Dura Composites earns U.K. business award for low embodied carbon GFRP products

Dura Composites (Clacton-on-Sea, U.K.) has received a King’s Award for Enterprise in the “Innovation” category for its sustainability credentials and patented glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) walkway grating products, which feature high structural performance using less embodied carbon.

The company is just one of 252 organizations nationally recognized by this award. Previously, Dura Composites has also received Queen’s Awards for Enterprise for “International Trade” in 2017 and “Innovation” in 2020.

Through a careful combination of design, technology and manufacturing improvements, Dura Composites has created a range of GFRP walkway products known as the d² Dura Grating range that are reported to have up to 33% less embodied carbon, while also being lightweight and fully recyclable, making installation safe, easy and cost-efficient. D² Dura Grating has patents relating to its design and is used extensively in U.K. infrastructure heavy-duty flooring projects such as constructing walkways, covering voids (such as trenches) and for service risers in high-rise buildings.

As well as being lower in carbon and fully recyclable, the grating is easier to handle and achieves an improved performance-to-weight ratio, a high fire rating, anti-slip properties and proven performance.

The King’s Awards for Enterprise, previously known as The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, were renamed last year to reflect His Majesty The King’s desire to continue the legacy of HM Queen Elizabeth II’s by recognizing outstanding U.K. businesses. The award program, now in its 58th year, is considered the most prestigious business award in the country, with successful businesses able to use the King’s Awards Emblem for the next 5 years.

Managing director at Dura Composites, Stuart Burns, shares his thoughts on the accomplishment. “Our primary driver as a business is to solve client challenges through sustainable innovation, so this award is particularly meaningful, and a testament to everything our team has worked together to achieve,” Burns says. “We are guided by a clear vision to solve the most ambitious infrastructure problems in a way that supports our clients’ sustainability goals. We have saved over 5 million kilograms of CO₂ through our d² product innovation so far, and are committed to being the greenest company in our space.”

Alongside its investment into innovation, Dura Composites also prioritizes sustainability within its everyday operations, such as its use of electric company cars and forklift trucks, recyclable packaging, use of wood waste as heating fuel and eco-friendly lighting systems.