Category Description
This award is designed for individuals showing outstanding leadership in successfully driving sustainable and ethical progress within their organisation or chosen field. They can be at any level – from CEO to administrative assistant, from innovator to campaigner – but they do need to be able to demonstrate that they’ve achieved really significant, game-changing impact. So, while this does not remotely rule out a winner emerging from a more junior role, they would need to have achieved an impact disproportionate to their direct responsibilities.
Individuals can nominate themselves or be nominated by others within or outside their organisation.
Judges’ consideration will be given to champions of employee well-being, environmentalists, charity activists, diversity & inclusion, savvy business leaders, technological masterminds and all-rounders.
Time Frame: Entries should focus primarily on activity from the past four years. Historical context and earlier work may be included where relevant to demonstrate baselines, legacy impact, or progression.
We request a total word count of 1500 words +/-10% (excl. supporting docs). Any confidential data will be treated as such and only shared with the judging panel.
Criteria
Judges will be looking for evidence of the following points within the supplied application form (weighting percentages in brackets):
- Evidence of success of their initiatives, with verifiable data to support the reach and impact with staff, in communities / partnerships, and for sustainability in general (40%)
- Their ability to catalyse commitments and action by others – whether colleagues, customers, members or the general public – ensuring the best chance of long-term sustainability of their work (25%)
- Evidence of their long-term passion for and engagement with sustainability, inside and outside any professional role (20%)
- Their innovation and creativity in addressing their core job / key challenges (15%)
PLEASE NOTE: The criteria listed above are used by judges to evaluate entries. However, you will complete a separate application form with specific questions.
When writing your entry, follow the application form questions while ensuring you address all the criteria listed above. This allows judges to assess all entries consistently.
Accessing the questions: Register or log in to AwardStage (opens 2 February), select your category, and download the PDF of questions. Application questions vary by category and will be available four weeks before entries open. To receive them in advance, please email us.
Are we eligible to enter?
Our awards programme is open to all organisations of any kind… companies large and small, charities, not-for-profits, social enterprises, NGOs, membership and accreditation organisations and government departments including local and county councils. We are all about rewarding sustainability practice – in all its forms. So if your organisation is making a difference, directly or indirectly to people and planet, you’re eligible.
We don’t just recognise businesses that are operating responsibly, or supporting / partnering with worthwhile causes. We also actively encourage entries from organisations that have been specifically set up or adapted to offer a product or service that tackles a social or environmental problem.
Our category descriptions and criteria have been written to guide entrants on what content should be detailed in their entries. However, we do not expect square pegs to fit in round holes… Some of your business activities or dedicated programmes might not fit entirely with any one specific category. In these cases, the descriptions and criteria are open to an element of interpretation and rest assured that our judges will still take into account entries that are strongly aligned with the overall context of the category.
If you have any concerns about the suitability of your entry, or would like to discuss your activities in more detail, we are here to help. Give Karen a call on 07813 718541 or email us.