Organised by Merton Council, the local council covering White Light's south Wimbledon base, along with South London Business and the Merton Chamber of Commerce, the awards are designed to reward and celebrate the many dynamic and innovative businesses in the borough.
White Light's nomination is in the Best Green Business category, intended to "reward companies with an environmental conscience". The nomination reflects White Light's work over the last few years both to reduce White Light's own environmental impact and to promote improved techniques, practices and equipment for reducing the environmental impact of the shows and events it supplies.
This has seen White Light involved in a wide range of activities, from investing heavily in the latest low-energy lighting equipment which is now available to all of its customers, to replacing its paper reference guide - a hugely popular tool in the lighting industry - with an iPhone App and improved website, to using filtered tap water rather than bottled water for drinking. The company has also created the White Light Green Guide to offer advice to lighting practitioners, and worked with the Mayor of London's office to help create the Mayor's Green Theatre Programme.
White Light also recently helped create the HyLight fuel-cell powered lighting system. This uses hydrogen as its fuel source, generates water as its only waste product, and so allows lighting in parks, gardens and other remote or environmentally sensitive areas that would previously have required the use of noisy, dirty diesel generators.
"We are thrilled to be shortlisted in this category," comments White Light's managing director, Bryan Raven, "because it confirms to us that the efforts, commitment and investment we've made in these areas over the last few years are as important to other people as they are to us. We congratulate our fellow 'green' nominees for their efforts, and look forward to seeing them at the presentation ceremony at the All England Lawn Tennis Club on 22 September."
(Jim Evans)
