Our Winners

The Tesco Eat Happy Project is our long-term commitment to help primary school children have a healthier and happier relationship with food. We believe that if children understand more about food and where it comes from, they can make better decisions about what they put on their plates when they grow up. Our Farm to Fork Trails offer interactive, educational fun at a Tesco store, distribution centre or Supplier Partner’s farm or factory. Children get to bake bread rolls, interview a lorry driver or see how cows are milked.

Our Online Field Trips are broadcast live from farms and factories across the globe. Children use technology in the classroom to stand in a muddy field and discover where the food on their plates
comes from, without needing to pull on their wellies. They can chat to real growers and producers using Google+ Hangouts.

Our free, downloadable resources are developed with teachers, education professionals and nutrition experts to be age-appropriate and linked to the national curriculum. They include lesson plans, recipes, videos and activities, and span all subjects so that teachers can add a healthy eating theme to any lesson.

Our Farm to Fork Cooking courses, run in partnership with the Children’s Food Trust, aim to give children the skills and passion to cook and eat healthily. Children take away an apron and healthy recipes to help them continue cooking at home.

Right from the start BAM and MCFC (Manchester City Football Club) were clear that this unique project would deliver positive outcomes for local people. These would not be simple outcomes. With the vision of “One Team” for this project, we started by working as a team to discuss the best way to reach into the heart of the community whilst building this project. We engaged from the outset with the East Manchester Regeneration Team – EMRT (part of Manchester City Council) to take on board advice, discuss our approach, the targets and how we would work collaboratively with the local community. At BAM we had experience of working towards targets of this kind before but this took things to a new level. We decided to set up an Information Centre and a Learning Centre on site to allow people access to real people who could offer support. The two centres were run by BAM employees who provided a one to one service for local people as well as being a vital link to the variety of trade professionals on site. People were able to walk onto site and apply for work and receive advice and training. They also provided a hub for education and community activity. This personalised approach gave people confidence that we really could help them.

Call in Time is a national telephone befriending service using employee volunteers, which was initially set up with funding from Zurich Community Trust (the charitable arm of Zurich in the UK funded by pre tax profits) and Zurich employee volunteers, working in partnership with Age UK. Call in Time was designed to engage employee volunteers to tackle one of the fastest growing UK social issues of loneliness and isolation faced by many older people. This is one of three long term sustainable programmes that the Zurich and Zurich Community Trust has developed alongside its leading and broader employee community engagement programme. Now, after 10 years of development and delivery, 800 friendship calls are made every single week by volunteers from across a range of companies to some of the most lonely and isolated older people in the UK. Each volunteer makes one 20-30 minute call a week, without even having to leave their desk.

Working in partnership with Age UK’s Call in Time team, Corporate members of the scheme provide funding to sustain the core funding and infrastructure at Age UK to sustain and grow the programme. Age UK works with its Corporate Partners to train volunteers and match them with isolated older people based on shared interests. Age UK supports volunteers every step of the way, providing advice and covering their calls when they are on holiday or going through busy periods at work. They also help older members get the additional wraparound support they need by referring them to other Age UK services from benefits advice to local lunch clubs. Call in Time reduces isolation and loneliness amongst older people whilst building confidence and helping those who benefit from the programme to feel valued again.

After a successful pilot, which engaged 140 Zurich employees as volunteers, we worked with Age UK to develop a Corporate CiT package which could be rolled out and replicated by other companies. New corporate partners pay Age UK to be part of the scheme and to support their employee volunteers, bringing in vital funding and volunteers which means in partnership, we can support many more older people.

Enjoy-Work is a property management company based at Chiswick Park, London. We take a unique approach to facilities management by offering programmes and services focused on employee engagement. Our aims are increasing employee productivity and enabling our 45 multinational Guest (tenant) companies to recruit and retain talent for business success. Chiswick Park was created with workplace innovation at its core. Enjoy-Work, is not simply the name of the estate management team, it is a philosophy which puts people, rather than buildings at the heart of this community. For 15 years our innovative business model has been based on the idea that if people enjoy work they will be more productive, thus benefiting companies, shareholders employees and even the wider society. Our programmes and services (most of which are free to individuals as they are covered by a service charge paid by the companies) are designed to support individual employees, enabling them to achieve greater work- life balance and gain more personal and professional satisfaction. This focus on the wellbeing of staff contributes to employees at Chiswick Park feeling they are valued by their employer.

At Wyke Farms, we believe in working in synergy with our surroundings and in operating our business in a way that has minimal impact on the Somerset environment. This is why we have created ‘Wyke Farms 100% Green’ – our integrated, long-term sustainability plan. Through this we have dramatically reduced our carbon footprint and become the first national cheddar brand to be 100% self-sufficient in green energy.

We are now self-sufficient in our own solar and biogas, generated from our onsite biogas plant, which converts 75,000 tonnes of our biodegradable waste materials from our farm and dairy per year into energy, which is then used to power our dairy and cheese making process, saving more than 5 million kilos of carbon dioxide per annum. Other sustainable changes that we have implemented in our work practices include solar panelling, saving energy through investment and changes in work practices, minimising our waste and offsetting third party supplier’s energy usage.

Our ‘100% Green’ strategy permeates throughout our organisation, from our management philosophy to product design and production. We also seek to inspire and influence others to become greener. We have created best practice partnerships to share knowledge, provided leadership for stakeholders and inspired others both in and outside our company to take action.

