A business is celebrating after winning a This Can Happen award for its response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Magnox was recognised at the awards, which celebrate and acknowledge companies and individuals who have shown excellence in their approach towards positive mental health for their employees and colleagues, for its work in the community.

There were three new award categories this year to recognise organisations that stepped up to support society by helping charities, looking after supply chains or making products and services accessible to those in need.

Gwen Parry-Jones, Magnox chief executive officer and OBE, said: “We are absolutely delighted to win this award which recognises how we stepped up to support the most vulnerable in our communities and supply vital PPE to the front line at a time of national crisis.

“I’m incredibly proud of the workforce’s innate desire to help; from the board to the workshop; the company as a whole and the individuals who make up Magnox provided an extraordinary response.”

Magnox sites have strong ties to their communities and each year contribute hundreds of thousands of pounds in support of these communities in a range of social, economic or environmental projects through the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s socio-economic fund. An additional £300,000 socio-economic funding was made available, by the NDA, to local authorities and community groups to help them support people where it was needed most.

This had a positive impact across our sites to the benefit of our local communities for example in helping to fund 3D printers to make visors, replenish food bank stock, establish a community call centre, provide baby boxes for vulnerable families, activity packs for disadvantaged children, PPE for volunteers and educational resources.

The response to Covid-19 was deeper than giving money though.

Over a quarter of the workforce volunteered 5,400 hours to support citizens advice, local radio stations, deliver human milk, blood and plasma, make scrub bags and deliver prescriptions to those shielding.

Business continuity teams co-ordinated the logistics of delivering over 150,000 items of PPE including respirators, suits and gloves across the UK.

Angharad Rayner, Trawsfynydd site director, said: “Staff immediately identified supplies that could be shared whilst maintaining the safety of the site. These were prioritised to where they were needed most.”

Chair of Trawsfynydd’s site stakeholder group, Keith O’Brien, added: “What Magnox and the NDA have done to support communities, financially and through provision of equipment, is very generous.

“That staff have given of their time to volunteer to assist in their communities is inspirational.”