East Midlands Chamber Business Awards returning for 2021 with a new category to celebrate collaborations

A brand-new category for Collaboration Project of the Year has been introduced for the 2021 awards to celebrate success stories of pioneering partnerships within Chamber membership.

There’s also a new-look Excellence in Innovation award, which replaces the Innovation in Manufacturing category as more ground-breaking firms are invited to showcase how they are pushing boundaries in their sectors.

Fresh off the back of virtual ceremonies being held for the first time across the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire Business Awards throughout November and December 2020, entries are now open for this year.

Scott Knowles, East Midlands Chamber chief executive, said: “Last year’s Business Awards provided a fantastic opportunity to celebrate some of the amazing success stories witnessed in the East Midlands during what was one of the most challenging years in memory for business.

“It was also a unique event in the history of the awards in that we held it online for the first time, but this in no way took anything away from three truly remarkable virtual ceremonies.

“While we don’t quite know what 2021 will bring, we’re braced for continued disruption followed by signs of recovery, and we can be certain that there will be many more examples of incredible innovation, growth and resilience among our members.

“These awards are a great opportunity to shout about what our region has to offer and the Chamber, along with our sponsors, whose continued support enables us these celebrations to happen, can’t wait to read another set of high-quality entries.”

Alongside the new awards, there will also be a return for the Environmental Impact Award introduced last year, as well as old returning favourites such as Apprentice of the Year, Community Impact, Excellence in International Trade and Small Business of the Year.

There will also be an overall Business of the Year for each county chosen by headline sponsor Mazars. Last year’s winners were PR Marriott Drilling (Derbyshire), Air IT (Nottinghamshire), and db automation and Premier Bowl Feeders (Leicestershire).

The deadline for entries this year is Friday, May 7, and finalists will be announced on Thursday, June 30.

Winners will be chosen by a panel including members of the Chamber’s leadership team and board, as well as sponsors, and announced at awards ceremonies for each county at the end of this year.

For more information and to enter the Chamber Business Awards, visit www.emc-dnl.co.uk/businessawards2021.

Enquiries about sponsorship opportunities can be sent to partnerships manager Sanjib Sahota on [email protected] or 07776 596889.