14 Trees // Nominated for A Global Sustainability Leaders Awards
Our member, 14 Trees has been nominated alongside their partner Climate Care as a finalist for the Edie Sustainability Leaders Awards, which is the world’s largest sustainable business awards scheme that champions bold and brilliant climate leadership.
The company was nominated under the Building/Infrastructure Project of the Year through the Sustainable Building in Malawi that was launched mid this year.
The project saw 14 Trees build the world’s first 3D printed school, in Salima district, Malawi. The school’s walls were printed in just 18 hours using a BOD 2 printer from Danish manufacturer COBOD, compared to several days with conventional building materials.
This was the second project after they built the walls of 14Trees’ first prototype house in Lilongwe in just 12 hours, compared to almost 4 days using conventional methods.
Malawi has an estimated shortage of 36,000 classrooms, according to data from Unicef. 14Trees claims this shortfall could be eliminated in just a decade through additive manufacturing, as opposed to 70 years using conventional construction methods.
Kofi Annan Award 2021 //1 Million Euros for Entrepreneurship in Africa
14Trees is committed to solving this chronic shortage at scale, starting with families and communities most in need. These projects will sustain skilled job creation with the hiring and development of local experts from 3D machine operators to material specialists working hand in hand with local builders for carpentry, roofing and painting.
14Trees, is a green construction JV run by Swiss cement maker LafargeHolcim and UK-based investor CDC Group, has revealed plans to print 10 houses in Zimbabwe and one in Kenya this autumn, plus school projects in Kenya and Malawi.
Now in its 15th year, from the best net-zero carbon programmes through to cutting-edge product innovations – winning an edie Award empowers teams, inspires stakeholders and accelerates sustainable business growth.
Commenting on the announcement of this year’s finalists, Eddie’s content director Luke Nicholls said: “COP26 underlined just how important business leadership is when it comes to accelerating climate action this decade and beyond – not just within operations but also through new collaborations and sector-wide commitments.
“Nowhere is this leadership more evident than on the shortlist of Edie’s 2022 awards. All of this year’s finalists have shifted from talking about a net-zero carbon, just transition to actually delivering it, at scale and at pace.
The Edie Awards panel consisted of 30 expert judges recently convened for a full day of judging where they whittled down more than 300 entries to a shortlist of 135 finalists across 23 categories.
This includes some new categories that were added to widen the scope of the 2022 Awards – including the Partnership & Collaboration of the Year, and the Nature & Biodiversity Project of the Year.
The Sustainability Leaders Awards ceremony, which will reveal winners will take place as an in-person event at the Park Plaza London Westminster hotel on Wednesday 2 February 2022.
