The best in UK environmental excellence was celebrated on 1 July at the 2009 Business Commitment to the Environment (BCE) Environmental Leadership Awards in London.  12 companies received recognition for their outstanding achievements, but it was Pfizer that successfully scooped the Management Premier Award.

Founded by Sir Peter Parker in 1975, the BCE Awards scheme is one of the world's longest running environmental award schemes.  It celebrates businesses that the BCE independent judging panel recognises as meeting the commercial demands of the present, without compromising the environment for future generations. Accepting the Management Premier Award from Richard Lambert, Director-General of the CBI, Pfizer now joins a prestigious list of previous BCE Award holders including Innocent Drinks, ASDA, Unilever, M&S, Rolls Royce, Ford Motor Co and the Co-operative Group.

As a leading research-based pharmaceutical manufacturing company, Pfizer won this year’s Management Premier Award for its Green Chemistry Programme, headed up from the company’s research and development (R&D) facility in Sandwich, Kent.

The Green Chemistry Programme is helping to reduce and eliminate the use of hazardous materials in the development and manufacture of pharmaceutical products.  Pfizer has established a management system for the integration of the principles of green chemistry into key stages of the R&D timeline and the result has been a significant reduction in the use of specific laboratory solvents and downstream improvements to pharmaceutical products in development and production.

Lorraine Murtagh, Head of Green Chemistry at Pfizer, Sandwich, said: ’Pfizer is both delighted and proud to win this BCE Award. It's great to be recognised for the work we've done to improve our environmental performance; and specifically the commitment of our scientists advancing our Green Chemistry processes, who've worked really hard to enable Pfizer to be acknowledged in this way as a leader of environmental excellence.’ 

She added: ‘Our Green Chemistry Programme is delivering substantial environmental benefits throughout the world and we appreciate the recognition that the BCE Awards brings to our work.’

Winners of this year’s other Premier Awards were: River Dart Country Park, Sainsbury’s with NCR and Toyota Manufacturing UK.  Bovis Lend Lease scooped the top award, the Sir Peter Parker Award, while Major Commendations went to InterfaceFLOR, BaxterStorey, ScottishPower Renewables, Robert Wiseman Dairies, Camira Fabrics, Marshalls and Seacourt.

Praising all of this year’s winners, BCE President, Sir Anthony Cleaver, commented: ‘Never in BCE’s 35 year history has UK business faced greater economic challenges.  This year’s BCE Award winners must surely be congratulated.  They should be very proud of their outstanding achievements and held up as shining examples of how improved environmental performance can deliver significant business benefits’.

Sponsored by AEA, Blake Lapthorn, Brunswick, E.ON, Gazeley and The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, the 2009 BCE Awards once again successfully promoted the business benefits that the UK’s environmental pioneers have achieved through their endeavours and ingenuity. 

Congratulating the winners, Richard Lambert, Director-General of the CBI, said: ‘The CBI has just published its second climate change tracker, which monitors the progress of government and business towards meeting our environmental goals. It shows that much needs to be done to get us back on track, not least by business.  Today's winners are true low-carbon leaders. They have made great strides in curbing their emissions and developing some remarkable low-carbon products and services. It will be their commitment and innovation that will get us on the road to a low-carbon economy’.

Applications for the 2010 BCE Awards are now being accepted.  Any company that feels it deserves peer and public recognition for its outstanding environmental excellence and leadership should download an application form from the BCE Awards website (www.bceawards.org) and send it in before the closing date of 5 October 2009.

Photo: Lorraine Murtagh, Head of Green Chemistry at Pfizer, Sandwich accepts the 2009 BCE Management Premier Award from Richard Lambert, Director General of the CBI.