Six London-based firms and one volunteering champion have emerged triumphant in this year’s Lord Mayor’s Dragon Awards, held by the City of London Corporation to recognise London-based companies for their commitment to responsible business and social impact.

Last night’s awards ceremony at The Mansion House saw businesses win one of the distinctive trophies for their support for financial literacy, ethnic minority young people from low-income families, regeneration projects, volunteering, and careers in film production.

The winners were Standard Chartered Bank, St George, 10x Banking, Mediorite & PwC, Tempo Time Credits, Dot Dot Fire, and Julie Tucker.

Lord Mayor Nicholas Lyons told guests that, since being launched in 1987, the awards scheme had played a fundamental role in raising the profile of businesses that have pioneered meaningful impact, changing lives, and regenerating communities.

Speaking after the awards ceremony, Lord Mayor of the City of London, Nicholas Lyons, said:

“My sincere congratulations to all of tonight’s winners for their sterling work to benefit their staff, and communities in Greater London and across the country.

“Walking away this evening with one of our Dragon Awards, they can feel rightly proud of their achievements and the tangible difference they’ve made to people’s lives.”

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THE FULL LIST OF WINNERS:

Inclusive Employment Award

Standard Chartered Bank – Futuremakers RISE Employability programme

This award celebrates businesses that remove barriers to employment and progression for disadvantaged, under-represented or minority groups, creating a more diverse and inclusive London workforce.

“Standard Chartered is absolutely thrilled that our Futuremakers RISE programme has been recognised as a 2023 Dragon Award winner in the Inclusive Employment category.

“The award fills us with immense pride as we recognise the impact achieved through RISE and our commitment to creating a diverse workforce for all. It is testament to the powerful partnerships with our colleagues, the East London Business Alliance (ELBA) and the young people in our communities who bring this programme to life.”

Sonia Rossetti, Regional Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand & Marketing, Europe & Americas, Standard Chartered Bank

RISE is an employee-led employability programme in the UK and managed by their community partner, ELBA. It is designed to respond to local needs in the context of barriers to work and progression for ethnic minority young people from low-income families. It has been developed to align with Futuremakers, the bank’s global initiative to tackle inequality and promote greater economic inclusion for disadvantaged youth. The programme has three core elements: mentorship, insights and preparation for the world of work.

Social Impact Award

St. George – Transforming Tomorrow: Community Plans

The Social Impact Award is for firms who are using their resources, expertise and influence to support a number of small businesses, social enterprises or charities in Greater London to start up, grow or become more sustainable and impactful.

“Our goal is to transform underused land into unique, well connected, and welcoming places where people and communities can thrive. 

“I’m delighted to be recognised for our work towards this goal, as the winner of a prestigious Dragon Award in the Social Impact category.  The competition is impressive, so congratulations to all of the shortlisted companies.”

Piers Clanford, Chair, St George and St Joseph Plc

St George specialises in high quality mixed-use regeneration projects across the capital. Their purpose is to strengthen communities and improve people’s lives.  A key way in which they deliver against this purpose is through bespoke Community Plans delivering locally relevant projects. This includes; Enterprise programme supporting local charities, health & wellbeing activities delivered with local charities and employment initiatives.

The main aim of their Community Plans is to deliver measurable long-term socio-economic value on every development. They assess local need using a bespoke social value tool which looks at key issues locally such as deprivation and health.

These plans have benefitted communities across a range of boroughs including; London Dock (Wapping), Southall, and Brent.

Heart of the City Award

10x Banking – Future of Tech

This award celebrates businesses that have begun to have a social impact in Greater London within the last three years. They will have demonstrated a strategic commitment to tackling social issues and put the foundations in place to deliver sustainable impact into the future. This award is especially small business (SME)-friendly, but open to businesses of all sizes.

“We are delighted to win the Heart of the City Award for 10x Banking’s Future of Tech initiative. It’s fantastic to see the incredible work of 10xers recognised, they have created hundreds of opportunities for young people in their mission to diversify the tech industry.

“I am incredibly proud of everyone involved and excited to see what these brilliant young people will go on to achieve.”

Chief Impact Officer, 10x Banking, Amanda Jenkins

10x was created to build better banks. The purpose of their Future of Tech initiative is to increase diversity in technology. 10x see the lack of diversity in technology when recruiting and hear from their employees how hard it can be to break into the industry when from an underrepresented group. They want to change this and build an industry reflective of the society in which they live by tackling inequity at the root. This initiative creates opportunities for children and young adults from diverse backgrounds in London to engage with the industry.

Its mission is to increase diversity in technology for future generations. In partnership with local schools and charities, they deliver careers workshops and advice, offer office-based work experiences and internships, and join schools-based careers events.

