10/26/2009

Furniture re-use is carbon smart

Furnish, a west London furniture re-use charity, has been awarded a prestigious green accolade from Carbon Smart for its environmental work.

Furnish collects furniture donated by the public and passes it to families in need who are being re-housed in local authority or housing association homes.

Mark Hardy, project manager at Furnish, said: “Carbon Smart accreditation is a reflection of the work we do to help the environment. We have also learnt many things that we can do, at no cost, to reduce our carbon footprint even further.”

The environment is at the heart of everything Furnish does. By re-using furniture it is saved from landfill. For every one tonne of furniture saved from landfill, 8.8 tonnes of carbon emissions are saved.

Furnish also uses a dual fuel vehicle (it uses both petrol and liquefied petroleum gas) that reduces carbon emissions and is exempt from the congestion charge.

Furnish is part of Shepherds Bush Housing Group (SBHG), making SBHG the first housing association in the country to achieve the accolade.

Mark Whitman, from Carbon Smart, said: “Carbon Smart is helping small businesses take practical actions to reduce their carbon footprint through reducing energy consumption, reducing resource usage, and engaging staff.”

If you have any unwanted furniture please contact Furnish on 020 8969 3332 or email furnish.enquiry@sbhg.co.uk

For more information
Hannah Stokes
Tel: 020 8966 4237
Email: hannah.stokes@sbhg.co.uk