ESSEX GREEN. ESSEX Awards. greener lives, greener business, greener future. Creating a Greener County. September 2014

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1 ESSEX GREEN greener lives, greener business, greener future. Creating a Greener County September 2014 GREEN ESSEX Awards greener lives, greener business, greener future.

2 Zero Above, The Write Impression and Business Connected are three of the regions most connected organisations. With an award winning design studio, an established PR firm with extensive press connections and a successful networking group with a presence in Colchester, Chelmsford, Southend and Thurrock, the work to create the Greener Essex programme is already in place: A targeted campaign, PR and marketing to raise awareness and drive interest Multi-channel marketing provided by Zero Above and Business Connected including Social Media, SEO, website and digital marketing assets for use by all parties A Business Connected database of over 43,000 individuals, businesses and organisations in Essex to invite to take part A ready made awards event with Business Connected, the region s most successful networking group removing the costly and time consuming aspect of creating an event Strong integrated knowledge of the organising partners to target over 328,000 organisations in the county Zero Above is a sustainable design agency delivering award winning work to its clients. Having been involved in numerous awards over the last 4 years as winners, sponsors and judges, the agency has identified an opportunity to drive the environmental agenda within the county through the creation of a Greener County Awards programme and an Essex Green 100 membership scheme. The awards and greenest county initiative is designed to recognise and reward companies, organisations, community projects, education establishments and charities within the county of Essex for their efforts to reduce their carbon footprints and improve environmental performance. It is also designed to act as a link between business and the community who have a shared responsibility for the environment. The scheme is unique for the county, with nothing focused on the people of Essex currently. This is very much about creating a greener essex through greener lives, greener business and a greener future for all. The involvement of Essex County Council and Colchester Borough Council is a critical aspect to the success of the Green Essex Awards. The involvement and subsequent endorsement will help promote the opportunity to a wider audience of both community and business. ECC and CBC will provide a crucial link between business and community projects with their network of initiatives and connections to bolster the business connections of Business Connected. It will also provide recognition for ECC and CBC of their environmental work as well as recognition for good work to improve the environment in the county. Create a county wide scheme that promotes environmental improvements to business and community organisations, reflecting a shared responsibility Engage with and inform organisations who are interested in improving their carbon footprint, business/organisation or are exploring the benefits of such to improve business performance Recognise organisations who are committed to and continuously improve their green standing Provide a vehicle for ECC and CBC to raise awareness of initiatives and opportunities to link the shared responsibility for the environment of community and business to improve their performance Provide accreditation for businesses and organisations who are making stringent efforts to manage their environmental impact Encourage best-practice sharing of environmental practices between community and business across the county Provide businesses, organisations and community projects with a vehicle to improve their corporate and social responsibility performance Create sponsorship opportunities for businesses who have a supporting interest in the green agenda in Essex 2 3

3 The ten award categories have been created to recognise the diversity of business, community and not for profit organisations who deliver: Greenest business Greenest product or innovation Greenest community project Greenest transport Greenest building Greenest school or educational establishment Best renewable energy project Waste and recycling Local food and drink champion Water management GREENEST SCHOOL OR EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENT: Schools and colleges are some of the leaders in environmental improvements and this award will recognise the best in the county. WASTE AND RECYCLING: An award open to all, particularly those reducing waste to almost zero through excellent recycling and waste reduction. WATER MANAGEMENT: Future water resources in the region are projected to be at crisis point and this award is designed to raise awareness of the importance of conserving water and reducing usage by schools, businesses, communities that are taking innovative approaches towards saving our water resources. BEST RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT: Schemes that have taken innovative approaches to projects (including funding) are the target of this award, particularly those that directly benefit the wider community. LOCAL FOOD AND DRINK CHAMPION: This award provides an opportunity for often forgotten champions of the important aspect of local food production reducing transport. GREENEST BUSINESS: To recognise businesses that have directly improved their environmental performance and subsequent business performance through cost savings. GREENEST PRODUCT OR INNOVATION: Targeting businesses or organisations that have developed something that has greatly helped or improved environmental performance. For example, Zero Above won this category in the Suffolk Green Awards for the development of a carbon monitoring app, freely available to all. GREENEST COMMUNITY PROJECT: An award for a community organisation or group who are working to improve their own local environment or wider area. GREENEST TRANSPORT: This category looks to encourage entries from organisations, businesses and educational establishments who have made significant inroads into reducing carbon through green travel, particularly recognising good examples of the Council s own travel schemes. GREENEST BUILDING: An award for the greenest building (from the commercial or domestic sector) and can be for a new build, development or refurbishment project. 4 5

