The South West Fair Trade Business Awards are returning for an eighth year, with The Great British Bake Off star Briony Williams lined up to host the presentation ceremony. The awards, which celebrate ethical organisations of all sizes and from any sector across the region, have recognised hundreds of organisations that support Fair Trade...
The region’s top annual business award scheme recognising excellence and enterprise in the boardroom has been launched. The Institute of Directors’ (IoD) South West Director of the Year Awards 2020 aim to champion outstanding leaders and entrepreneurs while also focusing UK-wide attention on success in the region. Nominations – which opened this week – can be...
Bristol Airport has become the first in Europe to offset all road journeys made by its passengers. The carbon offsetting scheme, which came into effect on New Year’s Day and covers trips and from the airport, forms part of its ‘carbon roadmap’ published last year. Offsets will be bought retrospectively based on an annual...
Renewable power firm Good Energy has promoted its finance director Rupert Sanderson to the executive director role of chief financial officer. Rupert, pictured, joined Chippenham-headquartered Good Energy in February 2017 in an interim role and was appointed finance director 11 months later. Now a member of the London Stock Exchange-listed firm’s board, he is...
Two thirds of small and medium-sized firms in the South West took steps to make their businesses greener last year with roughly the same percentage saying they want to improve their environmental sustainability in 2020. Some 43% believe becoming more environmentally sustainable is important to them while just over a fifth (22%) claim doing...
Lloyds Banking Group has appointed long-standing director Jeremy Hayward as its ambassador for the South West to help support social and economic prosperity across the region. Jeremy, pictured, will take the lead on delivering the group’s Helping Britain Prosper plan in the region. The plan, launched in 2014, sets public targets in areas such...
The woman who ran a female-only software business in the 1960s and strived to change the gender makeup of the technology sector is set to inspire a new generation of women in business as the annual Festival of Female Entrepreneurs returns to the West of England this week. Dame Stephanie Shirley, now 85, pictured...
Wiltshire renewable energy developer Spring has partnered with a German investor to develop subsidiary-free solar projects across the UK. Chippenham-headquartered Spring was formed last year by three former staff at Good Energy, the long-established green energy pioneer based in the town. Spring said it would bring its extensive clean energy development experience to the...
Business West, the organisation behind the Swindon & Wiltshire Inititiatve, provides the best business advice, guidance and support of any chamber in the country, a new report has revealed. It is also the top-grossing and most-profitable among the 53 accredited chambers across Britain, research by membership group the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) shows. ...
A major conference in October will give Wiltshire firms valuable insight into working with the nuclear sector in the UK and overseas. The Nuclear South West Showcase and Conference (NSW19) – the UK’s largest event of its kind – will shine a light on current and future opportunities in new build, decommissioning, defence and...
