Camelot, the operator of the National Lottery, has been named the winner of the All-Party Parliamentary Corporate Responsibility Group’s (APCRG) Responsible Business Champion Award.
The APCRG presented the annual award to Camelot for its responsible business practices, recognising how it has gone beyond mere compliance with legal and contractual obligations to support the local community in Watford – where the company has been based since The National Lottery’s launch in 1994.
Local MPs Gagan Mohindra and Dean Russell nominated Camelot for the prestigious award, which was judged by Parliamentarians, for the company’s impact in their constituency.
Camelot was selected as the winner based on a number of key engagements and initiatives it continues to deliver for charities and its employees in the local area. The judges were particularly impressed with Camelot’s response to the pandemic – both for its employees and the local community.
For instance, a number of local charities benefit from Camelot’s community investment programme, ‘Living Life Changing’, whereby employees commit time and money to these charities through volunteering and fundraising. The company also has long-standing partnerships with local charities – Watford Mencap, The Watford Peace Hospice and The Conservation volunteers – working closely with each of them to support volunteering and fundraising events. Elsewhere, Camelot has provided donations to local community organisations, such as the Watford and Three River’s Trust for its Covid-19 appeal, as well as donations on a national scale, for example to the Daily Mail’s ‘Computers for Kids’ campaign and The Sun’s Ukraine Fund in support of the Red Cross.
Other areas that helped Camelot secure the award include healthy workplace initiatives, such as Camelot’s ‘Place To Be You’ programme, which encourages a diverse and inclusive working culture. Its mental health schemes, which provide support for employees inside the business, also extend into the community – with a £30,000 donation last year to the Watford Mental Health First Aid project launched by Dean Russell MP in partnership with the local Watford Chamber of Commerce.
Camelot’s work in apprenticeships and the environment was also instrumental in its nomination and its winning of the award. Following the success of the pilot ‘Lead Your Way’, an apprenticeship partnership with West Herts College, Camelot now has a further 44 people working towards an apprenticeship in coaching, management and leadership and specialist qualifications. And since September 2020, Camelot has been the proud sponsor of Watford Borough Council’s ‘Beryl Bikes’ scheme. Unmissable in the local area, 74 bike bases provide over 300 pedal and e-bikes within a five-minute walk for 86% of the Watford population. In 2021/22, 107,704 journeys covering 276,136 kilometres were made - saving approximately 9.8 tonnes of CO2.
Camelot’s Head of Corporate Responsibility, Alison Gardner, commented, “I'm absolutely delighted that Camelot has been named this year's winner of the All-Party Parliamentary Corporate Responsibility Group's Responsible Business Champion Award. We've always taken both our role in the local community and our duty to operate The National Lottery in a socially responsible way very seriously – and this award is testament to that. I'm proud of every team at Camelot that has helped make this happen, and I’d like to say a huge thank you to Gagan Mohindra MP and Dean Russell MP for nominating us.”
Gagan Mohindra MP, commented, “I was very pleased to nominate Camelot for the award, and for them to go on and win it is credit to them and their incredible work in the local community – congratulations on such a massive accomplishment. I know how seriously Camelot’s ethos as a responsible business underpins everything they do and, as the steward of The National Lottery, they take their duty to operate in a socially responsible way extremely seriously.”
Dean Russell MP, commented, “I personally know first-hand the massive difference that Camelot makes to the local area through its charity work, environmental and workplace initiatives, and much more – all of which make our local community a better place. In particular, we have a strong shared focus on wellbeing, and have worked together on a mental health initiative that has helped to support the mental health of our town."
APCRG Co-Chair, Jonathan Djanogly MP, commented, "First I would like to congratulate Gagan Mohindra MP for nominating – and Dean Russell MP for supporting – Camelot, so that we could celebrate the great work of this company. We were impressed by all aspects of their nomination: from its support for apprenticeships and employees, its commitment to ensure that suppliers act responsibly, its efforts to lower its environmental impact, and its strategic vision to improve diversity and inclusion. Above all, we were particularly impressed by its incredible support for the local community and its charitable work. It is a great example for other companies to emulate and we are delighted to have it as our 2022 National Responsible Business Champion."
