Bagnalls’ Sustainability Coordinator Reveals Recent Updates
07 January 2026
The world of sustainability is always evolving, especially for businesses. We caught up with our Sustainability Coordinator, Ben Featherstone, for his insight into recent environmental updates within the painting and decorating sector.
How has your role as Sustainability Coordinator developed since our last catch-up?
Ben: It’s going brilliantly! I’m very proud to have finished the first year of my Sustainability Business Specialist Level 7 MSc qualification. My progression in this area is not only a great personal achievement, but also helps me keep ahead of the game when it comes to Bagnalls’ sustainability policies.
We have also just completed an effective year of collaboration with CBRE, showcasing our success with decarbonisation in line with their carbon reduction plan! I’m really excited for the future and the next developments we’re aiming to put into place. We’re bringing an even closer focus to our social value activities over the coming years, as well as working on decarbonisation initiatives and collaborating with our suppliers to help all of us reduce our emissions further.
Can you tell us about the recent World Sustainability Congress 2025?
Ben: “This fantastic event was held at the beautiful Arendshoeve – The Garden of Amsterdam. As a sustainable venue, it was the perfect place to host the conference.
“Bagnalls was shortlisted alongside CBRE at the World Sustainability Awards, thanks to the work we completed after engaging with CBRE’s Carbon Trace Programme and reducing Scope 3 emissions.
“I joined CBRE’s Vice President of Responsible Procurement, Alexandra Delval Faure, for a joint session describing our partnership and goal of reducing carbon emissions. It was really exciting to tell Bagnalls’ story in front of global leaders in the sustainability field.
“It was also great to hear about the challenges they themselves are facing in terms of supplier engagement. I was able to provide guidance so they can go back and further engage their supply chain, which felt really productive. “During the two-day conference, I was able to attend some other sessions as an audience member, learning from global companies, such as BEKO and Tony’s Chocolonely. It was good to be able to bring their insights back with me, to further improve Bagnalls own systems!”
Are there any upcoming changes in the world of sustainability you’re preparing for?
Ben: “There are a number of regulatory changes coming up that will impact both our suppliers and us. For example, responsibilities around ensuring sustainable products and packaging are set to extend. Bagnalls is preparing to make sure we’re on hand to help our suppliers with this transition as much as possible.
“Ultimately, this change will help to bring our levels of waste down, which can only be a good thing! Especially when we consider that there is likely to be a rise in taxation when it comes to waste incineration. We recycle a large proportion of our waste, but we will be seeking to limit our incineration waste even further in the future. “There is also set to be more emphasis on sustainability reporting regulations in 2026 and beyond, as well as further planned focus on EV vehicles. Bagnalls will be looking to upgrade our fleet of vans to increase our EV provision, helping to protect our planet.”
What are your long-term sustainability goals for Bagnalls?
Ben: “We’re currently working with a new sustainability platform to report the impact of our social value Community Paintbrush projects, which enables us to further pinpoint where our efforts will help local communities. We’ll be working with our employees and our customers to get ahead of the game and make sure we’re providing help in the areas that matter most to us.
“Bagnalls is also committed to Net Zero by 2048, a really important focus for both our team, but also our customers and the local communities we work within.
“In terms of recruitment, we’re hoping to continue to increase the diversity of our teams, ensuring we have a whole range of skills, experiences and backgrounds represented at each of our branches. We aim to recruit more women into the painting and decorating industry, especially through our award-wining apprenticeship scheme.
“Our Leeds branch currently boasts a team made up of 22% women, with a further 29% of our 2024 apprentice intake identifying as female. This is a brilliant achievement when we realise that the average for the industry as a whole is just 4%, but we want to do more!
“Bagnalls is also committed to increasing diversity in terms of neurodivergence and varied socio-economic backgrounds. Of our 2024 apprentice intake, almost 30% qualified for free school meals (FSM), demonstrating our commitment to making our apprenticeship programme accessible to a wider audience.
Our work in this area was recently recognised when we were named winner of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award at the National Apprenticeship Awards 2025. We hope to continue this positive action in the coming years.
“More tailored data will help us to improve in these areas, providing us with insights into how we can further remove financial barriers for potential applicants who would like to join the Bagnalls team.
“I’m also looking forward to continuing our collaboration with The PDA and its Paint Green pledge throughout 2026 and beyond – driving environmental improvements within our industry as a whole.” Find out more about our continued sustainability actions as a business and our commitment to future generations.