Everyone at ATG Group was honoured and excited when it was announced that we had been successful in The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development.
For our 30 employees, the accolade is one of the highlights of an amazing journey for our business. We have grown and developed into a best-in-field company, delivering excellence in innovative, sustainable development.
The Queen’s Award is proof of that work and it recognises our talented team’s efforts over the 15 years since ATG Group was established.
In that time we have grown year on year and 5 companies now form the ATG Group, including our Ashes to Gold charity, which receives 10% of our net profits.
We provide environmental and waste solutions throughout the UK and Ireland. Our groundbreaking techniques deal with contamination including oil spills, asbestos and invasive species, such as Japanese Knotweed.
Our work means hundreds of thousands of tonnes of soil and subsoils are diverted from landfill each year. We share this expertise through CPD accredited training courses to educate our clients on sustainable development.
The Queen’s Award commended us for leading the way in sustainability in our sector; for our commercial results and efforts to reduce our company’s impact on the environment; the way we foster community sustainability through Ashes to Gold; and our exemplary social outreach programmes addressing mental health and disabilities.
Where did we learn about the Queens award?
We began working towards The Queen’s Award for Enterprise 3 years ago. It was the aim of our Managing Director Mark McKinney to reach the achievement as recognition for our innovation.
He was inspired after nominating Causeway Enterprise Agency CEO Jayne Taggart 5 years ago. Mark recognised that success would mean the company being acknowledged as the best of the best.
He explains: “As we grow the business, we knew that the award would play a crucial role in assuring clients new and old that we are at the top of our game in sustainable development.”
Why did ATG Group apply for the award?
ATG has been working towards winning this award for more than 3 years as we recognise that it is an award which says that you are the best of the best and as we grow the business we knew that the award would play a crucial role in assuring clients new and old that we are at the top of our game in sustainable development.
What has winning the award meant for your business and staff?
It is an honour to be one of only 4 companies in Northern Ireland to achieve the accolade. As the first to reach the title in Northern Ireland for 3 years, The Queen’s Award recognises the hard work of every member of our team. We are proud of the effort they have made to make us a leader in our field.
This has been an amazing journey for the ATG Group as we have grown and developed into best in field delivering excellence to our clients in sustainable development, the Queens Award is proof and recognition of more than 15 years of hard work by our amazing team at the ATG Group.
How will winning the Award benefit your business?
Within weeks of winning The Queen’s Award for Enterprise, we have already seen a real benefit in being part of an elite group of businesses across the UK.
We signed agreements with a major pharmaceutical company in the UK and Ireland to support them in providing innovation for their waste and environmental needs. And we have also secured our first contracts in Latvia and Lithuania for sustainable development on contaminated sites.
Some final comments...
While winning The Queen’s Award for Enterprise is an incredible achievement and will always be a highlight in our history, it is also a springboard for the future.
We are confident that the agreements we have already signed will be the first of many as we become recognised for our pioneering work in sustainable, environmental services. Being able to meet the stringent requirements of the UK’s highest official awards for business demonstrates our ability to work to the highest standards.
This has been a journey over a few years with the Queens Award team to improve and develop ATG Groups sustainability to a level that was sufficient to be recognised as worthy of this prestigious award, it is a great honour to be the first company in 3 years from Co. Londonderry to win this award and to be one of only 4 companies in Northern Ireland this year 2020.
Subscribe to updates from this blog, or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Leave a comment