Doing business can be a right royal success

As a Chamber, we’ve always encouraged businesses to put themselves up for awards and there is no accolade higher than the King’s Award for Enterprise.

It is an award that is recognised across the globe and is one of the most difficult prizes to achieve. That is why the Chamber has always been so active in urging regional businesses to apply and to offer support where it’s needed.

I am proud to say that, in September, the team at HORIBA MIRA (where I carry out my day job) will be presented with our King’s Award for Sustainable Development. The organisation has previously won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category so this is a very exciting addition to the honours list for us.

There are a whole host of factors in picking up this latest award – from supporting the automotive industry to deliver cleaner mobility solutions with investment in battery electric and hydrogen development facilities and expertise through to improving the biodiversity on our technology park.

We also have an ambition to be the world’s first carbon negative proving ground. We’ve taken major steps since 2019 and have reduced our emissions from over 10,000 tonnes of CO2 per year to just 875. We’ve made significant progress but there is more to do.

I mention this not to blow the trumpet of my employer (well, maybe a little bit!) but also to show that companies and organisations in this region can put themselves forward and win the King’s Award. I know, through the proactivity of the Chamber, the Lord Lieutenancies, and other partners in the region, our award count has risen in recent years.

The awards themselves are, of course, a real honour to receive and a great seal of approval for what you are doing as an organisation. But they also encourage you to look at the areas of a business that may need more focus. If you take the two awards that HORIBA MIRA has received over the years, they are in areas that businesses should be looking to succeed in regardless of the accolade.

International trade and sustainability are going to be two crucial factors in growing our businesses and the regional economy in the coming years, so it’s vitally important that companies look to both of those areas as opportunities for growth.

As ever, the Chamber is an ideal first port of call for support and, in fact, has two major events coming up that would be an excellent starting point for businesses in the region.

On September 19, the Chamber is hosting the Green Futures: Expo and Summit at Ashorne Hill which offers a chance to hear from a range of experts and meet businesses in this field who might be able to support the transition towards net zero.

Then, on October 11, it is the Chamber’s International Trade Summit at the Holiday Inn, Walsgrave, Coventry, which will provide an insight on how to either begin trading overseas or to expand the markets you operate in if you are already exporting.

For more information on those events or to book on, go to https://www.cw-chamber.co.uk/events/

I always find it useful to remember that the most difficult part of the journey is the first step but think where your business could be this next time next year if you take it. I hope it will be applying for a King’s Award!