A business on a bustling industrial estate may not seem like the most eco-friendly venture but one Croydon company is breaking the mould.

Futures Supplies and Support Services Ltd is a small, independent trade supplier of washroom, cleaning and janitorial products based close to Croydon's Purley Way.

At the Croydon Green Guardian Awards judges were unanimous about handing Futures Supplies the title of Green Business 2006.

The company in Beddington Farm Road will now compete in the Green Guardian Award finals for the south London award.

Having implemented an environment policy, staff at the company try to be as eco-friendly as possible.

In addition to recycling 73 per cent of its waste, the company makes an effort to ensure that production, distribution and marketing are all done in a way that will not harm the planet.

A car share travel plan has been put in place and staff have access to a pool bike and shower facilities The company sales representative also has an environmentally friendly car.

Managing director Amanda Kemp started Futures Supplies from her garage in 1995 and has been environmentally conscious from the beginning.

She said: "We started the business with the ethos of care in the community. I wanted to take responsibility for how I got my product from one place to another and wanted to recycle our waste and monitor our energy, so I looked at ways we could make ourselves more sustainable.

"This was years ago now, but I've noticed that this is starting to become quite trendy which is good if it means more businesses think about the environment."

She added: "I come from quite a difficult background so as a company we got into corporate responsibility really early on. Apart from recycling, we also offer 12-week work placements to people in the community."