Innovator of the Year Awards: Sustainability and Social Purpose

Every year, The Spectator travels the country in search of the best and boldest new companies that are disrupting their respective industries. In a series of five podcasts, we will tell you about the finalists for 2023's Innovator of the Year Awards, sponsored by Investec. The awards winners will be announced in a prize ceremony in November. This episode showcases the finalists in the Sustainability and Social Purpose category. These businesses all want to make the world a better place – whether that’s through helping reduce our emissions or giving back to the local community. They believe that business isn’t just for profit, but for a purpose. Martin Vander Weyer, The Spectator's business editor, judges the awards and hosts this podcast along with three other judges: Eva-Maria Dimitriadis, CEO of The Conduit Connect, which connects businesses with an eye to social and environmental impact with investors and mentors; Clive Bawden, chief operations officer of Warwick Music Group, a company that makes affordable instruments made from plastic and a former winner of the Innovator of the Year Awards; and Michelle White, co-head of Investec's private office. The finalists in this category are: Coracle, which provides digital education to prisoners. Beam, which supports homeless and other disadvantaged people to get jobs, homes and skills. Agricarbon, which provides affordable and accurate soil carbon audits in aid of regenerative farming. Aqua Metrology Systems Ltd, which provides water monitoring to local municipalities, to ensure their water is safe. Sunamp, which uses patented 'heat batteries' to store heat produced by heat pumps, instead of water tanks. Celtic Renewables, which produces sustainable chemicals from unwanted wastes and residues. CeraPhi, which uses the earth's heat, accessible from end-of-life oil and gas wells, to produce clean energy. NatureSpace Partnership Ltd, which helps housing developers and local authorities check for newts, a protected species, in proposed sites for building.