Social enterprise promotes social mobility, recruitment and environmental impact through partnership with a leading facilities provider

Paint360

Paint360 is a UK-based social enterprise which re-engineers waste paint back into brand new paint for new decorative coatings, thus helping reduce the quantities of paint which is wasted every year. In the UK alone, this represents an estimated 55 million litres of paint a year which is sent to landfill or incinerated. Paint360 collects unwanted water-based paint from waste management companies, councils and contractors, subsequently increasing the recycling rates within this industry. Furthermore, the enterprise also takes care of recycling plastic paint pots back into new pots.

In addition to advancing the circular economy in the painting sector, the social enterprise also positively impacts vulnerable groups through inclusive employment. The enterprise is committed to creating job opportunities for young long-term unemployed individuals from deprived areas, who are facing barriers to employment, including ex-offenders and those with learning difficulties. As well as sustainable employment, Paint360’s team members are offered mentoring and in-work support, including attendance bonus and adjustments to the workplace where necessary.

Paint360 distributes its products through builders’ merchant retailers Huws Grey, Jewsons, Johnstone Decorating Centres and Travis Perkins, competitively priced against leading brands.

The partnership with Amey

Founded more than 100 years ago, Amey is a leading provider of engineering, operations and decarbonisation solutions for transport infrastructure and complex facilities in the UK. The company delivers full lifecycle, sustainable infrastructure services in critical sectors such as the public sector, defence, roads and rail.

Through its public sector work, Amey provides critical facilities services to the UK HM Prison and Probation Service estate, sponsored by the Ministry of Justice. Through this work the company helps support the prisoner rehabilitation journey via the Clean, Rehabilitative, Enabling and Decent (CRED) program in 45 prisons. This program allows residents to gain work experience while serving their sentences - helping them develop new skills and improve employability.

As part of this program, Amey partnered with Paint360 which provides them with recycled paint that will be used to improve the living conditions of prisoners. The social enterprise is also supporting Amey to provide future employment opportunities to prisoners upon completion of their sentence.

“Trading with a social enterprise vendor can make sound operational commercial sense as well as supporting Amey’s ESG strategy and goals. The company’s three key goals are to accelerate the change to a resilient and low carbon future, to enhance the wellbeing of people and communities we impact, and to achieve sustainable and responsible growth. Amey’s work with Paint360 supports our work on the Clean Rehabilitative, Enabling and Decent (CRED) programme being run through our Ministry Of Justice contract. This in turn helps Paint360 employ more people with barriers to employment.”

- Mike Siddall, Procurement Manager, Amey

The Impact

Excess of 25 tonnes of embedded carbon were saved in 2023
4 jobs were created at Paint360 as a result of this partnership
3 people were also supported to find jobs and apprenticeships

“We are continuing to learn with Amey around corporate engagement, how social impact is helping their business and new opportunities for product development to be used throughout the business.”

- Lee Cole, Managing Director and Co-founder, Paint360