The Phone Co-op has been named Best Social Enterprise at the Enterprising Solutions Awards 2008. 

The UK's only telecommunications cooperative collected their award from Kevin Brennan MP, Minister for the Third Sector, at the awards ceremony at London's Victoria & Albert Museum on 20 October.

The Minister praised all the evening's winners saying: "This year's winners of the Enterprising Solutions Awards provide yet more inspiring examples of the innovative, often unique ways in which someone can make our country better by combining social drive with real business acumen."

The Phone Co-op, which will receive a cash prize of £10,000, has proven to be hugely successful in a highly competitive market, enjoying steady growth over the past ten years, and applying ethical and environmental policies to all aspects of the business, including operating a transparent pricing policy and promoting greener travel. It has also created two separate funds to support the growth of newand developing social enterprises.

Chief Executive Vivian Woodell said: "We are truly honoured to receive this award. The Phone Co-op set out to prove that the co-operative model could be applied in an industry which is now a fundamental part of modern society. Our success and continued growth demonstrate that consumers and businesses alike are increasingly interested in using suppliers with a fair and sustainable approach to business."

The winner of the Best NewSocial Enterprise Award was Sunlight Social Enterprises CIC. A community driven social enterprise based in Gillingham, Kent that tackles health and social inequality in the surrounding community. It was founded in 2006 in order to manage six different social enterprise businesses that offer a variety of employment and learning opportunities to local people.
 
The other winners on the night were: CEiS,  a leading enterprise support agency in Scotland; NMC Design+Print a successful design company addressing social exclusion and lack of employment faced by people with neuromuscular conditions in Winsford, Cheshire; and The Wise Group in Glasgow who help unemployed people find and keep a job through a range of support, training and work experience programmes.

The three other finalists andthe winner of the New Social Enterprise Award will receive £5,000 each.

Fyndoune Community College was the first winner of the newest award, Best Social Enterprise in Schools, and received a £1,000 cash prize. The College runs a social enterprise called Water Works that funded a well in Ghana through the sale of bottled water. A second enterprise, pPod, encourages young people and members of the local community to work together on farming allotments, and then sell the produce at a farm shop.

For more information, please visit  http://www.enterprisingsolutions.org