Business in the Community

Powergen is a national member of Business in the Community (BITC) - a unique movement of companies across the UK committed to continually improving their positive impact on society. BITC, through its membership, works to raise awareness of social issues, to share information and expertise, and promote the power of collaborative action. We have been involved in various projects in partnership with BITC.

Business in the Community Awards for Excellence

As an active member of Business in the Community (BITC) we are proud to sponsor the Business in the Community Awards for Excellence. These are the UK's most prestigious awards in recognition of responsible business practice. They promote a better way of doing business by encouraging companies to measure, continually improve and communicate their positive impact on society. The BITC Awards for Excellence help to raise awareness of the benefits of corporate social responsibility and afford an opportunity to recognise and share best practice. We have sponsored the awards for a number of years but, in 2003, sponsorship has enabled the awards to be regionalised, to encourage small and medium-sized businesses to enter.

BITC Community Impact awards

BITC's launched the first regional Community Impact awards - a new category in their annual Awards for Excellence. Powergen was delighted to support and sponsor these awards as they encourage businesses to become involved in their communities, thereby creating neighbourhoods in which people want to live and work. Community Impact Awards for tackling social and economic disadvantage sponsored by Powergen UK plc and Neighbourhood Renewal Unit

Neighbourhood Renewal Award - for impact on a specific location; rural or urban (eg village, neighbourhood)
Healthy Communities Award for building dynamic, inclusive communities through impact on a social issue (eg health, crime, homelessness, digital inclusion) Education and Lifelong Learning Award - for impact in education (eg raising educational achievement, employability skills, lifelong learning) Collaborative Action Award - for companies that have worked together on community initiatives (eg ProHelp, Cares, Business Action Group). More details about the awards can be found on the Business in the Community (BITC) website.

Nottinghamshire Cares

We are an active supporter of Nottinghamshire Cares. Cares is the main business-led employee volunteering programme in the UK. A Business in the Community initiative, it enables employees to give their time and skills to the communities in which they live and work. Cares provides a fun and simple way to get engaged with your community. Nottinghamshire Cares was launched in October 2002 and during 2003 we worked together to create a number of successful team challenges. These included the following:

• We got busy digging out the site of a new pond at the St Anns Community Gardens. The pond creation project is managed by Growing Together, which organises hands-on, horticultural skills development for individuals and community groups in the St Anns area of Nottingham
• We also sent a team to spend the day at the former Sherwood Colliery site in Mansfield Woodhouse. The site benefited from a new pond and around 400 native aquatic plants as a result of work by our employees.