably some components of broken returned pallets can’t be reused, scrap wood is shredded and used for fuel to heat each of the Groups three premises. The modern, efficient biomass boilers save in total around 292 tonnes CO2 and £75,000 each year, compared to heating with gas.
Solar PV
Solar PV panels have been deployed extensively across the Companies’ three sites, with several hundred kW of capacity installed. In total, these save around 33 tonnes CO2, and £37,000 each year.
Electric Cars
In 2025, the company replaced four out of its six diesel fleet cars with EVs, saving approx. 31 tonnes CO2 a year.
Community
The business actively support local and national charities and community initiatives, including supporting the North Wales Wildlife Trust in tree planting initiatives.
Future
The P&A Group is certainly not resting on its laurels, there’s still more to do on decarbonising its operations, mainly focusing on the remaining vehicle and machinery fleet. They are also planting over 20 acres of woodland to offset their future carbon emissions.
Conclusion
The P&A Group are an exemplary example of how a business can embed sustainability and decarbonisation within its management and decision making, and by making investments that not only cut emissions but save money.
https://pandapallets.com https://zestoutdoorliving.co.uk https://www.woodworksgc.com