Yell wins Queen's Award for Enterprise - 22 April 2002
Yell, the international directories business, has won a prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise for achieving outstanding commercial success whilst at the same time ensuring work practices which benefit society, the environment and the economy.Yell won the award for its 'integrated' approach to sustainable development, demonstrating that it lay at the heart of the company’s policies in four separate dimensions - environmental, social, economic and lastly, leadership and management.
Sustainable development aims at securing high, stable levels of economic growth and employment at the same time as encouraging social progress, protection of the environment and prudent use of resources.
John Condron, chief executive of Yell, said: "We are extremely proud to have won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise.
"The issue of sustainable development is the way forward for responsible companies that care seriously about what they do, how they operate and the impact they have on their local communities and wider society.
"For many years now, Yell’s whole approach to business both externally and internally has been geared to continuous growth in line with this concept, whether it be through employment opportunities derived from our business success, our general philosophy on recycling, our energy conservation policies or our links with local schools. This is a wonderful testament to the 3,300 people in our UK business working together as one team."
To win the award, Yell had to show continuous achievement in sustainable development, contributing to outstanding improvement in levels in business performance and success over at least five years.
Yell demonstrated that the approach was enshrined in universal company policies and management practices and that it had detailed targets, objectives and internal reviews to ensure it worked well. It also showed that it had combined three widely-recognised management standards - ISO 14001 for environmental issues, OHSAS 18001 for health and safety and ISO 9001 for quality - into one single management system.
Its submission showed year-on-year improvements in its environmental and social performance, for instance, working across the UK with local authorities, schools and householders to increase recycling of Yellow Pages directories.
The awards are approved by the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, in turn assisted by a specialist advisory panel of civil servants, finance and trade specialists.