Over the last 130 years M&S has grown from a single market stall to become an international multi-channel retailer. We now operate in over 50 territories worldwide and employ almost 86,000 people. Remaining true to our founding values of Quality, Value, Service, Innovation and Trust.

Our UK turnover is split between Food (55%)and  General Merchandise (45%). With 798 stores across the UK and a growing e-commerce business, we sell high-quality, great value food and remain the UK market leaders in womenswear, lingerie and menswear.

We aim to become the world’s most sustainable retailer and Plan A, our eco and ethical programme, is at the very heart of how we do business. More than six years since launch, we continue to extend the influence of Plan A – engaging our employees, suppliers and customers.

The Zero Emissions Network is a tri-borough (Hackney, Islington and Tower Hamlets) project that aims to reduce the air pollution problems that exist in and around the Shoreditch area by engaging with businesses and helping them reduce their emissions.

We help the businesses deliver measures that would not only benefit the business itself (namely from an economical perspective but also in terms of helath benefits to employees) but also improve the air quality in the area. The project therefore has two main priorities, recruit businesses to the network in order to promote the benefits of operating cleaner and greener, and also deliver a number of measures that will help the businesses to do this, including: free trials of electric vehicles, free trials of cargo bikes, free membership to Zipcar/City Car Club (plus credit), free half day bike maintenance courses, reduced fares on electric vehicle only taxis, access to exclusive discounts (ZEN members can purchase a NIssan Leaf with 22% reduction on top of the PICG),

The project recruited 130 businesses in Shoreditch (Hackney) during the period March 2013 – June 2014 at which point it was agreed to expand the project into Tower Hamlets and Islington. Since then the project has grown 180% with members now totalling 365.

Bill Eyres is a hugely impressive sustainability leader with a strong track record in driving corporate responsibility to the heart of business. As Head of Sustainability at O2, Bill has worked with our CEO, Ronan Dunne, to develop and lead the implementation of our Think Big Blueprint for people and planet. Bill has matched Ronan’s impressive vision for sustainability with an ambitious strategic plan and inspiring leadership to drive the implementation of 3 big goals and 40 publicly stated company-wide commitments.

He orchestrated internal and external stakeholder engagement to develop key sustainability priorities for the business, creating an integrated sustainability plan which reflects our corporate responsibility, environment, digital confidence and youth social impact objectives. Bill worked hard to develop governance and audit processes to inspire ownership and accountability and championed people engagement, creating meaningful opportunities for employees to participate. No easy feat, especially during some really tough trading periods for the UK and our sector.

A great example is O2 Recycle, which encourages responsible recycling and reuse of electronic waste (we’ve paid over £100million back to customers). The initiative delivers clear environmental benefits and has also passed on over £2.3m in proceeds from the scheme to support young people.

It’s this ability to bring together different elements and manage a diverse portfolio of commitments that makes Bill a great sustainability leader for O2 – one minute he is mentoring one of the 6000 young people who have received funding and support from O2 to run projects benefiting their community, the next he is working with Vodafone to bring our Eco-rating schemes together, then he is briefing the media on how we are driving change in our industry by taking phone chargers out boxes, then on to working in partnership with NSPCC to ensure families across the UK can navigate the web safely.

His vision and foresight has helped O2 to become a leader in sustainability here in the UK – and he’s helped to share best practice and replicate our successes with Telefónica colleagues across Europe. Think Big is now present in all our European markets.

Bill hasn’t done it alone – he has developed an award-winning team that I’m proud to be part of. Hesurrounds himself with diverse colleagues who use their knowledge and expertise to lead our agenda. He values different perspectives, welcomes challenge and listens to what his team think and say. And this is probably his strongest leadership quality.

And as for his personal contribution – he walks the walk, or should I say cycles it, turning up to every meeting with his trusty hi-vis and cycle helmet. He coaches young people to play rugby at weekends, mentors people to help their careers, and offers job-shadow opportunities to young job-seekers.

All in all, I am fortunate to have Bill as my leader. O2 made a great decision in recruiting Bill to accelerate the sustainability agenda, and I think he’s done us all proud.

Alejandro Agag is CEO of Formula E Holdings – a new FIA backed global motor racing Championship using cars powered solely by electricity, launched in September 2014. Born in Madrid in 1970, Alejandro Agag enjoyed an international upbringing in Madrid, Paris and New York, gaining fluency in English, Spanish, French and Italian.

In 2012, Agag together with his business partner Enrique Bañuelos, a London-based real estate entrepreneur, created Formula E Holdings Ltd. After a period of negotiation, the company signed an agreement with the FIA to exclusively promote the new FIA Formula E Championship featuring racing cars powered solely by electricity. Agag’s motor racing and business credentials earned him the position of CEO of Formula E. The clean energy Championship debuting in 2014 will be held in the heart of global cities, where environmental concerns and rapid urban growth are calling for urgent clean mobility solutions. Agag sees the research and development of electric racing cars as a catalyst for the development of tomorrow’s clean city cars. With over a decade of motorsports experience and years of shaping global and social issues as a politician, Agag is determined to revolutionize the world of clean mobility on the racetrack, city streets and consumer markets. With a passion for technological innovation and a proven skill for turning things around – his biggest challenge yet will be to leave a legacy of clean mobility innovation in our 21st Century racetracks and cities.