Two new awards for 2009 celebration of business

Apr 15 2009 by Alex Turner, Liverpool Daily Post

THE spotlight falls on three more awards this week, as the deadline for the Liverpool Daily Post Regional Business Awards approaches.

The awards, which have been running since 1992, will recognise the achievements of companies large and small from across the region at a dinner at St George’s Hall on Wednesday, June 24.

The UK Trade & Investment Exporter of the Year Award will be given to the firm which can demonstrate a substantial and sustained increase in export activity, relative to the size of the company, over the past 12 months. Last year it was won by Runcorn-based Ventcroft, which makes cable and electronics products for the fire and security markets and has increased its export activity by 93% since 2005.

A UKTI spokesperson said: “We bring together the work of teams in British embassies and FCO posts overseas and government departments across Whitehall. In England, international trade support is co-ordinated by nine international trade directors working in partnership with each regional development agency.

“In the North West, the partnership is particularly strong, with UKTI acting as the trade arm of the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and operating a ‘dual key’ agreement under which the NWDA provides additional funding and joint working to strengthen and support the range of services provided within agreed delivery plans and with a focus on regional priority sectors and markets.”

The Liverpool John Moores University Knowledge Business of the Year Award is open to any business engaged in the commercialisation of research and development of intellectual property, including pure sciences, technology, software or professional know-how, irrespective of size or stage of development. The judges are looking for evidence of, or at least the clear potential for, profitable trading in the knowledge sector as well as a beneficial economic impact to the region.

A Liverpool John Moores University spokesperson said: “We proposed the new category of Knowledge Business of the Year award to signal its importance to the future economy of Liverpool, providing the jobs of the future.

“LJMU itself sets an example with more than 100 associated knowledge-based companies providing more than 450 jobs into the economy of Merseyside. Perhaps you might expect this from LJMU, being the only university in Europe ever to reach the standards required for a full EFQM European business excellence Award (British Quality Foundation 2008), and offering globally-unique high-level World of Work (WOW) skills to all its undergraduates, skills determined by national and international employers and then assessed by employers.

“What might be surprising is the range of companies associated with LJMU that are based on ‘knowledge’ beyond the science and engineering disciplines, from the creative industries or the arts. We look forward to seeing some interesting finalists.”

The Royal Mail Green Award is also a new award for 2009, targeted at firms that have applied environmental policies in the workplace or have products or services which have made a positive contribution to the environment.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “As one of the UK’s largest employers, the company has always recognised the need to manage its energy efficiency, and has long been acknowledged within the industry for its work to reduce its impact on the environment.

“In 2006, with support from the Carbon Trust, Royal Mail set up a carbon management programme. This focused on four main areas, of reducing energy consumption through efficiency measures and behavioural change, using alternative vehicle fuels, delivering low carbon building design, and offsetting residual CO² emissions.

“Since 2001, Royal Mail has reduced its carbon emissions by 14% and it is the company’s aim that by 2015 it will be carbon neutral.”