During the past year, Director has dedicated itself to picking out those people in all sectors doing their bit to improve the reputation of business. In the following pages, we wave the flag for those who truly stand out—the recipients of the Good Director honours. They're a diverse bunch, but they share one trait—they all have a desire to make a difference

Innovation and design

Greta Corke, Jon Sawdon Smith and Richard Woods
Co-founders, DIY Kyoto
The three founders of design consultancy DIY Kyoto have created Wattson, a stylish addition to the less than glamorous world of energy monitors. Looking for all the world like an iPod docking station, Wattson is aimed squarely at eco-conscious, design-loving home owners, and uses both numbers and colours to show you exactly how much energy your home is using at any given moment-with a blue glow indicating low energy usage and a red glow warning high.

If that's not enough to make you turn off unused lights and stop overfilling the kettle, there's also an LED digital display that tells you how much you'll pay per year based on what you're using at that moment. So as well as looking good, DIY Kyoto claims that Wattson can reduce the electricity usage of an average household by up to 20 per cent. With energy prices likely to continue on an upward trend, this device should save you money and ease your conscience.

Thrilled to receive the honour, co-founder Greta Corke says: "We are excited that the power of design is being recognised for changing behaviour. We wanted to use design to do something positive rather than creating landfill. We are specialists in communication display and we've used this to help people understand their electricity bills. We'd like to do the same for water and gas. We want to make a difference to behaviour and create a global impact." www.diykyoto.com

Highly commended

David Birkett
Managing director, Serious**
In the unglamorous world of collecting and disposing of sewage, Envirotech, with Birkett at the helm, took a risk and embarked on a rebranding exercise to fend off competitors and win bigger customers. As Serious**, it's been praised for the bold redesign and turnover is up to £2.5m. A thumbs up for edgy design. www.weareserious.co.uk

Tom Raffield, Chris Jarratt and Charlie Whinney
Co-founders, Sixixis
The three founders of Cornwall-based furniture designers Sixixis all studied 3D Design for Sustainability at Falmouth College of Arts. The company makes a point of proving that sustainable can also be beautiful with a particular emphasis on furniture designs made from steamed and bent wood. www.sixixis.com

Enterprise

Nigel Kershaw
Chief executive, Big Issue Invest
Nigel Kershaw, CEO of Big Issue Invest, a provider of finance to social enterprises, believes that social enterprise will help define business in the future. "It will no longer be a question of profit and shareholder value, but of financial returns that also deliver social dividends," he says.

He's passionate about helping to pioneer and scale-up profitable enterprises that create social sustainable opportunities: "And I enjoy it at the same time," he adds. From Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Foundation to bottled water company Belu, Big Issue Invest has 15 companies in its portfolio and its dividends are paid to The Big Issue. Kershaw heads up a team of commercial brains and social entrepreneurs that provides funding for development but also expertise and guidance.

"Environmentalists were seen as the 'beard and sandals brigade' 10 years ago," observes Kershaw. "Now, the fastest growing private equity and hedge funds are based around environmental technology sectors." Social enterprise, he continues, is already worth £27bn in the UK. "You ignore it at your peril." www.biginvest.co.uk

Highly commended

Nigel Harris
Chief executive, New Philanthropy Capital
Harris has a history of charitable work. Before New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) he worked with Tearfund. NPC helps donors and charities get the most out of any amount given. www.philanthropycapital.org

Harry Rich
Chief executive, Make Your Mark
Inspiring young, would-be entrepreneurs to have a go and make their ideas happen is vital to the UK economy. And Make Your Mark is doing more than most to make it happen. www.makeyourmark.org.uk

Skills, development and education

Peter Paduh
Managing director, Maxitech
Maxitech, a computer recycling firm, has earned a host of awards for its sustainable best practice. But it has also been lauded for the training and work experience it provides to many unemployed and disadvantaged people.

This is not a box ticking exercise for its managing director Peter Paduh, who came to the UK from Bosnia in the mid-1990s with barely a penny to his name. "When I arrived as a refugee, so many people in the community helped me. I won a placement at Microsoft, and was able to progress. It taught me how important practical, workplace-gained skills are. This is my opportunity to give back."

Paduh says Maxitech has helped train 300 disadvantaged people in London. With the firm's assistance and sponsorship, he says they gain confidence, practical skills and a strong work ethic. "Some of our own employees started off as trainees. They didn't speak English very well and needed a helping hand. Now, they're senior managers," explains Paduh.

With a team of 30 at his side, he says his ambition is continued growth, as well as "helping people and the environment". He thinks his passion will ensure longevity, if nothing else. "In business, if you get the combination right between making money and doing something extra, you'll achieve success." www.maxitech.biz

Highly commended

Sir Michael Rake
Chairman, BT
He may be a lifelong accountant—he spent his career at KPMG—but Sir Michael is no bean counter. Indeed, he understands the need to invest in skills and people. He transformed the working culture at KPMG. In a sense, this honour is also in anticipation of his forthcoming role heading the Commission for Employment and Skills. www.bt.com

Jonathan Wild
Chairman, Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate
It ensures its tea and coffee are sourced from secure and well-managed stocks, but this honour is for the company's passionate commitment to educating its staff and community. It promotes cooking skills in schools and runs first aid training on site for all its staff, promoting responsibility and teamwork. www.bettysandtaylors.co.uk

Social responsibility & community involvement

Graham Clempson
European managing director, MidOcean Partners
Graham Clempson has put his business skills to good use at Pilotlight, an organisation that provides private sector expertise for small charities.
Clempson, whose day job is running private equity house MidOcean Partners, was first attracted to the Pilotlight scheme when he realised the value of providing commercial help to young charities that can't find the time to work on strategy. "They're often too busy to take a step back," he  explains. Clempson was an original "Pilotlighter", paying an annual membership fee in exchange for the chance to troubleshoot for Pilotlight's charity partners. But he soon discovered that Pilotlight also needed the same kind of assistance, and helped establish the Pilotlight Foundation.

"Graham thinks strategically and can see around corners," says Fiona Halton, Pilotlight's chief executive. "He is 100 per cent focused on our mission." Clempson relishes the chance to use his financial expertise for social gain. "I love leverage in business—it's a great way of driving impact," he explains, adding that it can be even more powerful on a social level. "It costs roughly £3,000-£4,000 a year for us to put someone in to a charity," he explains. "The value of that work to a charity is probably nearer £20,000. But it generates about £100,000 worth of increase in turnover, or scope, so there's an incredible leverage from our model." www.pilotlight.org.uk

Highly commended

Duncan Goose
CEO, Global Ethics Community
Goose's One water project uses the profits from the bottled water brand to fund the building of water pumping systems in Africa. It builds 14 PlayPumps every day. www.onewater.org.uk

Paul Barry Walsh
Fredericks Foundation
Paul Barry Walsh set up the charitable Fredericks Foundation in 2000 to help people with funding to start up their own business. It now helps set up three firms a week. www.fredericksfoundation.org

Leadership

Lord Bilimoria
Founder, Cobra Beer
Karan Bilimoria takes his extra-curricular responsibilities seriously. Using what little spare time he has to put something back into the community is a big part of his leadership style. As a trustee on the board of the Cobra Foundation, a charitable organisation set up through his Cobra beer brand, Bilimoria highlights worthy causes and raises money to support them.

As well as providing cash for funds supporting the nine million Bangladeshi victims of Cyclone Sidr in December, he also helps Thare Machi Education, a charity that educates young women in the developing world about HIV and AIDS. He has also provided grant-based support for the Prince's Trust and Whizz-Kidz, a charity providing wheelchairs to disabled children. "It's not a case of simply writing a large cheque—you have to live it on a daily basis," he says.

Bilimoria believes in the triple bottom line of environmental and social performance as well as profit. As far as Cobra is concerned, that means paying special attention to staff development: "You create an environment where people flourish. You respect them, and you treat your customers and your suppliers equally. A lot of companies worship their customers and bully their suppliers and employees. Well, I'm sorry, that's not my way." www.cobrabeer.com

Highly commended

Lord Turner
Chair, Economic and Social Research Council
Lord Turner is known for his time as CBI director general and for his recent work with the Pension Commission. But according to Julia Middleton, CEO, Common Purpose, Turner has done a lot more than that. "He has framed the climate change issue for business in a way which will prompt action". www.esrc.ac.uk

Jamie Oliver
Fifteen Foundation
Some may baulk at the idea of macho kitchens as the best place to look for leadership heroes. But it's since he got out of the kitchen and started giving young kids a break, via his worldwide Fifteen Foundation, that Oliver has made his mark. Love or loathe his style, you can't fault the good work. www.fifteen.net

Environmental leadership

Sir Stuart Rose
Chief executive, Marks & Spencer
He may not have had the best start to 2008—the announcement of poor Christmas trading figures saw a significant chunk of the hard-earned share price increase lost in a day—but Sir Stuart Rose's approach is all about the long term. He has overseen what Julia Middleton, chief executive at leadership development organisation Common Purpose describes as "an unbelievable business turnaround".

After making dramatic improvements to the structure of the business, and overseeing a much-needed store improvement programme, at the start of last year Sir Stuart launched Plan A—so called because there is no plan B. Plan A is an ambitious, five-year, 100-point plan to tackle a wide range of issues including climate change, waste, sustainability and fair trade. Middleton speaks for many when she describes Rose as "a leader in society, too".

Sir Stuart says: "I am delighted to have received this honour from Director just over a year since we launched Plan A." But he is not prepared to rest on his laurels just yet. "While we have achieved a number of the goals we set out, there is still a lot more to do. This honour is recognition for the whole team at M&S who have worked so hard on Plan A."
www.marksandspencer.com

Highly commended

Martin Beaumont
Chairman, Skillsmart retail
Although he's now at this retail sector skills council, we couldn't let Beaumont go without a final hurrah for his work as chief executive of Co-operative Group. His ethical stance on everything from farming to climate change was reflected across the group and revived the company. In many ways he was ahead of the game on environmental issues.
www.co-operative.co.uk

Julian Wilford & Evert Geurtsen
Co-founders, the NICE Car Company
We all enjoy a conspiracy theory. But while many of us moan about the oil and car firms squashing ideas that would make electric cars a viable alternative, Wilford and Geurtsen did it themselves, starting NICE (No Internal Combustion Engine) Car Company. Which proves it can be done. www.nicecarcompany.co.uk

HR and employment initiatives

Simon Rennie
Chief executive, Central Scotland Forest Trust
When Simon Rennie joined the Central Scotland Forest Trust as CEO in 2001, the charity was in crisis. He quickly identified investment in people as the critical requirement to turn the organisation around. Using
director-level teamwork Rennie has managed to stabilise turnover and raise employee satisfaction.

After a consultation period with staff to ascertain their needs and ideas, a new working culture and work-life balance is now firmly embedded throughout the whole organisation. In addition to highly flexible working patterns, other benefits introduced include a bed in a meeting room for employees who "feel a bit tired", a basketball hoop and accommodation for employees' dogs.

"We're absolutely delighted to be recognised with this honour as it demonstrates our continuing commitment to our most important asset—our staff," says Rennie. "The Central Scotland Forest Trust is a small organisation that likes to think big and we have to be creative in what we offer in order to attract and retain top quality staff. For us, offering a better work-life balance has a demonstrable business gain," he says.

"It costs the Trust virtually nothing to be flexible, yet the returns are highly tangible in terms of staff satisfaction, productivity, and retention. We want to be a place where people want to come and work." www.csft.org.uk

Highly commended

Simon Biltcliffe
Managing Director, Webmart
A self-styled "plain-speaking Yorkshireman", Biltcliffe claims he was inspired by the damage Margaret Thatcher did to his hometown. His approach has been to focus on fun and staff engagement. Rumours of 180 per cent bonuses for "webmarteers" help. www.webmartuk.com

Henry Stewart
Founder, Happy 
Happy is what happens when you take an off-the-wall business book (in this case, Ricardo Semler's Maverick) and turn the model into practice. Sarah Jackson at Working Families praises Stewart as the "ultimate business innovator" who was quick to see the benefits of flexibility. www.happy.co.uk

Diversity

Katherine Rake
Director, the Fawcett Society
For the last five years, Dr Katherine Rake has spearheaded the UK's leading campaign for equality between women and men—at home, at work and in public life.

Driven by the long history of the Fawcett Society, Rake says women are vital for achieving a balanced society. "We have a huge amount of untapped potential in the UK economy. If we take away barriers that are stopping women, we will unleash a lot of talent, which in turn will boost the economy," she says.

Her tireless work for equality is widely recognised. "The Fawcett Society has been campaigning for equality since the 1860s and Katherine has taken a venerable tradition and created an organisation, which positively sets the agenda for this century," says Sarah Jackson, chief executive of Working Families. "She's a passionate, feisty visionary with huge commitment. These qualities are reflected in the hugely effective team she leads."

With women in business set to be right at the top of the agenda during 2008 it's timely that the Fawcett Society is celebrating the 80th anniversary of women's right to vote. "We look forward to setting out our vision for the next 10 and 20 years while pushing business and individual organisations to take that step further towards equality between men and women," says Rake. www.fawcettsociety.org.uk

Highly commended

Ian Johnston
Chief constable, British Transport Police
Despite testing performance targets and a not always sympathetic public, the British Transport Police (BTP) are working hard to attract, retain and develop a diverse workforce and to build better links with more sections of the community. In the North West, the BTP's Valuing the Difference programme is changing people's perceptions. www.btp.police.uk

Dr Spinder Dhaliwal
Founder, Centre for Asian Entrepreneurial Research
She's one of the UK's most active champions of Asian enterprise and has helped shed light on the contribution of Asian women to entrepreneurship. As compiler of Eastern Eye's Asian Rich List, she is proud to give exposure to the Asian community: "The list comes from the heart and it's inspiring for others." www.som.surrey.ac.uk