Doing their bit for our communities

Jul 4 2007 by The Journal

Merrill Lynch Raising Achievement in Young People Award
Recognising companies that are raising achievement of young people.

Winner: Erimus Housing, Erimus Futures Project
Erimus Futures is a well established 10-week citizenship course run in primary schools across Middlesbrough to year-six pupils.

Established in 2002, the course covers issues including bullying, racism, graffiti, vandalism, anti-social behaviour and nuisance and harassment.

All the sessions are interactive, teaching children the consequences of certain actions so that they can influence the future of their estates and communities.

During the course the children do group work, design posters, watch videos, write and act out role-play and make a promise on how they will help improve their area.

Erimus Housing is committed to community investment, recognising that the business’s role is not just to invest in housing but also in the communities where they are situated.

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Merrill Lynch Raising Achievement in Young People Award
Recognising companies that are raising achievement of young people.

Winner: John Lewis, Vocational Placement Programme
The Vocational Placement Programme is designed to create individual work placement programmes providing opportunities that allow students to gain experience in the workplace and gain a BTEC or NVQ qualification in the process.

The programme started in 2005 with two schools and five students and quickly grew in 2006 to four schools and 38 students who have placements one day per week for a year.

Participating students are taken from schools in disadvantaged areas which face a number of social issues, and schools have a high record of achievement.

The programme allows John Lewis Newcastle to create a talent pool for future recruitment, raise awareness of retailing as a career choice, enhance coaching skills within the store and build the reputation of the organisation, whilst also making a real difference to the employment prospects of young people from local communities

Impacts:

• 12 of the 38 students have secured permanent/temporary employment with John Lewis.

• Students from all four schools are on track to pass their qualifications.

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TCS Marketplace Innovation Award
For a company that has innovated to create new, or modify existing products or services, to meet social or environmental needs.

Winner: The Banks Group, Noise Control Programme

In line with the company’s ‘Development With Care’ approach, The Banks Group has implemented a major project to reduce noise emissions from the plant and machinery within its mining fleet.

Much of the equipment the group purchases is designed to operate in areas of the world where environmental noise control is not a consideration.

Therefore Banks set about fitting its fleet of over 100 items of mining plant, including bulldozers, dump trucks and excavators, with bespoke silencing equipment.

Impacts:

• The Noise Control Programme has significantly reduced the noise of site plant down to an average of 80 decibels (dBA), (a 10dBA reduction as the equivalent of halving the loudness of noise).

• Site staff have also reported a significant improvement in their working environment due to the reduction in noise of the site plant.

• The innovations have set a benchmark that planning authorities are now using to effect reductions in noise emissions across the UK mining industry as a whole.

• The technology developed by the Noise Control Project has enabled Banks to gain planning consent for sites recovering coal reserves worth over £80m that would otherwise have been refused.

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Eco-efficiency Award
For companies taking a strategic, comprehensive and innovative approach to reducing waste and natural resource use.

Winner: HMRC, Sustainable Development on the Newcastle Estate

In 1998, what is now HM Revenue and Customs began a major redevelopment of its Newcastle Estates under the Private Financial Initiative (PFI), while continuing to conduct business and minimise impact on the local community and environment.

Before commencing the redevelopment, an assessment of the site’s operations was conducted which highlighted absence of a detailed, structured approach to environmental management.

To resolve this issue, the management implemented a five-year environmental management plan, underpinned by waste minimisation and sustainable travel plans.

The minimisation plan targeted energy, utilities and waste, and featured an innovative recycling scheme, involving the separation of white waste paper from mixed, by staff, before collection by a recycling contractor. The plan also included measures to prevent waste going to landfill, including donating surplus office requisites to the local community and recycling aluminium cans, glass, newspapers and plastic bottles.

The travel plan gave staff the opportunity to make more sustainable travel choices through improved facilities for cyclists and pedestrians and better public transport.

