The Business Commitment to the Environment (BCE) Environmental Leadership Awards are now open for 2009 applications. Winning a BCE Award can provide many advantages including market differentiation, increased brand awareness and improved staff morale – all essential tools for businesses operating within increasingly competitive markets.
The BCE Awards are one of the most respected environmental awards because of their heritage of peer-to-peer judging and high-quality entrants. A number of high-profile individuals have supported the awards over the years including HRH The Prince of Wales, Tony Blair and Pat McFadden, Minister of State in the Department for Business and Enterprise, who presented the 2008 Awards.
Entry to the Awards is free to any UK business that pays corporation tax. Applicants are required to complete a simple application form, which is available on the website (www.bceawards.org). Short listed businesses will receive a site visit from a member of the BCE technical panel, which is made up of distinguished representatives of UK business. The BCE Awards are also one of the main feeder schemes into the prestigious EU European Business Awards for the Environment (EBAE), so BCE Award winners have the opportunity to be put forward for international recognition.
Those who win the BCE Awards can be sure that they are in good company. In 2007, the overall winner was the Co-Operative Group which, as a result of its BCE Award success, went on to win the 2008 EU EBAE Management Award. This year's overall winner was Innocent Drinks, which was honoured for its outstanding work in developing a 100% post-consumer recycled plastic drinks bottle.
Jessica Sansom, Head of Sustainability at Innocent Drinks, commented: "At Innocent, sustainability is a key part of our business purpose. We want to prove that you can be a successful, competitive business, while having a positive impact on the world around you. Winning this award is great recognition for our efforts, and only inspires us to keep delivering great results going forward."
From therecycler.com