Craft brewery supporting ex-offenders wins award sponsored by Oxford Brookes Business School
More than 450 guests representing the best of local businesses attended the 2023 Oxfordshire Business Awards on Friday night (9 June) hosted by Oxford Brookes University.
Now firmly established as a benchmark for excellence, the Oxfordshire Business Awards (OXBA) started in 1994 in order to recognise the achievements of thousands of the county’s businesses, large and small.
This year’s winners across 13 award categories were revealed at the black tie dinner hosted by writer and comedian, Dom Joly, which took place in the University’s John Henry Brookes building.
This year Oxford Brookes Business School, with its Help to Grow Management Programme, sponsored a brand new award for 2023, the Purposeful Business Award. Judges were looking for evidence of embedded practices that benefit not only customers and staff, but also local communities and the planet.
The award was won by Tap Social Movement, a craft brewery and hospitality organisation that creates employment and training opportunities for ex-offenders.
Professor Tim Vorley, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Oxford Brookes Business School, described Tap Social Movement as an inspirational organisation.
He said: “Tap Social are walking the talk as a purposeful business. They are a worthy winner of this category and demonstrate the social good that a growing business can have. Sponsoring this award was borne from our own mission and vision, and we felt that Tap Social are making a real difference to individuals and the wider community.”
Oxfordshire Business Awards chairman Paul Lowe said: “We congratulate the winners and the finalists and in fact every company which took the time to enter. For 27 years, the Oxfordshire Business Awards has championed businesses and individuals who have made a positive impact in Oxfordshire. The OXBA continues to recognise and celebrate the entrepreneurs, businesses and indeed people, who make Oxfordshire such a vibrant place to work and live.”