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SEEDA Seeks Sustainable Business Champions04th August 2004 Championing and celebrating excellence and inspirational success in the arena of sustainability, Chairman of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), Jim Brathwaite CBE, encouraged all businesses in the region to promote their achievements by entering the SEEDA Sustainable Business Awards for the South East. For the last four years, SEEDA has been vigorously challenging businesses to embrace the many powerful facets of sustainability through the Awards to drive greater business competitiveness and to gain a competitive advantage. Jim, an enthusiastic advocate of the Awards said: "These Awards recognise businesses that are thinking out of the box in their daily operations and strategic planning. Our Award winners demonstrate that a responsible approach brings benefits to every aspect of business. The adoption of sustainable business practices will not only enhance a company’s reputation, it will also help to accelerate cost efficiencies and generate top line growth through innovation and new markets". SEEDA's primary purpose is to galvanise the economic development of the region. Yet, there is growing recognition that this development has to be sustainable. Jim fervently believes that: "It is about the complete integration of economic, social and environmental objectives. Businesses that are managed sustainably, with genuine concern for the environment and social issues, have stronger performance in terms of productivity and profitability than other businesses". The Awards demonstrate that sustainability has a presence throughout every aspect of business. It permeates through supply chain management, community involvement, resource efficiency, skills development and energy use for example. "The opportunities to harness sustainability in business are endless. However, the sustainability journey does not need to begin with a giant leap. It often requires a simple change of behaviour. It really is a small step that everyone can take to become more sustainable" added SEEDA Sustainable Business Manager Tanya Mennie . Aiming to make the Awards as inclusive as possible, there are three company size categories: small businesses with fewer than 50 members of staff, medium sized businesses with between 50 and 250 employees and large businesses with more than 250 employees. Tanya concluded: "Every business can make a dramatic and significant contribution to sustainability and SMEs equally deserve to share the limelight along with larger organisations". There will be one overall winner and two runners up in each of the three categories. The judges, all leading experts in their respective fields, will also be looking for excellence in thematic areas such as: Resource efficiency, Sustainable Energy, Rural Businesses, Innovation, Diversity, Supply Chain Management, Skills Development, Community Involvement, Leadership, Sustainable Construction & Design, Biodiversity and Social Enterprise. The Awards culminate with a prestigious black tie dinner at Thorpe Park on the 24 th November, 2004. Natasha Kaplinsky, from BBC Breakfast News, will be the presenter for the evening. John Elkington, co-founder of SustainAbility will be the keynote speaker at the event. John is one of the world's leading authorities on sustainable development and on 'triple bottom line' business strategies. A strong number of entries have already been received due to organisations trying to emulate the success of past winners and SEEDA's ongoing programme of engagement with businesses. However, Jim pointed out: "Lots of businesses are making a tremendous impact with sustainability initiatives and I am keen to hear their stories. I urge more businesses to enter the Awards so that the South East can learn from their success and experiences". All entrants must be nominated for the Awards through their local Sustainable Business Partnership (SBP). Organisations should contact their SBP directly as each has individual deadlines for nominations. Contact details are as follows:
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