4 Awards are an excellent vehicle for raising awareness of great work and striving for improvements to a more sustainable life. The Essex Green 100 is seen as a scheme for businesses, organisations and community projects to receive recognition for great work in the core fields of environmental sustainability including: Recycling and waste management Green travel Green energy The Green 100 will be selected based on a range of question criteria delivered through a dedicated website, focusing on encouraging participation and sharing best practice. Provide recognition for efforts to reduce carbon footprints with annual membership Encourage organisations to take part, thus improving their carbon footprint Support other initiatives such as green travel An accessible entry-point for organisations of all types to take part Clear assessment process for a fair assessment Online audit process of practices Sponsoring and endorsement of the campaign, adding credibility and gravitas Promotion through communication channels with supplied assets to business and community organisations Provide relevant people to be part of the judging panel August 2014 Agreement to take part by Essex County Council and Colchester Borough Council September 2014 Marketing and PR strategy and plan developed September 2014 Marketing to acquire sponsors commences November 2014 Greener Essex Awards and Essex Green 100 campaign launches - call for entries February 2015 Entries close March 2015 Green Essex Awards winners chosen and Essex Green 100 selected March 2015 Essex Green 100 announced April 24th 2015 Green Essex Awards Breakfast takes place 6 7

5 SPONSORSHIP CATEGORIES 11 sponsorship categories will be available: DUAL CATEGORY SPONSORSHIP PACKAGE For those organisations sponsoring 2 categories, the package features all of the above investments plus: Additional 6 tickets to the awards breakfast Free full page feature in Business Connected or industry publication to be used in 2015, in an edition of your choice - designed by Zero Above and copywritten by The Write Impression ESSEX GREEN 100 SPONSORSHIP For the organisation sponsoring the Essex Green 100 category, the package features all of the above investments plus: Cover feature on the special awards edition of Business Connected - designed by Zero Above 4 minute speaking slot at the awards breakfast with a presentation designed by Zero Above 1 day studio design time at Zero Above or 3 press releases written and sold in, on a subject of your choice CATEGORY SPONSORS As an award sponsor, we will promote the awards and your organisation to a audience across the county over a range of digital marketing platforms and traditional media. This means you will be acquiring additional marketing value when compared with many other awards programmes, that are often focused on newsprint only. For those choosing to sponsor 2 categories or the Essex Green 100, additional benefits packages are included. These are detailed below. ONE CATEGORY SPONSORSHIP PACKAGE Full page feature in the special awards edition of Business Connected - designed by Zero Above and copywritten by The Write Impression Dedicated page on the Greener Essex Awards website, with dynamic links to your own website Full SEO and digital advertising campaign in Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter to a regional audience of business, charities, community groups and other organisations on over 328,000 profiles Full marketing of the awards to Business Connected s database of 43,000 Essex based organisations Dedicated press campaign, with 2 articles and features on each sponsor over a six month period, October 2014 to March 2015 Promotion through the Business Connected website and social media platforms 4 tickets to the awards breakfast including your photograph, which will also be featured in Essex Life 8 9

6 NOTES: 10 11

7 For further information contact Simon Isaac, Strategy Partner at Zero Above Telephone: