Plymouth College company, Ecovation, has won the Young Person's Social Enterprise of the Year category in the Social Enterprise Awards England. Founded last September by a team of inspiring Sixth Formers, Ecovation will go through to the UK finals along with other social enterprises from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Leader of the Labour Party, Ed Miliband, will speak at the high profile event, being held on 30th March at The O2 in London.
The company builds and sells products to help the environment, including the Ecofeeder, a birdfeeder which turns hold household kitchen food waste into bird food, to help reduce landfill. The team pledges to give away a percentage of profits to help improve the local and global environment and turned down an offer of private investment because they want to stay true to their values.
There are 62,000 social enterprises in the UK, contributing over £20 billion to the economy and employing nearly a million people. Social enterprises are businesses, but exist first and foremost to make a positive difference to society or the environment. Profits are reinvested rather than given to shareholders and owners. They operate in almost every industry in Britain, from health and social care to renewable energy, from retail to recycling, from employment to sport, from housing to education.
The awards are organised by the Social Enterprise Coalition (SEC), the national membership body for social enterprise.
Michael Daniel, joint Managing Director of Ecovation CIC, said: "Social enterprise is the legal structure of the future. It is the only type of business to place real emphasis on the importance on all stakeholder groups. We are elated to have won this award and hope that our project can inspire others to follow suit."
The Social Enterprise Coalition's Chief Executive, Peter Holbrook, said: "Ecovation must be congratulated on their win because they were up against some really stiff competition. The team is doing amazing work and we hope they can build on their early success and continue to do great things for their community."