It also led to reduced business travel and environmental improvements to the pool car fleet.

The scheme proved highly effective and has been constantly improved since its inception.

Impacts:

• The Estate reduced its water consumption by 29.6%, electricity by 31.6% and gas by 29.5% by the end of March 2003.

• From April 2003 to March 2006, the Estate further reduced its water consumption by 45.5%, electricity by 1.9% and gas by 1.4%.

• It has reduced the number of single car users by 12%, halved its car fleet and reduced its business travel costs by 10%.

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BUPA Healthy Communities Award (re-accreditation)
For companies that are helping to tackle deprivation and create sustainable, dynamic and inclusive communities, including positive impact on health, enterprise, crime and regeneration.

Winner: Northumbrian Water, Just an Hour

Now in its fifth year, ‘Just an Hour’ is Northumbrian Water’s highly successful employee volunteering programme.

The group’s senior executive team have put their full support behind the initiative and managing director John Cuthbert said: “We have recognised both the need to take community support purely beyond donation of cash and utilising the knowledge, skills and expertise of our employees.

“Every employee is encouraged to give at least 12 hours of paid work time a year to work on the ‘Just An Hour’ initiative.

The huge range of projects included creating a garden for severely disabled children at Villa Real School, producing a radio show on Radio Tyneside, a volunteer radio station for Newcastle and Gateshead hospitals, and the restoration of the fountain at The Bowes Museum to enhance the visitor attraction.

Impacts:

• 35% of employees have volunteered time.

• £60,000 of staff time was donated to the community through the programme in 2006.

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BUPA Healthy Communities Award (re-accreditation)
For companies that are helping to tackle deprivation and create sustainable, dynamic and inclusive communities, including positive impact on health, enterprise, crime and regeneration.

Winner: Home Group Ltd, North Benwell Neighbourhood Management Initiative

Operating from the heart of North Benwell, Home Group’s neighbourhood manager leads a team of community development staff, street wardens and a dedicated team of police officers.

Covering approximately 2,000 homes, the initiative tackles some of the social and physical issues in the community.

Home Group’s hands-on approach to regeneration is having a positive effect on locals’ well-being.

Involving the community in decision-making gives a sense of ownership and revitalizes a neighbourhood spirit.

The physical improvements that the scheme delivers are considered essential in maintaining good health and a reduction in crime.

Impacts:

• The number of empty homes has fallen 82% in three years.

• Property-marking kits have been distributed to all households.

• The incidence of crime fell a further 30% in 2006

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BUPA Healthy Communities Award (re-accreditation)
For companies that are helping to tackle deprivation and create sustainable, dynamic and inclusive communities, including positive impact on health, enterprise, crime and regeneration.

Winner: Tees Valley Housing Group, Housing and Community investment Agency

Tees Valley Housing Group has been leading the way among housing associations by showing how investment in communities and makes business sense.

The Middlesbrough-based company owns and manages over 4,000 homes, many of which are in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

As many of its tenants are on low incomes and their communities are disadvantaged, Tees Valley Housing embarked upon a journey to become a Housing and Community Investment Agency in order to provide significant investments in the communities that it serves.

Since 2002, TVHG invested has invested £1,040,000 in community activities and raised £3.9m through external funding to support its community investment programme.

Impacts:

• China Town, Middlesbrough – 20 apartments for Chinese elders, a new community centre and retail units for Chinese interests.

• Wasteland clean-up – Roscoe Road, Billingham, Doorstep Green Funding. Litter picks and ‘Events in the Tent’ to agree action plans to develop nature trail.

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Merrill Lynch Raising Achievement in Young People Award (re-accreditation)
Recognising companies that are raising achievement of young people.

Winner: ESH Group, Fit for Employment

Esh Group’s Fit for Employment programme, run with Deerness Valley Comprehensive School, has revolutionized the way construction companies can recruit apprentices and educate young people.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair said: “Fit for employment is a fine example of the North-East leading the way.”

