Arco has announced that its campaign identifying the issues with PPE procurement in the first phase of the pandemic and advice on future preparedness has won the PRCA National Award for the Crisis and Issues Management category.
Working with its Public Affairs advisors at Dentons Global Advisors Interel and Public Relations agency Houston, Arco, published Personal Protective Equipment and the Government’s Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic, a whitepaper that offered insight into its experiences dealing with Government bodies and other agencies as part of the PPE supply chain.
Proposing a 10-point set of recommendations to prevent a repeat of the high-profile issues that were seen during the first wave of the crisis and to ensure the country is better protected in any future pandemic, Arco provided a strong and authoritative voice in the industry and the report was picked up and read in parliament by MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, Emma Hardy.
With support and insight from Thomas Martin, Chairman of Arco and Neil Hewitt, Director of QSHE UK & Asia, the report shared findings with the independent Public Accounts Committee, and led to Thomas Martin being invited to give expert evidence as a witness to the Committee’s inquiry into how the Government procured PPE.
Thomas Martin, Arco’s Chairman said: “With over 135 years of experience in the industry our core purpose is to help keep people safe, so we felt that it was our duty to report on our experiences and to support the Government in continuing to deal with the pandemic.
“We urged the Government to act on our recommendations and the evidence we gave has played a key part in raising awareness for the improvements needed in the regulation and purchasing of PPE and I’m really pleased to see that our work has been recognised with the PRCA National Awards in the Crisis and Issues Communications category.”
Arco’s response to the pandemic, saw it voted as SHP’s Most Influential Team for 2020.
