DEVON'S Otter Brewery is vying for a prestigious industry accolade with such businesses as Coca-Cola, the Co-Operative Group and Unilever.

The company, based at Luppitt, near Honiton, is one of ten shortlisted in the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability category of the National Business Awards.

The finalists will each make a presentation to the judges next month and the winner will be announced at an award ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London in November.

It follows the opening of Otter's pioneering eco-cellar last year.

It is the first building of its kind in the South West, and much of it is underground, naturally keeping the temperature inside at the perfect 12C for storing barrels of beer during secondary fermentation and eliminating the need for chilling in the summer and heating during winter.

This has helped the brewery to save around £20,000 a year in energy costs and to cut its annual carbon emissions by 6.5tonnes.

Other features which impressed the judges were the willow beds designed to treat all waste water from the brewery, extensive recycling, and the family values which lie behind the business.

Established by David and Mary Ann McCaig in 1990, Otter Brewery supplies cask conditioned beer to pubs, restaurants and retailers across southern England.

It employs 30 local people, and all four of the founders' sons are now involved in the family business.

Patrick McCaig, sales and marketing director at Otter Brewery, said: "Being shortlisted means the world to us, and puts us up against some real corporate giants in the form of Coca-Cola and Unilever.

"We have spent the last 20 years striving to become as environmentally aware and as socially responsible as possible. Mum and dad's aim when they started in 1990 was to create something built around real family values that came from the heart.

"It seems that all the measures they have introduced, from the willow beds to the new eco- cellar and our continued involvement in the local community, really struck a chord with the judges."

Announcing the finalists, ICAEW chief executive Michael Izza said: "At ICAEW we believe that, even though businesses today are working against a backdrop of global economic uncertainty, embracing sustainability is still vital.

"In fact, the new economic reality means that business must develop greater innovation and creativity in the way they respond to that uncertainty, improving productivity and developing new products and markets without losing their commitment to sustainability.

"It is about creating a business model which will deliver value to shareholders while meeting the changing needs of people and the planet."

Completing the shortlist are Alumet Systems, Commercial, DRP Group, Kestrel Liner Agencies, Morgan Hunt and Redeem.

The judging criteria scored the key strategies behind each company's corporate responsibility policy.

This involved looking at leadership values, innovation, respect for the environment and staff, the community, customers and shareholders, as well as sustainable working practices and plans for the future.