Ecobuild 2016: And the award for 'Most Sustainable Stand' goes to...us!

Each year at Ecobuild, the UK Green Building Council gives exhibitors the opportunity to proudly showcase the green credentials of their stands. This year we were delighted to discover that Dulux Trade has received the ultimate accolade, having been crowned winner of the show’s Sustainability Stand Awards for the category of 'Stand Over 60m²'.

Following EcoBuild's implementation of the ISO 20121 Event Sustainability Management System in 2014, sustainability has become a key element to consider for exhibitors. It addresses material use, waste reduction and carbon mitigation, three areas in which AkzoNobel has always strived to further advance our sustainability drives.

In choosing the winners for its awards, UK-GBC representatives looked for how sustainability is being incorporated into exhibition stands, including the design and sourcing of materials and construction, from carbon mitigation, stakeholder engagement, health and safety, material usage, waste management, community and charitable giving and procurement.

Our largest and most impressive exhibition stand to date, the Neighbourhood Swatch stand was split into five areas formed around a central clock tower. Many of the elements of the stand, will be responsibly repurposed by being donated to schools, charities and communities, an initiative we're really proud of at Dulux Trade.

The stand's unique 180 m2 experiential 'neighbourhood community' space is truly inspiring and showcases our commitment to leading the paint manufacturing industry into a brighter, more sustainable future. Modelled on a mini town centre, the stand contains several different learning zones where visitors can learn how Dulux Trade can help them reduce environmental impact and bring colour to their customers and end users' lives. It's also a great opportunity for attendees to discover first-hand how they can sustainably and positively transform spaces with Dulux Trade products, tools and services that benefit their business.

The judges were impressed by the sourcing of materials and supply chain management – we used a local business that supplied recycled wood and also hired recycled metal frames for our displays.

Winning the award this year is testament to the leadership, ingenuity and creativity our team members have shown in demonstrating Dulux Trade's commitment to sustainable working practices.

Julie Hirigoyen, the CEO of UK-GBC, was full of praise for our team for the efforts we made to ensure that the carbon footprint of our stand was kept to an absolute minimum, without having sacrificed anything in terms of its aesthetic appeal.

The Sustainable Stand Award comes shortly after another excellent accomplishment achieved by Dulux Trade, a first of its kind in the paint industry. We have also been awarded an environmental and sustainability certification from the BRE1. That makes us the first paint company globally to achieve the BES 6001 standard, which certifies the responsible sourcing of construction products.

We're delighted to have been awarded this accreditation, which certifies the entire product portfolio manufactured at our Stowmarket site. This industry-first recognition demonstrates our commitment to sustainability, responsible sourcing and our leadership in responding to our customer's needs.