A Luton entrepreneur who built a £2 million business from doors found in a skip has received one of the UK’s highest honours in business.

Joseph Holman, founder of Green Doors, was presented with the King’s Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development by the Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire Mrs Susan Lousada.

In a nod to the company’s origins, Holman accepted the King’s award while inside a skip and
said he believed the award would help raise awareness about the environmental issues surrounding landfill and perfectly reusable doors.

“Putting UPVC doors into landfill is a dreadful thing as they release horrible toxins into the atmosphere as they degrade. We want to make sure every door and window gets a second life and we felt having this King’s Award would help us to do that,” he commented.

The King’s Award is given to businesses that have shown remarkable success in exporting, social impact, innovation or, as in Green Doors’ case, sustainable development.

“Entering the award was a difficult process,” said Holman. “You have to put your business under the microscope and prove all you’ve done. But once we gained the award and I met the King it felt great and it gave myself and the team a tremendous boost.”

Green Doors rescues discarded and mismeasured doors and windows and gives them a second life. Last year alone the company reportedly saved more than 3,000 items from landfill, selling them to builders, homeowners and renovators from its 25,000ft2 warehouse in Bedfordshire.

The business is now said to generate around £2 million in revenue and employes six staff, known internally as the ‘door doctors’.

Holman added:

“Winning the King’s Award was huge for our business. We worked long and hard at our warehouse in Luton and this was a massive boost for all of us.

“But more importantly, it shone a light on a bigger issue. Perfectly reusable doors and windows were being thrown away every day. There’s a better way and we’ve proven it works.”