High Sheriff’s Awards for Enterprise
In partnership with the University of Chester
The Awards are open to businesses and charities of any size that are based in Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire East, Halton and Warrington.
Welcome to the High Sheriff’s Enterprise Awards 2024/25. I am delighted that you have landed here. The Enterprise awards are focused on you, your team and your organisation. We want to celebrate your hard work, flair, creativity, and innovation and the many other aspects that enable your organisation to be successful. The Awards are a wonderful way to celebrate your achievements and are now an important date in Cheshire’s annual calendar, so we hope to see you there.
The date for our presentation evening will be in March 2025, the venue being the prestigious Churchill House, home of University of Chester’s Business School.
The partnership between University of Chester and The High Sheriff of Cheshire enables business and academia to work together to ensure we have the skills, people and innovative climate we need in Cheshire to achieve our vision to be the most sustainable, healthy, inclusive and growing economy. And we want to celebrate you and your organisation, the people of Cheshire, that bring that vision to life.
As a business leader and entrepreneur focused on leadership and strategic engagement who has coached, facilitated and chaired boards, senior management teams and leaders across the globe over the last 30 years working across many industry sectors, I know that you will have had to make difficult decisions, worked hard and been very determined. I also recognise that award applications processes can be time consuming, so we have made a couple of small changes. We have consolidated the awards and linked them to the King’s Enterprise Awards’ categories, so that you can build on the work and time you put into these awards if you decide to apply for a King’s Enterprise Award.
So, whether you are a pan-global business or charity, an entrepreneurial startup or anywhere in between, share your story with the experienced judges of these awards. As High Sheriff I want to celebrate your achievements and profile the success that you are achieving that embodies all that is progressive in Cheshire and the UK.
This year includes some categories that profile more overtly than previously issues around environmental sustainability and also social mobility, both of which reflect early 21st century imperatives. The range of award categories are designed in part to include at least one within which any business or charity can participate. I do hope that you wish to do so.
I would also like to thank our sponsors: Grosvenor, Barlow, Mornflake, EA Technologies, and Warrington Borough Council. Thank you for enabling the awards and for sharing your expertise and knowledge.
Clare Hayward MBE DL
High Sheriff of Cheshire 2024/25
About the High Sheriff
The Office of High Sheriff is more than 1,000 years old, though in modern times it is dictated by the Sheriffs Act 1887. It is a royal appointment that involves upholding the values of the country’s justice system.
Originally the High Sheriff held many of the powers now vested in high court judges, magistrates, local authorities and coroners.
Today’s duties include attendance at royal visits to the county, support for His Majesty’s High Court Judges when on circuit and taking an active part in supporting and promoting voluntary organisations within the County.
The Office of Sheriff is an independent non-political Royal appointment for a single year. The High Sheriff’s Awards for Enterprise ceremony takes place at the end of each Cheshire High Sheriff’s term in office. A more contemporary role involves supporting and encouraging voluntary and statutory organisations and highlighting all aspects of success in the community.
You can find out more about the role of the High Sheriff on the Official website for the High Sheriff of Cheshire.
Award Categories
Your application must show that your organisation:
- is based in Cheshire, Halton or Warrington
- is a self-contained enterprise under its own management and complete its own accounts
- can demonstrate strong environmental, social and governance practices
Your organisation can be a business, charity, non-profit or in the public sector.
We are keen to support businesses, charities and public sector organisations to apply for the Kings Award for Enterprise or the Kings Award for Voluntary Service and therefore have aligned our criteria to these to help create opportunities for Cheshire, Halton and Warrington applications.
Each of the award categories has additional entry criteria.
To be considered for this award, your organisation must evidence how you have created, developed and/ or sustained an innovation. Please evidence how you demonstrate strong environmental, social and governance practices and provide evidence of at least one of the following:
- an innovation that has not been sold before or an innovative improvement to an existing product/process or service
- that the innovation has or will generate a profitable return
- an innovative product, service or process that has environmental benefits
- an innovative product that has increased productivity
To be considered for this award, your organisation must evidence how you’ve achieved outstanding sustainable development. Please evidence how you demonstrate strong environmental, social and governance practices and provide evidence of at least one of the following:
- evidence of the benefits or positive outcomes of your actions or interventions
- how your company and its senior leaders pioneer sustainable development in your sector or community
- how you have overcome the challenges often associated with implementing a sustainable development
You might like to read the United Nations sustainable development goals to identify which goals are relevant to your work.
To be considered for this award, your organisation must be able to evidence how it creates opportunities for a better future for local people. Please evidence how you demonstrate strong environmental, social and governance practices and provide evidence of at least one of the following:
- evidence of providing work experience or careers advice
- evidence of mentoring
- offering interview and job-related training
- making sure your recruitment process is open to everyone
- evidence of supporting and/ or facilitating career progression
This award seeks to recognise and champion the incredible steps taken by businesses that are creating an environment for their employees to succeed. These businesses will be able to demonstrate their commitment to the health and wellbeing of their workforce.
Judges will be looking for businesses that have developed and implemented an effective, holistic strategy which has had a proven and significant positive impact on the health and wellbeing of its workforce.​
Please summarise and provide examples of how current workplace culture and practices support employee health and wellbeing and have led to employee satisfaction, retention, and increased productivity, creating a healthier and happier workforce (see examples below). Please also add any additional practices and initiatives developed by your business to support the health and wellbeing of others across the system e.g., consumers. Case studies are encouraged where possible.
Your application could focus on the following examples:
- Health and wellbeing as an organisational priority e.g. through relevant policies/strategies, employee health champions
- Health and wellbeing within management processes e.g. being included in skills/knowledge requirements of managers
- Enabling all employees to participate in decisions around practices that impact upon them e.g. contribute to plans/policies
- Promoting and supporting both physical health and mental health
- Providing initiatives to reduce waste and carbon emissions e.g. active travel schemes, reusable drinking cups/bottles.
To be considered for this award, you must be able to evidence how the nominee (young person under 30 years old) has shown entrepreneurial spirit and endeavour within their role. You may be nominated by an organisation or you may nominate yourself. You may nominate an apprentice in this category.
Please provide evidence, in relation to least one of the following, of how the young person has:
- Made a difference to the organisation or the community
- Excelled within the related apprenticeship course
- Applied the skills learnt through the course in various work environments
- Improved or developed the business
To be considered for this award, you must be able to evidence how you have achieved outstanding commercial growth over the past two years.
Please evidence how you demonstrate strong environmental, social and governance practices and provide evidence of at least one of the following:
- Scale and scope of growth over the past two years
- Impact of growth on organisation and local community