Leading manufacturer Acorn Stairlifts has been awarded the top accolade for its impact on the community, education, economy and the environment in Yorkshire, and the surrounding areas, in West & North Yorkshire Chamber’s Raising the Bar Awards 2015.
The Chamber hosted its third annual ‘Raising the Bar’ awards at the Northern Ballet in Leeds last week. Raising the Bar provides benchmarking for businesses involved in corporate social responsibility work and profiles the good deeds of great companies in our region.
Acorn Stairlifts took away the award for the overall winner who in the eyes of the judges had ‘Raised the Bar’ the most across four categories of community, education, economy and the environment. The winners of each respective category were: Environment – Christeyns; Community – Garbutt + Elliott; Economy – The Business Enterprise Fund and Education – Schofield Sweeney.
As a regional manufacturer and exporter employing over 1,000 employees worldwide, Acorn Stairlifts impressed the judges with its commitment to local employment and its community activities, especially for the nearby Sue Ryder Manorlands hospice.
The judges said: “The standard of applications this year was very high indeed and we congratulate Acorn Stairlifts and all the other winners for raising the bar so high.”
The award was collected by company secretary Dave Belmont who commented: “When we looked back at the past 12 months we were pleasantly surprised at what we have achieved and are delighted to be recognised. As a medium-size business it is easy to stay in your own business bubble but we have made a conscious effort to make a positive impact on the local community and environment plus creating jobs for every level too. We were very proud to pick up the accolade for overall winner; this is an award the whole team will treasure.”
This year saw a record number of entries and the Chamber was taken aback by the length and breadth of activities that businesses perform to make the region a better place to live and work.
The ‘Raising the Bar’ awards were hosted by BBC Radio Leeds drive time presenter, Andrew Edwards with a key note presentation from Paula Dillon, partner at Leeds-based law firm, Bond Dickinson and Leeds Chamber Vice President, who provided a very personal account of how supporting worthy causes has benefited both her and her business.
Picture: l-r: Stephen Wright, chairman West & North Yorkshire Chamber, with Dave Belmont, company secretary of Acorn Stairlifts
