Sunderland City Council urges firms to enter Sunderland Echo Business Excellence Awards

Sunderland City Council is backing the Business Excellence Awards 2023 - and you could be among the winners.

The authority is sponsoring both the overall ~Business of the Year and the Sustainable Initiative of the Year categories, and leader Cllr Graeme Miller is urging firms of every size to get involved.

"It is very important to support the Sunderland Echo Business Excellence Awards, which highlight all the great work that our businesses large and small are doing across the city," he said.

"It is entirely appropriate to recognise the work being done by individuals and teams to make Sunderland the best place to come and do business."

This year's presentation ceremony will take place at the Stadium of Light on Thursday, November 16 - and there is still time to sign up.

Entries for the 2023 awards are now open and you've got until 6pm on Friday, October 6, to stake your claim to a place on the shortlist.

As well as the council as headline sponsor, category sponsors include the North East BIC, City Dental, Sunderland College, Chameleon Training, Sunderland University, Thompson Waste, Audi Lookers & Trustmark Roofing and Building Supplies.

Coun Miller is delighted with the role the awards play in spotlighting the contribution every business makes to Sunderland's economy, no matter the size: "We have got the likes of Nissan, Ocado and Envision AESC and all these other large businesses, but we have also got our amazing smaller and medium enterprises who are busy across the city," he said.

"Don't miss out."

This year's award categories are:

• SME Business of the Year (sponsored by the North East Sunderland BIC);
• Large Business of the Year (sponsored by City Dental);
• Best Independent Business;
• Social Enterprise of the Year;
• Retail, Hospitality & Leisure Business of the Year
• Apprentice/Trainee of the Year (sponsored by Chameleon Training)
• Sustainable Initiative of the Year (sponsored by Sunderland City Council);
• Innovation Award (sponsored by Sunderland University);
• Business in the Community Award; (sponsored by Mobility Care)
• Employer of the Year; (sponsored by Sunderland College)
• Entrepreneur of the Year (sponsored by Thompson Waste);
• Lifetime Achievement Award (sponsored by Audi Lookers);
• Best Business Transformation (sponsored by Trustmark Roofing);
• Business of the Year (sponsored by Sunderland City Council).

To enter, visit www.sunderlandbusinessawards.co.uk

For information on sponsoring an outstanding category, email [email protected] or call  07555 140 840.