Boots UK wins Britain’s most prestigious Responsible Business Award for its CSR program

10 / 07 / 2019

• CSR
• Sustainable Development

Boots UK copped UK’s most prestigious Responsible Business of the Year Award for its corporate social responsibility program (CSR).
The announcement was made at Business in the Community’s 2019 Annual Responsible Business Gala in London which was attended by nearly 1,000 business leaders and influencers.

Boots UK was named as the winner for its CSR program as the company has raised £16.6m for Macmillan Cancer Support and £12.5m for BBC Children in Need. Boots, working with Macmillan Cancer Support, has also increased accessibility of trusted information and support for people living with cancer through Boots Macmillan Information Pharmacists and Boots Macmillan Beauty Advisers.

Over 25,000 Boots UK colleagues are Dementia Friends, supporting people living with the condition and the company has helped over 10,000 young people with workplace readiness through a partnership with WE. In addition, Boots has continued to make investment in Nottingham, where it has been based for 170 years, taking the lead in local community and economic initiatives.

Sebastian James, Senior Vice President and President and Managing Director Boots UK, said: “We are thrilled that we have won the Responsible Business of the Year Award. For 170 years, responsibility for the communities in which we work has flowed through our thoughts and actions, and this award is testament to the work that all our brilliant people do right across the UK”.

Amanda Mackenzie, chief executive at Business in the Community, said: “Huge congratulations to Boots UK on the success in this year’s Responsible Business Awards. They have shown determination and ambition to keep pushing the responsible business agenda through real, tangible action.

“All our award winners understand that the only way to bring about change is to actually do something about it. Boots UK is putting responsible business practices at the core of its organisation and is helping our mission to make the UK the world leader at responsible business.”

The Business in the Community Responsible Business Awards celebrate the very best in responsible business, and aim to inspire and enlighten the world with the innovative business stories that are at the heart of every community, and to highlight the untold stories of businesses that are driving positive changes in their operations both nationally, and internationally.

Boots UK is one of 12 companies which won awards at the 2019 Business in the Community Responsible Business Awards.
Other winners included Timpson, who won the Unipart Outstanding Employment Award for its commitment to give jobs to marginalized groups and help cut re-offending rates. They offer in-prison training academies, work experience for ex-offenders and for inmates on release on temporary licence and an apprenticeship scheme.

The small business Unipart Outstanding Employment Award was won by NEMI Teas who employ refugees to run tea stalls across London food markets festivals, events and conferences allowing them to boost their English skills, gain confidence and work on skills required to enter the UK job market. The scheme has enabled 12 out of 18 refugees to go on to secure part-time and full-time jobs.
The Fujitsu Digital Innovation Award was won by ENGIE who have helped thousands of customers reduce energy consumption and reduce carbon emissions as a result of their investment in digitization and the provision of smart sensors to customers.

Unilever was named as winner of the Barclays Developing Resilience Award for their partnership with the Humanitarian Leadership Academy where they have developed a program to provide business continuity training to micro, small and medium-sized companies in the Philippines. Over a thousand business owners in the Philippines have been trained to build resilience and protect the supply chain.