This year there are fourteen trophies up for grabs, including the prestigious Sussex Company of the Year, International Business Award and Sussex Businessperson of the Year.

To enter simply go online at www.sbawards.org.uk. You can enter up to three categories plus the Health, Work and Wellbeing category.

Sussex companies have until 27 August to prepare their applications for a chance to triumph at the most prestigious business awards in the county.

Sponsors include: BUPA International, Morgan Sindall, Lloyds TSB Com, Venture Finance, Wired Sussex, Redseven, Deloitte, NHS West Sussex, Veolia Environmental, The Argus,  Sussex Life, The Grand, Heart FM and Domestic and General.

The Awards will be presented by Nicholas Owen at the Grand Hotel, Brighton on Thursday 2 December and all finalists will receive a free place at the Awards ceremony.

Midnight’s brief is to support the company re-brand as “the low energy carbon company” and stimulate consumer interest in the recently introduced Clean Energy Cashback Scheme – also known as the Feed-In tariff (FiT).

The scheme guarantees a minimum payment for all electricity generated by the system, as well as a separate payment for the electricity exported to grid. These payments are in addition to the bill savings made by using the electricity generated on-site.  It is estimated that this technology can save households up to £200 a year on fuel bills, as well as cutting annual carbon emissions by around 1.2 tonnes.

Founded in 2008, Ensign Energy is a joint venture with leading independent wind energy developer West Coast Energy Limited for the delivery of renewable microgeneration projects throughout the UK from its established bases in England, Wales and Scotland.   Ensign is an MCS (Micro-generation Certification Scheme) accredited installer of solar photovoltaic panels, solar thermal heating, air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps.

West Coast Energy has developed over 550MW of wind energy in the last fourteen years and has a reputation for maximising the energy generating potential of a wind development project through innovative problem solving.

The joint venture combines West Coast Energy’s financial strength and expertise in the wind sector with Ensign’s technical expertise in micro renewables.

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Midnight’s campaign will seek to raise awareness of Carewatch, its people centred approach, the service and quality it offers, and the part it plays as a leader in its sector. The team will work with both regional media via Carewatch’s 140 franchises and company owned offices, and industry outlets, to promote the credibility and expertise of the new management team, its investment to support continued growth and the scope and strength of the services the company offers.

Founded in 1993, Carewatch now provides over 21,000 people of all ages with more than 200,000 hours of care and support services each week, helping people maintain independence in their own homes.

In addition to supporting elderly people, Carewatch provides support services to adults and children with learning/physical disabilities, those with mental health needs; informal carers, enabling them to take a break from their caring commitments; people with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or other long-term illness or condition; people requiring end-of-life care; people discharged from hospital and many other unique care and support situations.

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The 12-month campaign will position the company as a thought-leader outside of the main utility businesses that currently dominate the media terrain.

The West Coast Group was established in 1996 and operates throughout the UK from its base in Mold, North Wales. Its teams of experienced professionals specialise in the identification, design, planning and development of wind energy projects through to construction and operation, and in the delivery of specialist engineering services to the electrical, utility and infrastructure sectors.

Parent company, West Coast Energy, is presently involved in developing hundreds of megawatts of wind power generation for the UK’s future renewable energy needs, and to date, has secured planning permission for a range of onshore and offshore wind farms.

Midnight’s campaign will include offline, online and social media PR and will form part of a wider European relaunch, integrating with activity in France and Germany.

Central to Midnight’s remit is to develop messaging that redefines and differentiates the new Letsbuyit.co.uk proposition from its original business model.

Pauline Dubuc, co-founder, comments:  “We wanted to work with a PR partner that had proven European campaign experience and that could provide consultancy and market insight to focus our ideas into a hard hitting launch campaign. Midnight’s immediate grasp of our business objectives and challenges, as well as its online heritage, ensured it stood out from the earliest stage of the pitch. ”

Letsbuyit.co.uk’s new site is set to be unveiled in Q4 2009.

The team will focus on regional media coverage to drive teachers to register their schools online and maximise the publicity potential of the many Olympic athletes who act as mentors for the participating pupils.

Delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, the initiative is now in its seventh year and uses sport to help 11-16 years across the UK to be the best that they can be.

The latest independent figures published in September 2008 by the Institute of Youth Sport at Loughborough University found 68.7% of teachers reported the project had a positive impact on reducing bullying in their schools and 80% of pupils sustained positive impact at 12 and 24 months after the end of the project.

Previously known as Living For Sport, the scheme was renamed Sky Sports Living For Sport to reflect Sky’s investment and support of sport at all levels through rights fees, promotion, airtime and sponsorship schemes which encourage the development and participation of sport.

The Youth Sport Trust is a registered charity established in 1994 to build a brighter future for young people through sport. Its mission is to support the education and development of all young people through PE and sport.

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Following a competitive pitch, Midnight has been enlisted to raise awareness of the charity, one of the UK’s best-kept secrets.

The BTCV is a registered charity and is the UK’s largest volunteer organisations. Through its programmes and volunteer network, the organisation makes a significant impact on the environment by inspiring 300,000 people to look after more than 50,000 places.

BTCV volunteers have opportunities to take part in conservation tasks across the UK, keep-fit with BTCV Green Gym and develop new skills which can help people get back into work.

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