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NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — A campaign by the BC Building Trades advocating for higher quality bathroom facilities at jobsites has won an international award.

The Get Flushed campaign received a 2022 Reed Award for Best International Campaign in the issue category.

“This award is an incredible honour,” said Brynn Bourke, BC Building Trades executive director, in a statement. “It helps to validate the importance of the work we’ve done and the work we continue to do advocating on behalf of the women and men who build our communities.”

The public advocacy campaign presented research from other jurisdictions that questioned the construction industry’s longstanding practice of providing portable toilets on construction sites instead of plumbed or trailered flush toilets. The group called on WorkSafeBC to start enforcing existing occupational health and safety standards for facility safety and maintenance.

Get Flushed also began an online petition and engaged supporters with a quiz to help them identify their own porta-potty user identity, with options like “The Hoverer” and “The Holder.”

“We have a small but exceptional team at the Building Trades ꟷ there are just eight of us ꟷ and they, too, share in this honour,” added Bourke.

The Building Trades developed the campaign with Metric Strategies, including the campaign website (getflushed.ca) and social media advertising.

Reed Awards are named for Campaigns & Elections founder Stanley Foster Reed and recognize excellence in political campaigning and grassroots advocacy.

The 2022 Reed Award winners were honoured at The Reed Awards Ceremony in Nashville, Tenn. on May 5.