HCR has taken a holistic approach to sustainability – and the company is on a roll when it comes to winning green awards.

The relocation business has built an impressive reputation for its sustainable business practices. This includes tree planting, paper recycling and saving air miles to reduce its carbon footprint. What’s more HCR has shown that sustainability makes good business sense too.

Chuffed to bits to receive this latest INSPIRE award – HCR won Business of the Year at INSPIRE11 – business development and marketing director Adrian Leach was elated.

“This is great news and it’s wonderful to receive this local award,” said Adrian, who hopes HCR will land a national sustainability award at London’s Guildhall next Thursday.

The company, based at Belvedere House, Basing View, Basingstoke, has been selected as the South East sustainability regional winner for the British Chamber of Commerce Awards 2012.

Adrian said: “It’s actually the reduction in energy, mileage and such like that has reduced our carbon footprint, and we are the only carbon neutral relocation company in the entire world. Even in America we’ve had people coming up saying congratulations and well done.”

But reducing the company’s carbon footprint starts from home.

“We’ve planted almost an entire forest here in Basingstoke,” explained Adrian citing an example of where colleagues were joined by family and friends and have planted 1,300 trees to complete a wildlife corridor between the Crabtree Plantation and the fenland of Old Basing. “Every March, we all turn out, start digging, put in trees and make a difference that way.”

Adrian said the Sustainable Business of the Year Award will spur the company on with its green course.

“We’ll carry on reducing our carbon footprint and do everything we can,” he said. “And more importantly we’ll carry on sending the message out into the world, saying ‘if you can do what we can do, then we can all make a big difference’.”

Alexandra Eno, marketing manager at Footprint Communications, said: “I think we were impressed by the stats that HCR have, and the dedication they have had above everyone else. It’s just the breadth of what they have done, and it spans the whole of organisation.

“All of the employees are involved in this – everyone up to management – and that impressed the judges very much.”