16 October 2009
City’s Dragon Awards go out to firms with a social
conscience
Last night, Lord Mayor Ian Luder awarded eight London businesses
with Dragon Awards for their commitment to Corporate Community
Involvement ( CCI) programmes in the 22nd year of the Lord Mayor’s
Dragon Awards.
Lovell Partnerships, British Airways and Broadgate Estates were
amongst those collecting the coveted Dragon Awards.
The Dragon Awards 2009 celebrated the achievements of businesses
and their staff for projects carried out during the last financial
year, a tumultuous period for many companies. According to the
organisers at the City of London, in many cases the changing
economic climate has stimulated even greater commitment to CCI
amongst businesses over the last year, many of which were keen to
unite staff and drive reputation through effective CCI
programmes.
The Dragon Awards 2009 saw Broadgate Estates Limited for a joint
project with Knightsbridge Guarding, Lovell Partnership Limited,
Investec plc and Base Creative all awarded in separate categories.
Other winners included, British Land, 8build, British Airways and
Individually, Senior Medical Student Rosie Spooner, who was put
forward by St George’s University, won the ‘Volunteer of the Year’
award.
Lord Mayor Ian Luder said , “There has been a step-change in the
commitment businesses have given to corporate community involvement
this year, which made for some very exciting entries to this year’s
Dragon Awards. The business benefits of CCI programmes have been
grasped during the last year, with the reputational, HR and even
the new-business networking benefits of effective CCI programmes
striking a chord with more and more firms.”
“Many firms helped drive regeneration and gave substantial
support to neighbouring communities through their innovative
Corporate Community Involvement schemes. From the SMEs such as Base
Creative and 8build to the large firms such as British Airways and
Investec.”
Catharine Riseborough, Dragon Awards Coordinator at the City of
London Corporation says, “ A company's reputation can be enhanced
through its active community involvement, something which is
mentioned by a number of Dragon Awards applicants. It can also be a
key way to win new business especially as some tender proposals now
ask a company to outline their CSR policy.”
The 2009 winners
Economic Regeneration Award:
- Base Creative, Work With Us programme - A four year programme
to provide one London-based charity with the full digital marketing
services on a pro bono basis .
Education Award:
- British Airways, British Airways Community Learning Centre - An
educational facility that provides free access to interactive
airline focused activities relevant to primary, secondary and
special school curriculums.
- Lovell Partnership, Partnership in Action (Small business
Dragon) - To promote construction and a career path for young
people in Enfield, the programme recognises that construction is a
male dominated industry and therefore actively encouraged female
participants on the projects by targeting all girls
schools.
Heart of the City Award:
- 8build, Giving Back Initiative (Small Business Dragon) - 8build
recognises that the construction industry affects millions of
people. They therefore offer intrinsic support to customers
employees and the community, in which they work.
- Investec, Social Investment Programme – Launched in 2008 to
encourage employees to work with one of the five charitable
partners Investec supports. Focuses on education, the environment
and entrepreneurship.
Social Inclusion Award:
- Broadgate Estates & Knightsbridge Guarding, ‘Reaching Out’
Cambridge House – A two-year programme which aims to build the
management and administrative functions of Cambridge House so that
it is more commercial and efficient, and therefore enables staff to
focus on excellent service provision.
The Lord Mayor’s Award:
- British Land, West Euston Community Support – Since 1984 it has
provided ongoing support to a range of community groups focusing on
arts and diversity in West Euston.
Volunteer of the Year Award:
- Rosie Spooner, Medical Student – Nominated by St George’s
University for her outstanding community work in and around the
University.
As part of the application process the City of London
Corporation tracked changes reported by applicants on their CCI
schemes. Over a quarter of the businesses (28%) entering the awards
stated that that they had increased their activity with either new
or existing community partners as a response to the toughened
economic climate.
The Lord Mayor’s Dragon Awards were established by the then Lord
Mayor Sir David Rowe-Ham in 1987 and are named after the mythical
guardians of the City of London, which can be seen at the gates of
the Square Mile financial district.]
More information on
the Dragon Awards website
Ends
Notes to editors
The 2009 categories:
Economic Regeneration
For companies that are contributing to the economic regeneration
of an area. Examples could include:
- Local procurement of goods and services
- Helping local people to become more employable e.g. through
mentoring, CV advice, offering work experience
- Providing professional skills and expertise to local
micro-businesses, SMEs, social enterprises or community
organizations through employee volunteering
Education
For companies working with educational establishments. Examples
of work could include:
- Mentoring
- Learning Partnerships
- CV workshops
- Work Experience
Heart of the City
This award is for companies who have set up an effective
Corporate Community Involvement programme for the first time in the
last three years. Heart of the City is a City of London Corporation
initiative which provides free support for companies that are
interested in Corporate Community Involvement and the wider area of
Corporate Social Responsibility.
The Lord Mayor’s Award
For companies that have shown a long-term, sustainable
commitment to a wide-ranging programme of community engagement in
London, characterised by outstanding levels of staff involvement at
all levels of the organisation and a strong evidence of leadership
from the top and a commitment to the integration of community
involvement into organisational life.
Social Inclusion
For companies working on projects that aim to decrease social
exclusion and/or help improve the quality of life for socially
excluded groups of people. Examples could include working with:
- Young people in transition
- Homeless people
- Substance mis-users
- Older people
- Young offenders
- Lone parents
- People on low income
Volunteer of the Year
Schools, charities and community organisations are invited to
submit nominations for a business volunteer who has made an
outstanding contribution to their organisation in 2008.
Press contact
Lizzie Boylan Ward or Imogen Fry at Rain UK
Tel: 020 72224345 or Email:
name.surname@raincommunications.co.uk