A BUSINESS with 79 years of history was delighted to win a Telegraph & Argus Bradford Means Business award.

Airedale Springs, based in Haworth, was given the Sustainability Award.

The company is committed to being an industry leader in sustainable springs and 3D wire-form manufacturing.

On winning the gong, ahead of other nominees The Stitch Company and Cedar Court Hotel Bradford, Tim Parkinson, Chairman at Airedale Springs, said: “It is great.

“The first award we won for sustainability was back in 2013, so this is something we have been doing for an awful long time.

“It means a lot to us because it is recognition locally.”

The business’ 18,000 square-feet, purpose-built headquarters, The Spring Works, where it moved in 2012, was built to the highest level of energy performance at that time and now has a Net Zero EPC rating of A+ after significant investment in energy reduction programmes.

It has also virtually eliminated its GHG Co2 emissions under scopes 1 and 2, without any carbon offsetting, and has a goal of being a net energy exporter by 2026.

Tim outlined how Airedale Springs continue to be sustainable.

He added: “The big thing for us as a business was getting our new energy performance which meant for a manufacturer to have a net zero building is fairly rare.

“We have done an awful lot to improve our sustainability.

“For instance, we have put a new heating system in, so we have done away with gas. It means we are not burning fossil fuels anymore.

“We have extended our solar panels. The original set we had were fitted in 2013. We have now in effect covered our roof in solar panels.

“If we keep on doing what we are doing, by the end of 2026, we might be in a position to export a fair amount of the energy we have generated, depending on the weather, that makes all the difference.

“It is not just about that, it is the fact we as a team have reduced our energy usage by 20 per cent in the last two years too.”