The scheme is addressing gender imbalance within the construction industry by improving the intake of women.

It has also linked up with Trinity School in Durham, which specialises in Special Needs students who are encouraged to enrol in the programme.

Impacts:

• During the past 12 months, 20 candidates have been recruited and placed in full-time employment, making a total of 60 jobs in three years.

• Over three-quarters of students remained in structured learning (national average of students staying in structured learning after 16 is 45%.)

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Cares North-East Volunteer of the Year Award
For individual commitment and achievement in volunteering. Cares is Business in the Community’s major volunteering initiative, working with companies to develop and improve the breadth and impact of their employee volunteering programmes.

Winner: Hilary Peart, Sage UK

Hilary helped Mayfield Glade Community Centre in Cramlington to improve its financial management.

Over a period of several months, Hilary worked with the centre to create a cash-flow and budget, and provided advice on planning the centre’s finances.

Her involvement with the centre has helped enable it to considerably strengthen its overall financial position.

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Cares North-East Team of the Year Award
This award recognises the whole team – the commitment made, and the team skills developed while making an impact in the local community.

Winner: EDF Energy, Eversheds, Northumbrian Water, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Sage, Sunderland Housing and Ward Hadaway

A total of 90 individuals from seven companies joined forces for one week in the summer of 2006 to make a real difference to Hendon Valley Road Primary School.

Together they transformed a derelict area of the school playground into a natural play and education area for under fives, undertaking well over £100,000 worth of construction work for the school.

Their efforts have made a substantial impact on the quality of childcare and pre-school learning for the local community.

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Cares North-East Team Leader of the Year Award
For individual volunteers who have risen to the challenge of team leader, by supporting, inspiring and leading their teams to achieve change and benefit for all concerned.

Winner: Jessie Uppall, Eversheds
The winner of this award led a team on a project to repair and redecorate the Stepping Stones shelter in Gosforth, which provides emergency accommodation for young people who have become homeless.

Despite being a sensitive project with a tight deadline, Jessie provided the co-ordination and leadership to ensure that the project was successfully completed on time to provide the young residents with a substitute home of which they are rightly proud.

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Sieff Award
For an individual based in the community who has best collaborated with business to benefit society.

Winner: Duncan Summers, Linskill Community Centre
Duncan has worked tirelessly to develop a partnership with Eversheds in Newcastle. His efforts have led to Eversheds helping transform a wilderness into a community garden which is now much loved and well used by residents of a run-down area of North Shields.

A former tunneling engineer, he has used his huge experience to make a real difference to the lives of people in the local community in which he lives.

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HRH The Prince of Wales’ Ambassador for Corporate Responsibility
For individuals whose leadership and commitment to responsible business has resulted in changes and improvements inside their own company and who have also inspired other organisations to take action.

Awarded to: Jamie Martin, managing partner, Ward Hadaway
A member of BITC’s North-East Regional Leadership Team since 2003, Jamie is a passionate advocate of responsible business practice, and has taken an active lead in promoting corporate responsibility both within his own firm, and in the wider business community in the region.

Jamie is a member of the Council of the North of England Medico-Legal Society, Chairman of Newcastle College and a member of the Institute of Directors and member of its Regional Committee.

He is also former regional chairman of the CBI, and on the board of the Aspire Partnership, which campaigns to improve the educational and vocational aspirations of young people across the North-East.

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‘Back to Business’ Award
Business in the Community’s ‘Back to Business’ programme is funded by ONE NorthEast to bring schools and businesses together to improve the skills and employability of young people across the region.
Awarded to: Cummins Ltd
For its partnership with Freebrough Specialist Engineering College.

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Durham Business School Award for CR Reporting
The Durham Business School Award for CR Reporting recognises companies with headquarters in the North--East region who have demonstrated excellence in reporting their CR activities.
Awarded to: Barratt PLC