Oxfordshire refill shop wins climate award for sustainability

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 26 Oct, 06:01 · Archive

The Village Refill has won the Sustainable Small Business of the Year award at the Oxford Climate Awards 2026. The ceremony, hosted by former international rugby referee Nigel Owens, took place on 15 October at Oxford Town Hall. The business was shortlisted alongside Whispers, Chippy Flower Farm, Heaton Design & Engineering, Dandy Gallery Retro Vintage, ZIMBL, OX Taxis, and Mistify AI Technologies.

Angela Kilcoyne of The Village Refill said: 'We are very happy to have the award. It's our third year of being shortlisted and the third time is a charm.' She added that the shop tries to help every customer and takes great pride in what it does. Kilcoyne said the awards are very important to the business, which plans to be back next year.

The Village Refill offers refillable food, household and personal care products to reduce single-use packaging and cut waste. Customers are encouraged to bring their own containers, which has helped avoid more than 102,290 single-use plastic bottles to date. The business also supports a return and reuse system for glass bottles and jars.

Steven Vaux, operations director at Morgan Sindall which sponsored the award, said the firm wanted to support small businesses making real efforts to be sustainable. He acknowledged the carbon impact of construction firms but said the awards become more important every year and are about raising awareness.

How it is being reported

• Refill shop 'very happy' to be recognised at city's climate awardsAt this year's Oxford Climate Awards a refill shop that was initially formed around the time of the Covid-19 pandemic was recognised.Oxford Mail · 26 Oct, 05:00
• Refill shop 'very happy' to be recognised at city's climate awardsAt this year's Oxford Climate Awards a refill shop that was initially formed around the time of the Covid-19 pandemic was recognised.Oxfordshire Guardian · 26 Oct, 05:00

In this story: The Village Refill · Oxford Climate Awards · Oxford · Angela Kilcoyne · Morgan Sindall · Steven Vaux

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem