Water giant, scrap car enterprise and Charity Bank win major sustainable finance awards

Charity Bank, scrap car enterprise Giveacar and the water and sewage giant South West Water were among an impressive list of organisations on the awards shortlist from across the public, corporate and social sectors.

The awards identify organisations that have developed a long-term, sustainable approach to business and finance. Founded by NatWest, ICAEW and The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability project (A4S), they celebrate and reward the vital role that financial leaders and the finance function plays in creating sustainable businesses.

After a rigorous assessment process, the winners were announced during a gala awards ceremony in London last night. Other winners included managed security services firm Wilson James, corporate stationery company Easibind International and specialist further and higher education college Hadlow College. Highly commended were accountants HW Fisher, Danone and Companies House.

The evening was hosted by financial journalist and broadcaster Simon Jack and guests were welcomed by a video from Prince Charles, who praised the winners and spoke about the need to put sustainability at the heart of business.

Gaynor Coley, MD of the Eden Project in Cornwall – and herself a chartered accountant – gave an inspirational keynote speech on the need to combine brainpower, mission and courage across the business, social and government sectors.

The Not-For-Profit category, in which Charity Bank was the victor, was open to organisations that have a wider purpose beyond that of making a commercial profit and which use new and innovative business models.

Judges praised Charity Bank’s ‘unique’ model:
 ’Charity Bank has a unique financing proposition that supports depositors and investors who want to facilitate real social change. In judging this organisation’s entry, it was evident that sustainability is embedded and championed from the top, with strong leadership from the CEO.

‘Charity Bank was the first to develop a unique social banking model that creates value not only for its stakeholders but also for the wider community, essentially inventing a new and scalable form of social finance in the UK.’

Giveacar won the award for Innovative Newcomer. The judges said: 'Giveacar demonstrated a highly innovative and flexible business model which turns waste into value for social purposes and helps the environment in the process. With an excellent understanding of the market and their place in it, Giveacar has managed to successfully work across two very different industries.'

Malcolm Hayday, CEO of Charity Bank, said the award ‘recognises the dedication and hard work that has gone in to building Charity Bank over the last 10 years and, in particular, the often unheralded work of the finance team. This ethic has enabled us to respond to the needs of communities throughout the UK through the distribution of £165m in loans to over 1,000 social ventures.’

The bank’s 2012 survey of borrowers revealed that 95% of borrowers said their loan had made a major or significant contribution to the achievement of their organisation’s mission.

In the housing sector, £14.1m in loans from the bank had brought in an additional £6.6m in funds from other sources.

The awards were created to highlight financial leadership that promotes business decisions for long-term sustainable value, to encourage and celebrate accounting for sustainability; as a key to embedding sustainability; to focus on innovation and new ideas and to share best practice.

The entrants had to pass a due diligence check, and were visited on-site by a team of assessors. Finalists were then required to make a formal presentation to the panel of judges, which delved deeper into the changes to the organisation’s business model, its innovation and its plan for creating long term sustainable value.

Access to case study films and footage from the evening will be available on the Finance for the Future website.