We are thrilled to announce that Princes Gate is sponsoring the Young Sporting Hero award at the inaugural National Children of Wales Awards.

Princes Gate was established in 1991, on an organic farm in a remote corner of Pembrokeshire, with David and Glyn Jones and their parents bottling Princes Gate water by hand. The natural spring water came from the beautiful Preseli Mountains, and still does to this day.

In 2004, the demand for Princes Gate water began to increase dramatically, and eventually every farm outhouse and converted barn was full to bursting with staff and stock. The microplant couldn’t cope, so plans had to be made for a fully-fledged bottling plant.

In 2008, Princes Gate partnered with the Welsh Rugby Union - a partnership which has lasted over a decade. The company has also partnered with other sporting bodies, including Cardiff City FC and the Scarlets.

The environment is especially important to Princes Gate, and it is committed to reducing its environmental impact. It reduced the weight of its bottles, allowing it to save over 250 million grams of plastic every year and a huge amount of energy used in transportation.

Princes Gate also replaced its diesel generators with 3-phase electricity, and purchased a £1.5m bottle blower, which has dramatically reduced its raw material PET truckloads from 1,000 to just 50 per year.

Princes Gate is also the first soft drinks manufacturer in the UK to become completely self-sufficient due to its investment in a wind turbine and solar panels. This earned it a royal visit from The Queen, who praised its eco-friendly efforts.

Last year, Princes Gate was one of the first bottled water companies to start using recycled plastic from within the UK in its bottles. Now, it uses a minimum of 51 percent recycled plastic across its whole range. This has helped the company to minimise its carbon footprint and reduce waste.

Of its involvement with the National Children of Wales Awards, Endaf Edwards, general manager, said:

“We are delighted to be supporting the National Children of Wales Awards. Over the years, we have had the pleasure working with and supporting children across Wales from different backgrounds with different needs.

“When we heard that Bluestone and The Bluestone Foundation were developing an awards evening celebrating the lives and accomplishments of our children, many of whom have overcome so much to reach their goals, it was the easiest decision to be involved.

“We are lucky enough to have some great Welsh sporting partnerships and are thrilled and privileged to be sponsoring the Young Sporting Hero category. All the best to each and every nominee, they are all truly inspiring.”