10th March 2016 – With Ecobuild 2016 drawing to a close, Dulux Trade, one of the UK’s leading paint brands in the professional market, announces that its parent company, AkzoNobel has become the first paint company globally to achieve the coveted BES 6001 Responsible Sourcing accreditation.
The environmental and sustainability standard awarded by BRE[i] enables construction product manufacturers to ensure and demonstrate that their products have been made with responsibly sourced constituent materials. Dulux Trade’s Stowmarket factory site has the distinction of being awarded BES 6001 Responsible Sourcing, guaranteeing that all products manufactured at the site meet the stringent criteria that governs responsible sourcing of construction products.
Susan Kendall, UK & Ireland Sustainability Director, AkzoNobel, commented: “We’re delighted that Dulux Trade is the first paint brand to have been awarded this major industry accreditation, which certifies the entire product portfolio manufactured at our Stowmarket site as ‘very good’ with regard to responsible sourcing. This external recognition further demonstrates our commitment to all aspects of sustainability. But more important than this, BES6001 accreditation provides reassurance to our customers that our products are formulated not only with quality in mind, but that the environmental and ethical aspects of all ingredients are fully considered too.”
Dulux Trade Nabs Sustainable Stand Award Win
In addition to accreditation, Dulux Trade is celebrating an award win by the UK Green Building Council at this year’s Ecobuild after being crowned winner of the show’s Sustainability Stand Awards for the category of ‘Stand Over 60m²’. Dulux Trade’s ‘Neighbourhood Swatch’ stand was selected as winner amongst a strong field for demonstrating ‘excellent consideration of environmental and social impacts’. The stand addressed every element of the judging criteria in great detail including the fact that it displayed sustainably sourced materials from local businesses and demonstrated strong supply chain management.
The judges cited the level of consideration for community and stakeholder engagement reflected in the stand’s overall design as also being impressive. Many of the elements used on the stand such as chairs, a bicycle and a microscope are all to be donated to a local school, post-show.
Dulux Trade’s ‘Neighbourhood Swatch’ stand displayed a unique 180m² experiential ‘neighbourhood community’ space designed to inspire and educate. Modelled on a mini neighbourhood, the stand featured five different learning zones where visitors to the three day exhibition were able to see how Dulux Trade could help them to reduce environmental impact and bring colour to their customers’ and end users’ lives.
Rising to the challenge of creating a stand that was both visually appealing yet sustainably built, Dulux Trade utilised a plethora of reusable materials including recyclable wood, eco-friendly artificial grass and recycled aluminium frames. Following Ecobuild, three sections of the stand will be reused at other events, after which all components will be donated to a local school in Slough.
The Smarter Spaces Zone
The Dulux Trade ‘Neighbourhood Swatch’ stand featured two classrooms juxtaposing a standard current classroom with the design of a classroom under Dulux Trade’s Smarter Spaces initiative. Bringing together project management, colour and design services for the education sector, the stand showcased Dulux Trade’s full range of services for specifiers including head teachers and architects.
ReColour Zone
Last year at Ecobuild, AkzoNobel presented its collaboration with partners Community RePaint, an organisation that collects and re-distributes reusable leftover paint to those in social need, and NewLife Paints Ltd, who specialise in remanufacturing waste paint into new paint.
This year, AkzoNobel announced ReColour, which is the result of this successful partnership. As part of the ReColour initiative, our first remanufacturing centre has been launched in Cambridgeshire. Here Community RePaint are diverting leftover paint from landfill and recycling it for reuse by communities and charities. It is hoped that 60,000 litres of new paint will be remanufactured in the first year, all sold at minimal cost to those in social need. 
To celebrate the initiative, architectural artist and illustrator Sarah McMenemy set to work on a mural which perfectly captured the essence of the opening day at Ecobuild. Using remanufactured paint provided through the scheme, Sarah’s depiction of the Neighbourhood Swatch drew in the crowds.