The EDP Business Awards 2023 are now open for entries, and the Positive Impact in the Community Award, sponsored by Vattenfall, is a celebration of those businesses that are looking beyond profit to support the people and communities around them.
“Every business is part of its community,” said category judge Denise Hone, senior stakeholder and community engagement manager at Vattenfall. “Ideally, businesses and communities thrive hand in hand, sharing aspirations and building relationships.
“A healthy business plays active roles in supporting community activities and initiatives, contributing positively to the communities where its employees live,” she added. “From these relationships comes mutual pride and community cohesion.”
Vattenfall decided to sponsor the Positive Impact in the Community Award because it aligns with the company’s ethos of working in and with the communities where it develops green energy.
“I look forward to discovering the inspiring impact that businesses have and the benefits that communities draw from businesses,” said Mrs Hone. “Seeing how ideas are translated into reality and the positive ongoing impact will be inspiring.”
She added that having a clear and defined strategy for community growth can really help businesses make a positive difference.
“A strong community focus impacts employees, customers and suppliers – instilling senses of value and purpose beyond business goals, and a sense of belonging and contribution,” she said.
“It builds a business profile, so people aspire to work there because they are also making a difference to their community.”
It’s also important for community-focused businesses to have a defined mission and set of values, said Mrs Hone.
“Having clear community and social responsibility goals engrained within a business as core values shapes a sense of purpose and wider belonging across staff and their behaviours – and also their suppliers and customers,” she concluded. “And that is where the magic happens.”
The deadline for entries to the EDP Business Awards is July 16. To enter the Positive Impact in the Community Award category, please visit the website.
To find out more about all of the categories, please click here.
Meet the sponsor
Vattenfall is one of Europe’s largest producers and retailers of electricity and heat – building the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone to generate low-cost green electricity for 4.6 million UK homes.
By 2030, Vattenfall’s wind farms could power 4.5 million UK homes, creating thousands of skilled UK jobs, making wind the backbone of a reliable, affordable and fossil-free energy system.
Construction starts on the Norfolk Zone in 2023, with first power expected in 2027.
It will support 1,000 jobs in every year of construction. More than 100 skilled permanent jobs will be created at its operations and maintenance base, with many more across the East Anglian supply chain.
As well as boosting the regional economy with jobs, skills and supply chain opportunities, the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone will contribute to the region as a powerhouse of renewable energy.
Award criteria
In an everchanging world, we come across challenges that push businesses to innovate and adapt for the good of the wider community.
Have you changed the products or services you are producing to benefit a crisis, or lent your team to assist elsewhere?
The judges will not only be looking at how you plan to create a positive impact, but what you currently do or have done in the last six months to put it in place.
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