The King’s Awards for Enterprise – United Kingdom

• innovation
• international trade
• sustainable development
• promoting opportunity through social mobility

What happens if your organisation gets an award?

• If you get an award you’ll be:
  • invited to a Royal reception
  • presented with the award at your company by one of The King’s representatives, a Lord-Lieutenant
  • able to fly The King’s Awards flag at your main office, and use the emblem on your marketing materials (for example, on your packaging, advertisements, stationery and website)
  • given a Grant of Appointment (an official certificate) and a commemorative crystal trophy
• The awards are valid for 5 years.
• Organisations that got an award have reported benefiting from:
  • worldwide recognition
  • increased commercial value
  • greater press coverage
  • a boost to staff morale

Eligibility

• To apply for the King’s Award for Enterprise your organisation must:
  • be based in the UK (including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man)
  • have a good compliance record with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) – for example, showing you pay the right amount of tax on time
  • be a self-contained enterprise that markets its own products or services and is under its own management
  • have at least 2 full-time UK employees or part-time equivalents
  • demonstrate strong environmental, social and governance practices
• Your organisation can be a business, non-profit or in the public sector.
• International Trade
  • To apply for the International Trade award, you must also:
    • have made a minimum of £100,000 in overseas sales in the first year of your entry and show year-on-year growth
    • prove that your organisation has achieved outstanding growth in overseas earnings relative to your business size and sector
    • prove steep year-on-year growth (without dips) in overseas sales over 3 years – or substantial year-on-year growth (without dips) over 6 years
• Innovation
  • To apply for the Innovation award, you must also:
    • have an innovation that has not been sold before
    • have had your innovation available on the market for at least 2 years
    • have recovered all the investments made in your innovation or show that the innovation will recover its full costs in future
    • show outstanding commercial success as a result of innovation between 2 to 5 years
  • Your innovation should be in one of the following categories:
    • invention, design or production of goods
    • performance of services
    • marketing and distribution
    • after-sale support of goods or services
• Sustainable Development
  • To apply for the Sustainable Development award, you must also:
    • show how you’ve achieved outstanding sustainable development for more than 2 years
    • give evidence of the benefits or positive outcomes of your actions or interventions
    • show how your company and its senior leaders pioneer sustainable development in your sector or community
    • show how you’ve overcome challenges with sustainability that are specific to your sector
• Promoting Opportunity through social mobility
  • To apply for this award, your organisation must have a programme that supports people from disadvantaged backgrounds in improving their job skills and their chances of finding work.
  • This includes doing one or more of the following, for at least 2 years:
    • providing work experience or careers advice
    • mentoring
    • offering interview and job-related training
    • making sure your recruitment process is open to everyone
  • You’ll need to prove the benefits for:
    • the people you’ve supported
    • your organisation
    • your employees
    • the wider community

For more information, visit Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.