Caerphilly County Borough Council are working with Welsh manufacturers to sustainably source furniture and support circular economy objectives.
Ministry of Furniture, based in Neath Port Talbot, were recently awarded the call-off contract for the supply of furniture solutions from the Welsh Government’s national collaborative framework agreement. This contract will allow Caerphilly County Borough Council to benefit from working with Welsh manufacturers with similar social aims, expertise in remanufacturing, and the circular economy.
The business emerged from Remploy Furniture and specialise in designing, manufacturing and furnishing places for people to work, learn and play.
Caerphilly County Borough Council has worked closely with Ministry of Furniture and Merthyr Tydfil Institute for the Blind (MTIB) to develop their agile café space at Tŷ Penallta in Ystrad Mynach to support new ways of working. As part of the project, existing furniture and lockers were remanufactured for the new agile space.
Ministry of Furniture and MTIB will also be working in partnership with Keep Wales Tidy by planting trees across the borough, in memory of those who have lost their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Graham Hirst, Managing Director at Ministry of Furniture and Chief Executive Officer of Ministry Group said:
“We are delighted to be working with Caerphilly County Borough Council alongside MTIB to support their circular economy agenda. We have a passion for remanufacturing and love working with organisations with similar visions. The remanufacturing of legacy furniture and tree planting scheme both demonstrate Caerphilly’s commitment to the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and community benefits.”
Paul Griffiths, Head of Commercial Delivery and Capability with the Welsh Government noted:
“The partnership between Ministry of Furniture and MTIB arose from our intent to deliver a furniture framework that truly promoted circularity through embedding Welsh social enterprises throughout the supply chain. All of the framework suppliers have committed to supporting these approaches ensuring we have a model that truly embraces circularity and the Welsh economy”
To find out how you can purchase your furniture needs in a socially responsible way please contact the Welsh Government’s Building and Utilities category team at CommercialProcurement.Buildings@gov.wales.
You can also find the framework guidance in the contracts register on Sell2Wales (login required).