Silentnight named Sustainability Award champion for the second year running

Ben Burbidge, Manufacturing Guild Mark chairman, presenting Nick Booth, marketing director at Silentnight Group, and Rob Livingstone, operations director at Silentnight Brands, with the 2018 Sustainability Award.

Lancashire bed manufacturer Silentnight has won The Furniture Makers’ Company’s Sustainability Award for the second year running after successfully demonstrating that it’s taken its commitment to the environment to the next level.

Sponsored by waste management specialist HIPPO, the Sustainability Award recognises improvements in sustainability in relation to manufacturing of furniture and furnishings. It is based on principles provided by the Furniture Industry Sustainability Programme, administered by the Furniture Industry Research Association (FIRA).

Three companies were shortlisted for the award – Jay-Be, Martek and Silentnight – and presented to a panel of industry experts, chaired by Ben Burbidge, Manufacturing Guild Mark chairman, at Furniture Makers’ Hall on Monday 15 October 2018.

All three companies gave compelling arguments as to why they should be crowned sustainability champion, but the breadth of Silentnight’s initiatives ultimately convinced judges that it should take home the award again.

Since winning the award in 2017, Silentnight has continued to make improvements across the business in its pursuit to build a reputation as ‘home of the most trusted bed brands’, including:

• Silentnight Group achieved PAS 2060 carbon neutrality status on 30 July 2018 in recognition for its sustainability drive across its manufacturing sites at Barnoldswick and Aspatria and its logistics fleet
• Silentnight achieved absolute zero to landfill status at its sites in Barnoldswick and Aspatria from 1 September 2018
• Silentnight plans to eliminate single use plastic at the business by January 2019
• Silentnight has introduced a fully recyclable plastic packaging which is removed and taken away by Silentnight’s delivery team as well as the customer’s old bed, if required
• Silentnight has continued to improve its fleet management programme which has resulted in saving 400,000 litres of fuel worth £500,000 and cut CO2 emissions by over 1,000,000 kilos with BigChange Transport and Delivery Management technology
• Silentnight launched the Eco Comfort Breathe mattress in August 2018 – a completely foam and chemical treatment free mattress with advanced breathable fibre technology
• Silentnight has also continued to promote its sustainability and environmental initiatives through its Eco Comfort story and advertising and PR campaigns.

Silentnight will be officially presented the award at The Furniture Makers’ Company’s Royal Charter Dinner at Vintners’ Hall, London on Thursday 1 November.

Ben Burbidge, Manufacturing Guild Mark chairman, said: “Silentnight showed quite convincingly that sustainability and environmental initiatives now run through the veins of the business, from colleague driven initiatives to be a single use plastic free site by the end of 2018 to new eco product launches and high profile advertising campaigns. It is a more than worthy winner of the Sustainability Award and an exemplar to the industry.”

Nick Booth, marketing director at Silentnight Group, said: “We are delighted to win the coveted Sustainability Award for the second year running. We are proud of our achievements on sustainability across all parts of our business. The award is recognition for all the great initiatives our colleagues have delivered to position Silentnight Group as a leading manufacturer on sustainability in the furniture industry.”

Previous winners of the award include Godfrey Syrett, Hypnos Beds, Orangebox, Premiere Kitchens and Senator International.