SOUTHAMPTON-based graphic design company Total Coverage has been crowned Sustainable Business of the Year for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in the competition’s most closely-fought finals yet.
Having secured the title of Micro Business of the Year earlier in the ceremony, they were called back at the end to receive the highest honour.
Judges praised the winner for its “holistic approach” to sustainability. Operating as a co-operative, the six-worker firm has made significant savings in its energy consumption, through use of technologies and reducing waste. Its commitment to tackling carbon emissions secured its position as environmental champions, but it was its dedication to staff and its consideration of social impact which made it stand out.
Four other outstanding category winners were named alongside Total Coverage at the Daily Echo-backed awards, which took place at Southampton’s De Vere Grand Harbour Hotel.
The Mill at Gordleton, a New Forest hotel, won the Small Business category after being unanimously named victors for an impressive commitment to the environment in a way which judges said “noticeably benefits both the business itself and the local economy”.
Accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers’s Southampton office won the closely fought Large Business award, going beyond the already high standards set by its parent company, particularly through encouraging staff to participate in improving the company’s performance. Test Valley salad producers Vitacress, following its success in the large business category last year, won the Leadership Award.
Unique ‘soil-less turf’ producers Wildflower Turf from Basingstoke won the Innovation and Technology section. Two further businesses – the Marwell Preservation Trust near Winchester and Southampton-based legal firm Paris Smith, were jointly highly commended in the medium business category.
Alan Stevens, chairman of the Sustainable Business Partnership which organises the awards said: “Without a doubt these were the most tightly contested Awards yet – we witnessed a huge increase both in the number of applicants and in the quality. Local firms really are leading the way when it comes to sustainable business.”

Courtesy of Daily Echo

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