Businesses’ commitment to social good recognised in Lord Mayor’s Dragon Awards

Penguin Random House UK, Hogan Lovells, Thames 21, and ASSEAL are among the winners of this year’s Lord Mayor’s Dragon Awards, which celebrate businesses tackling social problems in London and the wider UK. The winners of the annual Awards run by the City of London Corporation included firms championing diversity in the workplace, providing free legal aid to victims of the 2017 terror attacks, and supporting unpublished writers from under-represented backgrounds. The awards also included the new Lord Mayor’s Award - Business of Trust Champion, launched ‘to recognise firms championing responsible business practices to create a lasting legacy of better business trusted by society’. The Lord Mayor’s Dragon Awards also recognise the work of SMEs, with David Miller Architects, patent and trademark attorneys Beck Greener and regulatory technology firm Enforcd Ltd amongst the winners. The awards revealed that overall, this year’s applicants supported nearly 1.8m people across the UK, helped create over 5,000 jobs and provided over £15.3m in support for their local communities and enterprises. They also mobilised 11,922 business volunteers who contributed over 43,100 hours to local community groups, schools and individuals across the UK. The 2018 winners: Regional Impact Award - Penguin Random House UK won for its WriteNow initiative, which aims to inform, inspire and ultimately publish writers from under-represented backgrounds. Accelerator Award – Macquarie, which provides financial, in-kind and pro-bono support to help grow and accelerate Leadership Through Sport & Business, a charity that aims to increase the social mobility of people from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Inclusive Employment Award - David Miller Architects (DMA), which hosts week-long work experience placements for students to encourage them to consider careers in the built environment. The Innovation Award - Hogan Lovells, which provides pro bono representation, with Victim Support representation, to victims of the 2017 London terror attacks at Westminster Bridge, London Bridge, Borough Market and Finsbury Park Mosque, and the Manchester Arena bombing. Community Partners Award - Thames 21, for its Thames River Watch in partnership with Tideway, where volunteers collect data about litter and water quality to maintain a database about the health of the Thames. Heart of the City Award - Beck Greener for its "STEM: Branching Out" initiative aimed at inspiring and encouraging young people from underrepresented backgrounds, to consider careers involving STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects, and raising the profile of the Intellectual Property profession. Sir Martyn Lewis Award - ThinkForward for its partnership with ICG Specialist Asset Management supporting London East Alternative Provision School. ThinkForward aims to prevent youth unemployment by intervening early and working long-term in schools with disengaged young people aged 13 to 18 identified as at high risk of becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training). Lord Mayor’s Award - Business of Trust Champion winners: AESSEAL – AESSEAL® offers an extensive apprenticeship programme with regular events such as apprenticeship open days, opening its doors to the public. AESSEAL also supports the ‘Women in Engineering’ programmes at the University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University and Queen’s University Belfast. Enforcd Ltd – Regulatory technology firm Enforcd Ltd’s service helps firms complying with financial regulation to keep up with regulatory developments and effectively communicate them to relevant teams within their organisation. Enforcd allows firms to crowdsource initiatives to combat bad practice. Charles Bowman, Lord Mayor of the City of London, said: “Companies can make a tremendous difference by identifying gaps, pioneering new policies, and working with underrepresented groups – or, simply, by giving whatever money, time, or skills they can. This year’s well deserving Dragon Awards winners have done just this. “These firms are working hard to make a difference in a huge range of areas, from promoting social mobility in the workplace to supporting and attracting new young talent to industries with skills shortages. “We need to recognise and celebrate the innovative work that firms are doing within their responsible business initiatives. It’s no longer simply about engaging with local communities. It is about benefitting workforces and creating a better and fairer society.”   Main image: David Miller Architects

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