The Dolphin Shopping Centre in Poole is celebrating after being awarded gold in the Green World Awards for environmental best practice.
As a Green Apple Award winner and Green World Ambassador, the Dolphin Shopping Centre’s 2016 winning entry was automatically entered into the 2017 prestigious Green World Awards.
The awards ceremony took place in Dubai last week, with the Dolphin Shopping Centre up against competitor shopping centres Gunwharf Quays and Golden Square. Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth was awarded silver and Golden Square in Warrington was awarded bronze. Winning this award has enabled environmental recognition for the UK.
The Dolphin Shopping Centre won gold for its eco-friendly and sustainable partnership with former retailer Déjà Vu Upcycling and its focus on helping customers to upcycle and purchase pre-loved furniture. Déjà Vu Upcycling worked with the Dolphin to encourage customers to help cut down on CO2 emissions from packaging and manufacturing, as well as helping to recycle materials to reduce landfill.
Initially opening as a pop-up shop, Déjà Vu Upcycling held regular workshops for the local community to learn how to restore items. Over 500 commissions were received in its initial opening period, from thrown away furniture, including dressing tables, wardrobes, chests of drawers and chairs. Environmentally-friendly paint was used to give existing furniture a fresh new look and therefore saving money on the purchase of a new item.
John Grinnell, centre manager at the Dolphin, commented: “Being an environmentally sustainable shopping centre is hugely important for us – we’ve spent years exploring options to work with our retailers to get the local community engaged. Working with Déjà Vu Upcycling was a perfect fit for our sustainability policy.
“To win a Green World Award is a huge achievement for the centre and acknowledges our hard work in biodiversity and sustainability. The Green World Awards represent the pinnacle of green achievement and so it was an honour to travel to Dubai for this prestigious occasion.
Eloise Flinter, owner of Déjà Vu Upcycling, commented: “The response to the upcycling workshops is incredible and it’s great to see so many people getting involved with this sustainable initiative. We donated over £1,000 from shared profits on the items that were upcycled and sold to Forest Holme Hospice, a local charity very close to my heart.”
Continuing its ongoing commitment to sustainability, this year was a first for the shopping centre, with its very own pots of honey going on sale. The honey was produced from the beehives on the centre’s rooftop garden and sold at the centre. All money raised has been donated to Chestnut Nursery, a project which uses horticulture to restore well-being for adults with severe mental illnesses and Lewis-Manning Hospice, a charity that provides care to around people living with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses in Poole, Bournemouth and the surrounding towns.
The beehives were introduced to increase biodiversity in the area and to give thousands of bees a safe and environmentally friendly place to live. Since the addition of the beehives, the bees have developed in their hundreds and will help with the pollination of local parks and surrounding pockets of floras and gardens. The garden was created with recyclable materials, including pallets and seven large wooden trugs, all of which are eco-friendly.
For more information about the Dolphin Shopping Centre, visit www.dolphinshoppingcentre.co.uk
