David Evans, the Chairman and Chief Executive of international performance improvement business Grass Roots Group has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

The official announcement cites "services to corporate social responsibility". Only three people have had this citation in the history of the Order and Government sources suggest Evans is the first where social responsibility is the single reference.

Evans founded the Hertfordshire-based company in 1980 and has built it into a global business with 1,200 employees and offices across Europe and in North and South America, India, Singapore and the Middle East. The company offers a range of services under the headline banners of communication, education, measurement, reward and events.

Evans' personal commitment to the community is much appreciated by local schools, charities, sports and arts organisations. Grass Roots owns and lets Pendley Court Theatre in Tring to a local theatre company at a token rent and is the primary sponsor of the football, rugby and cricket clubs. It supports a number of local charity organisations including the Iain Rennie and the Chiltern Air Ambulance service and offers work placements to homeless people.

In March this year Grass Roots came 53rd in the Sunday Times list of best mid-sized companies to work for, receiving praise for its "green and caring culture". The results summary highlighted Grass Roots' principled style of management with staff expressing great faith in the leadership of the organisation. The company's capacity for Giving Something Back was its strongest category when benchmarked against other organisations also making the list.