IF your business is a great employer, is going ‘green’ or is an integral part of the community in which it operates, now's the time to enter this year's Northern Ireland Responsible Business Awards run by Business in the Community.
Sponsored for the eighth year by Electric Ireland, the awards are open to firms here of all sizes and from all sectors, and the nine categories up for grabs are:
• NI Responsible Company of the Year, sponsored by BT;
• Resource Efficiency Champion, in partnership with WRAP;
• Business & Biodiversity, in partnership with Ulster Wildlife Trust;
• Employer of Choice, sponsored by Arthur Cox;
• Employability Champion, sponsored by Delta Packaging;
• Community Impact Champion, sponsored by Belfast Harbour;
• Education Partner, sponsored by Allen & Overy;
• Workplace Health and Wellbeing, sponsored by Benenden;
• Marketplace Leadership, in partnership with Fujitsu.
Applications can be made online at www.bitcni.org.uk/awards. Entries close on Friday March 25 with the gala awards ceremony taking place in Belfast's Waterfront Hall on Thursday June 2.
Business in the Community NI chair Roy Adair said: “We are proud to recognise and celebrate organisations that do the right thing by their people, the planet and the places where they operate. I would encourage all companies with a commitment to responsible business to review the categories and submit an entry. Celebrating good business is a win-win for business and for wider society.
“These Awards celebrate companies who realise just how important their actions, focussing not on how a company spends its profits, but how it makes them in the first place. I’d encourage all businesses to put themselves forward for recognition and inspire others in the process.”
Niall Dineen, head of commercial at Electric Ireland, said: “This is the eighth year of our sponsorship, which provides us with an opportunity to see how businesses across Northern Ireland demonstrate their contribution to enhance the communities in which they work and operate in, ensuring their actions are reaping societal, business and economic benefits.”
Companies seeking recognition for their responsible business at a national level can also enter the UK Responsible Business Awards, also run by BITC. To find out more click on www.bitc.org.uk/awards or call (028) 9046 0606. Closing date for entries is February 12.
