The company has formed an upcycling partnership with three high schools – Mark Hall Academy, Burnt Mill Academy, and Presdales Academy – which are local to its production sites in Harlow, Essex and Thundridge, Hertfordshire.

Materials included in the initiative include fabrics, foam boards, cardboard, papers, and vinyls. Students will be able to repurpose these materials to design and make other products as part of their school classes and projects.

The initiative was the brainchild of Matt Walsh, operations director at KGK Genix Harlow.

“As a business we’re always looking for ways to be more sustainable and I really wanted to find a use for some of the materials that was left from the projects we create,” he said.

“Being able to upcycle waste materials in this way and have it form an important part of the curriculum for students in the local area seemed like a win-win for everyone involved.”

Noel Lysons, head of art design and technology at Mark Hall Academy in Harlow, said: “The materials supplied through this scheme will allow students to model their designs and enable them to prototype and test ideas.

“The materials supplied are high quality and will mean that their models are a higher quality. The alternative is using corrugated card which isn't as easy to work with and isn’t great aesthetically. We will also be able to use these materials with younger students now because of the availability.

“We were unable to do this previously because the cost was prohibitive. We were paying approximately £12 for a box of 20 A4 sheets of foamboard.”

KGK Genix is planning to expand the upcycling initiative offer to other educational institutions in the local area.

Graham Pitts, group managing director, said: “This is a fantastic initiative and a fine example of the investment in sustainability made by the KGK Genix team. It’s great to be able to give something back to the local areas in which our business operates.”

Separately, the company won Gold at the Chamber of Conscience SME Hertfordshire Business Awards 2022, scooping the award for ‘Business of the Year more than 50 employees’ at a ceremony held in Watford at the end of September.

“I am literally beaming with pride. This award is for each and every one of my colleagues and shows how formidable we are as a team. This means so much to us, we can’t wait to display our trophy proudly for all the team to enjoy,” said Pitts.

As a result of winning the Gold award, KGK Genix is a finalist in the SME National Business Awards 2022, which takes place on 2 December at Wembley Stadium.

Based at four sites across central London, Hertfordshire, and Essex, KGK Genix provides creative, print, project management, and installation services for major brands and retailers.

Earlier this year the business upgraded its superwide-format offering with the installation of an EFI Vutek h5 printer.