The Business Commitment to the Environment (BCE) Environmental Leadership Awards are now open for 2009 applications.

The BCE Awards are one of the most respected environmental awards because of their heritage of peer-to-peer judging and high-quality entrants.

A number of high-profile individuals have supported the awards over the years, including HRH The Prince of Wales, Tony Blair and Pat McFadden, minister of state in the department for business and enterprise, who presented the 2008 Awards.

Entry to the awards is free to any UK business that pays corporation tax. Applicants are required to complete a simple application form, which is available on the website (www.bceawards.org).

Short-listed businesses will receive a site visit from a member of the BCE technical panel, which is made up of distinguished representatives of UK business. The BCE awards are also one of the main feeder schemes into the prestigious EU European Business Awards for the Environment (EBAE), so BCE award winners have the opportunity to be put forward for international recognition.

In 2007, the overall BCE winner was The Co-Operative Group, which went on to win the 2008 EU EBAE Management Award. This year’s overall winner was Innocent Drinks, which was honoured for its work in developing a 100 per cent post-consumer recycled plastic drinks bottle.

Jessica Sansom, head of sustainability at Innocent Drinks, said: “At Innocent, sustainability is a key part of our business purpose. We want to prove that you can be a successful, competitive business, while having a positive impact on the world around you. Winning this award is great recognition for our efforts, and only inspires us to keep delivering great results going forward.”

The closing date for entries is October 3, 2008.

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