Following our Kings Award in April, on Tuesday 27th June we headed to London to a reception at Buckingham Palace.
At the glittering reception in Buckingham Palace, Rob got the chance to chat to the King about how the business is doing its bit to try and combat the huge threat of climate change.
Rob said: “It was such a great evening. Just going through the gate at Buckingham Palace was an experience in its own right! The deeper you get into the palace, the grander it becomes”.
“The state room that we were supposed to have the event in was an inner state room and as it was very humid and hot, the King had asked for that to be changed to an outside state room so the windows could be opened. He was concerned for our comfort.”
TDP has shown a deep commitment to sustainability in every aspect of its business. Rob and Anna were early advocates for green energy back in the 1990s, when they invested in solar power and a wind turbine.
This passion for the environment had led to the company investigating other ways of using sustainable materials and they launched the recycled furniture range in 2012. As part of its commitment to spreading the word on sustainability, the business’s website provides customers with environmental credentials of each product, including the quantity of plastic recycled as well as emission savings.
“We have long been aware of how human activity is damaging our most precious ecosystems and there is an increasing consumer awareness about the damage plastic waste causes the natural world. This is increasing demand for products made from recycled waste,” Rob stated in his King’s Award entry.
Rob enjoyed the opportunity to have a good conversation with His Majesty about his business and the world’s significant environmental concerns.
He said: “I found him to be such a nice, genuine and enthusiastic person who was interested in people, puts you at your ease and really knows his stuff as well. We were talking about climate change and what we do.”
In the whole of the UK, 148 businesses were honoured with a distinguished King’s Award this year. TDP was one of only 15 to have been crowned for sustainable development, and the only one in Derbyshire.
In its notes about the awards, The King’s Office said: “TDP has been awarded for a comprehensive and well-executed plan of sustainable initiatives with positive impacts, and for demonstrating inspirational leadership, spreading the word about sustainability amongst its peers and through the local business community.”