“All you need to do is send in an online profile of your business, add some basic information on why you are the best at what you do, and the judges will follow up with a visit. It’s that simple.”
A new category has been added — the Hawke’s Bay Today/Newstalk ZB Excellence in Sustainability Award, which will acknowledge businesses leading the way in their sustainability journey, no matter the size.
Continuing awards are the ContainerCo Best Emerging Business Award (turnover under $7 million a year), T&G Global Best Established Business Award (turnover of more than $7 million a year) and the Southeast Asia Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence in Innovation Award.
“We know New Zealanders can be a bit shy to promote themselves, so we have awards that anyone can be nominated for,” Ms Liddle said.
“Back for another year is the ever-popular Napier Port Unsung Heroes Award for someone who goes above and beyond in their role to support the business. Anyone can nominate a person for this category.”
Any exporter located from Gisborne to Pahiatua is eligible for the awards. Judging criteria include core operations and achievements related to export activities, and award entrants will also receive site visits by the judging panel.
Entries close on June 10 and site visits take place late June and early July.
Finalists will be announced on July 8 for the awards gala dinner at August 1 at Toitoi Hawke’s Bay Arts and Events Centre.
Ms Liddle said they recognised and apprecated the difficulties exporters had been through and continued to face this year.
“This is the first growing season we have had since Cyclone Gabrielle and it has been difficult to know what to expect. A wet spring resulted in challenging growing conditions for the primary sector. That, coupled with volatile and vulnerable offshore markets, has made it an especially tough year for our exporters.
“These awards are the perfect opportunity to take a breather, meet up with like-minded people to celebrate our successes, share experiences and rebuild some energy for the next year.
“There’s an award category for every type of export business. It’s not about being the largest enterprise. It’s about sharing your unique story and why you excel at what you do.
“The Government has signalled its intent for exports to double, and to do this we need to be doing everything we can to help to make sure the policy settings are in place to support exporters. Talking about the good parts, yes, but also highlighting some of the challenges and looking at how we communicate that with Government to drive change that supports exporters will be a key focus for the ExportNZ network this year.”
ASB head of international trade Mike Atkins said: “It’s positive to see the Gisborne Hawke’s Bay region continuing to recover strongly from Cyclone Gabrielle and the local export sector has played a critical role in this.
“We’ve been inspired by the resilience and community spirit over the past 14 months. This year’s judges will have a difficult job on their hands.”
Entry forms, criteria requirements and registration forms for the awards dinner are available from www.exportnz.org.nz, or by emailing Ms Liddle on amanda@exportnz.org.nz
