Green credentials recognised by awards

AN Oldham semi-conductor manufacturer and a Macclesfield paper coater were among the winners at yesterday’s Northwest Business Environment Awards.

The awards, which were held at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, recognise environmentally conscious businesses across the region.

Diodes Zetex Semiconductors of Oldham was named as the large company with the best environmental practice while Macclesfield’s Tullis Russell Coaters picked up the award for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Other winners included HKR Architects for its Hive scheme in Manchester and Liverpool-based Printroom UK. A lifetime achievement award went to Walter Menzies, the former chief executive of the long-running Mersey Basin Campaign.

Mr Menzies received his award from guest speaker, Jonathon Porritt, who opened the event by speaking on the importance of business leadership for creating a sustainable future. He said large corporations, such as the retailer Walmart, were having a huge impact by adopting environmental policies and insisting on the same approach from suppliers. Such action, he said, had the “capability of transforming economies and more people’s lives than any other factor today.”

Todd Holden, director of the ENWORKS environmental business support partnership which hosted this year’s awards, said: “We now look forward to seeing our North West award winners go on to compete at an international level in Europe, where I am sure they will be strong contenders.”

The winners and runners-up were:

Environmental Best Practice (large company)
Winner: Diodes Zetex Semiconductors Ltd (Oldham)
Runner-up: KME Yorkshire Ltd (Liverpool)

Environmental Best Practice (SME)
Winner: Tullis Russell (Macclesfield)
Runner-up: Sandcastle Waterpark (Blackpool)

Built Environment
Winner (over £1m): HKR Architects – The Hive (Manchester)
Winner (under £1m): Studio Three Architects – The Food Hub Design Cube, St Anselm’s College (Birkenhead)
Runner-up (over £1m): Waterman Group with AA Projects Ltd, Taylor Young Architects and Bardsley Construction – Phase 4 Development, Loreto Sixth Form College (Manchester)

Combating Climate Change
Winner: The Printroom UK (Liverpool)
Runner-up: Palace Hotel (Manchester)
Highly commended: United Utilities (Warrington)

Environmental Innovation
Winner: Second Nature UK Ltd (Penrith)