Traditional Sash Window maker recognised as eco-champion amongst fierce competition
Refurb-a-Sash has won a prestigious Green Guardian Award for its environmentally friendly approach in helping to reduce the overall carbon footprint of the Royal Borough of Richmond.
The Highly Commended Award for Green Business of the Year 2007 was presented to Graeme Keene, Operations Manager at a glittering ceremony at Teddington’s Landmark Arts Centre on Friday 28th September.
Refurb-a-Sash’s Managing Director Adrian Thompson says - “our specialist joinery is in a mixed residential and industrial area, we are very aware of our responsibilities to the local environment. This award is great endorsement of all we have done for the local community by our investment in specialist recycling equipment and the manufacturing process itself.”
Refurb-a-Sash recycles its sawdust & waste wood off-cuts to provide heat for the factory. This reduces energy consumption by eliminating the use of fossil fuel, vastly reduces the number of skip lorries thus reducing carbon emissions & noise pollution, and prevents dumping re-usable waste into expensive landfill sites.
Richmond Council leader Serge Lourie commented “We all have a part to play – Global responsibility starts at a local level - these awards highlight how businesses are putting this into practice around the borough. It is inspiring to see the breadth of activity and sheer enthusiasm for environmental issues”
Adrian concludes – “not only have we made a contribution to the environment we have made our business more efficient and are well on track to pay back the investment we have made in this technology. British Gas should be congratulated for sponsoring this event.”
As a lot of our work is local it made sense to investigate the electric van market to assist with our deliveries. The Modec is a futuristic British made vehicle designed to be electrically powered from the initial concept. We are looking forward to taking delivery of our first one in October this year.
We have been proud users of (petrol powered) Smart Cars for over five years now and have found them ideally suited for visiting clients in London’s busy traffic. We are delighted to be part of the Daimler Chrysler Smart EV (electric vehicle) evaluation trial starting later this year.
Sustainability, carbon offsets and recycling all require businesses to take their environmental responsibilities seriously. Even small companies can make a difference, we have made commitments to both recycle our wood waste and eliminate burning gas for our Joinery workshop heating.
