Category Description
This award is for major companies which are trailblazers in purpose-driven sustainability. Open to those with more than 250 staff, it recognises companies which are clear leaders in the field; which set an example for others to follow and so drive progress across the board.
Judges do not expect perfection in all aspects of a company’s activities: sustainability is a challenging journey. But they do expect a company to have a clear transition plan towards becoming a sustainable, purpose-driven operation, that is already underway.
They will be looking for examples of outstanding performance as an ESG leader, and of clear integration of ESG goals with the company’s core business, with significant progress being made between 2020-2023.
They will expect to see measurable outcomes and impacts, as well as clear commitments to future progress. Specifically, they will be looking for real leadership in environmental performance, in social best practice and in good governance, and in core business integration, as reflected in the criteria below.
We request a total word count of 2500 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):
- Environment: How the company performs on issues such as carbon emissions reductions (Scope 1, 2 & 3); commitments to science-based targets in line with net zero goals and the energy transition; zero-waste and zero-pollution progress and commitments; avoidance of deforestation and promotion of biodiversity restoration. (35%)
- Social: How the company performs in respect of fair pay and benefits for employees; high standards of employee engagement, training and retention; demonstrable commitments to diversity and inclusion; labour and human rights in supply chain; impact on local communities. (30%)
- Governance: How the company embraces high standards of corporate governance; financial and accounting transparency; fair tax policies; executive remuneration; positive role in lobbying and trade associations; positive impact on stakeholders. (15%)
- Integration: How the company has demonstrably integrated all its work on purpose and high ESG standards with its core business. To what extent is it living its ESG commitments and values throughout its operations, and is its core business a living expression of these commitments? (20%)
PLEASE NOTE: The criteria above form only the scoring questions section in the application form. The criteria are followed by the judges in order to compare all entries in each category like-for-like. Please ensure you register / login to AwardStage (Opens 1st Feb), select the category and export a PDF copy of the full questions. Some category application questions differ. The application questions will be available four weeks before entries open, so if you wish to get them ahead of time 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.