Young’s Seafood has today (29 May) been awarded a ‘Big Tick’ for its sustainable sourcing approach in the annual Business in the Community Award (BITC) awards.

The BITC awards celebrate businesses which have a positive impact on the community, environment, marketplace and workplace. The Big Tick for Young’s is the result of an entry by parent company, Foodvest, detailing Young’s market-leading ‘Fish for Life’ approach to responsible seafood.

Stephen Howard, chief executive of Business in the Community, says, “Those who achieve the Big Tick are leading companies… They know that they cannot build a successful sustainable business without constantly showing their commitment to being a better business.”

A Big Tick is both a hard won and a prestigious award – entries are scrutinised by a panel of independent assessors and only 39% of entrants are successful.

Jim Cane, managing director of Young’s, says, “We are delighted to have received this important accolade, which is another major endorsement for our sustainable seafood approach. It also highlights Young’s as Britain’s most trusted seafood brand.”

As well as winning a Big Tick, the Young’s and Foodvest entry has been shortlisted as one of four category finalists to go forward into the national BITC Examples of Excellence judging, winners of which are announced in July at a prestigious ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Fish for Life also won two awards in 2007 – the Seafish Award for Outstanding Achievement and the IGD Award for Environmental Sustainability.

Notes for Editors

Business in the Community and The Big Tick

The Big Tick is awarded to companies able to demonstrate excellence in the way that they organise and integrate their responsible business practices and who can show a positive impact both on society and on the business.

Business in the Community is a charity that mobilises business for good. With more than 850 companies in membership, it represents 1 in 5 of the UK private sector workforce and convenes a network of 112 global partners in 60 countries. These members commit to integrating responsible business, sharing experience and taking collaborative action. This is achieved through campaigns, programmes, awards, benchmarks and publications.

The annual BITC awards have been running for eleven years and are supported by HRH Prince of Wales, as president of BITC who says, “The recipients of these awards show outstanding commitment and energy - and demonstrate what can be achieved when businesses bring about change."

More information at www.bitc.org.uk