Social Impact Leadership

Julie Tucker from BE Offices

This special award is for an individual within a company who has made an outstanding contribution to delivering social impact.

“To be shortlisted for such a prestigious award was already a great honour but, to win it is beyond thrilling and truly means the world to me.

“Working on and volunteering for social impact initiatives in their various guises is a privilege, incredibly uplifting and hugely rewarding. It enriches my life immeasurably and has presented me with the opportunity to meet some remarkable and inspirational individuals who all deserve kudos for the amazing work they do to improve the lives of others.”

Julie Tucker, PR and Social Responsibility Manager, BE Offices

BE Offices is known for its altruism and social value initiatives. Julie has increased staff volunteering by 520% through relationships developed with charity partners and other organisations.

Chair of Aldgate Connect’s Culture and Marketing Steering Group, Julie supported the development of the Culture Mile BID as Co-Chair of the Sustainable Environment Steering Group. She was central to CharitySuper.Mkt taking part in the recent Bartholomew Fair major cultural event. CharitySuper.Mkt is the first ever shop space bringing multiple charities under one roof.

Community Partners Award

Mediorite & PwC – Mediorite & PwC Social Impact Partnership

Tempo Time Credits – Tempo Time Credits London

This award – which has been handed to two firms this year – celebrates community organisations working in partnership with businesses to achieve excellence in social impact. It recognises good practice and innovation in building and maintaining effective cross-sector partnerships that benefit Greater London.

“We are so proud to have won this award with PwC, reflecting the impacts that we’ve achieved throughout the partnership.

“Our relationship proves that, when social enterprise and business work together, it’s a powerful tool for change and we’re excited to continue to work towards our  shared vision of sustainable creative careers for diverse young people in a representative creative sector.”

Lucy Ferguson, Director, Mediorite

“We are honoured to receive the Lord Mayor’s Dragon Award, recognising Tempo Time Credits’ collaborative spirit. Our success is a result of partnerships with dedicated volunteers, community groups, and supportive local businesses.

“Together, we empower individuals to give back, nurturing vibrant, resilient communities. This award inspires us to continue our mission and create a brighter, more inclusive future. Thank you for this recognition.”

Rachel Gegeshidze, CEO, Tempo Time Credits

Mediorite is a social enterprise film production company making films for global corporates and leading charities. Nearly 90% of their revenue is from sold film services with their promise that a young person they’ve trained gains paid work on every client job they do AND 30p in the £1 spent with them will go to supporting their social aims. Their vision is for sustainable careers for diverse young people in a representative creative sector. They do this by delivering free film training, work experience and paid work for diverse young people in East London and Leeds.

The partnership with PwC aims to create opportunities for diverse young people to move into creative careers. For each film project that they work on with PwC, Mediorite ensures that the paid crew behind the camera and in the editing suite includes diverse young people.

Tempo Time Credits is funded by Haringey Council, City Bridge Foundation, L&Q Placemakers fund, CGL and the City of London Corporation to work on seven projects covering nine areas/themes. This includes supporting resident engagement, co-production of services, supporting substance misuse recovery, mental health, broader community engagement and connecting with harder to reach communities.

The Time Credits model works simply: people earn a Time Credit for each hour they volunteer. Their system records, recognises and rewards them. Reward is in the form of being able to use these Credits at hundreds of different opportunities including local and national attractions, days out, use of local leisure facilities, grocery and takeaway opportunities or they can be gifted to others. Community organisations benefit by improving recruitment and retention.

The Lord Mayor’s Special Award for Leadership in Financial Literacy

Dot Dot Fire – Money Wise Lessons

This award draws on one of Lord Mayor Nicholas Lyons’s priorities – Financial Inclusion for All – which focuses on promoting financial education in order to help people improve their mastery of money and, in turn, improve their social mobility.

“Dot Dot Fire is proud to have created the UK’s first game-based financial literacy curriculum that is loved, both, by teachers and children in a time when this nation needs it most. Winning the Lord Mayor’s Special Award for Leadership in Financial Literacy is an absolute honour for Dot Dot Fire and shows that small teams can do big things!

“We look forward to continue bringing fun and fresh financial literacy education to more young people across the country and educating a digitally and financially savvy next generation.”

Hilary Lok, Co-Founder, Dot Dot Fire

Dot Dot Fire is an educational game developer that creates video games and apps to teach life skills. Their initiative, The Money Wise Lessons, is a complete game-based financial literacy curriculum suitable for years 5 through 9. Included in its initiative are CPD training workshops for teachers, co-developed with the Newham PSHE Network Partnerships Director. Through these workshops, teachers learn how to deliver the Money Wise Lessons effectively and meet their CPD requirements along the way.

The Dragon Awards have been organised by Heart of the City, the City of London Corporation-funded charity which supports hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises with their responsible business programme.