AN ANDOVER-BASED firm has been handed a prestigious environmentally friendly award.

Stannah Stairlifts, based at East Portway, has been recognised for its green packaging after being handed the silver international Green Apple Award for environmental best practice at a gala presentation at the Houses of Parliament in London.

The awards celebrate the highest international sustainability standards and the efficient use of resources across a number of sectors.

Stannah, a leading engineer of lifts, escalators and moving walkways, has been rewarded for its work in the engineering and manufacturing sector.

Bosses at the firm picked up the prize for the greater recycling potential of its new product packaging, which uses folded cardboard rather than polystyrene.

The company has also cut its carbon dioxide emissions by increasing the strength of delivery lorries in a bid to reduce the number of airshipped products.

Charlie Symonds, business sustainability manager at Stannah Stairlifts, said: “We are excited and honoured to accept this award.

“At Stannah, we take our environmental responsibilities very seriously and constantly strive to improve our products and packaging to lower our impact on the environment.

Projects like this demonstrate that sustainability should not be seen as a burden, but in fact a driving force for the industry to improve the way in which they operate, as well as reducing its impact on the surrounding environment.”