Awel Aman Tawe has been shortlisted in the UK Social Enterprise Award, recognising it as one of the leading social enterprises in the UK.
Awel Aman Tawe is a finalist in the Environmental Social Enterprise category. It is a charity which engages people in climate change projects and has set up two co-ops, Egni and Awel to help achieve those aims. Egni Coop is currently undertaking a Share Offer to fund the biggest rollout of rooftop solar in Welsh history and has raised over £700k from members across the UK www.egni.coop. Last year, Egni and Awel Coop (an award-winning community wind farm) saved 3,300 tonnes of carbon emissions, engaged more than 20,000 people and created 3 jobs.
Social enterprises are businesses which trade for a social or environmental purpose. There are 100,000 social enterprises in the UK contributing £60bn to the UK economy, each one being set up to tackle some of the biggest challenges we face from homelessness to climate change.
The UK Social Enterprise Awards run by Social Enterprise UK, the national membership body for social enterprises, recognise the nation’s most pioneering social enterprises. Awel Aman Tawe will be joining other shortlisted organisations at the prestigious awards ceremony held at London’s iconic Guildhall on 4 December.
Previous winners have included a coffee company set up to create jobs for people who are homeless, an employee owned community health care provider and a company set up to tackle funeral poverty.
Commenting on being shortlisted, Director of Awel Aman Tawe, Dan McCallum MBE said,
“We are honoured to be recognised in this way. With climate change now seen as a key issue in the UK, it is vital that social enterprise offers solutions to engage people, schools and the whole of civil society in climate change action. With our Egni Coop Share Offer still open and having raised over £700k for rooftop solar, we hope this recognition will enable us to secure more investment and reach our target of 5000kw of solar installed on roofs by March 2020.
Commenting on the Awards, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK Peter Holbrook said:
“Every year the standards of applications for the UK Social Enterprise Awards gets higher and higher. At a time when public confidence in business is at a low and when we are facing crises both political and environmental – this year’s shortlist shows how business can be used to build a better world.”
About social enterprises
Social enterprises are businesses which trade for a social or environmental purpose that reinvest or donate over half their profits to further this social or environmental mission. They are an increasingly important part of the UK economy contributing £60 billion and employing 2 million people. Estimates are there are 100,000 in the UK. Research carried out by Social Enterprise UK, the membership body for the sector, shows they are outperforming traditional businesses when it comes to start-up rates, turnover growth and innovation. They are also ahead of the pack when it comes to workforce diversity and pay. For more information and statistics see Social Enterprise UK’s State of Social Enterprise Report: The Future of Business and the ‘Hidden Revolution’ report, launched in September 2018 which showed the true scale and impact of the sector.
About Social Enterprise UK
Together with our members we are the voice for social enterprise in the UK. We build markets, undertake research, provide information and tools, share knowledge, raise awareness and campaign to create a business environment where social enterprises thrive. Our members range from local grass-roots organisations to multi-million-pound businesses.