Category Description
This entry is open to any organisation which can demonstrate a commitment and clear progress towards meeting one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relevant to its own activities. The judges will be looking for evidence that the SDGs are being genuinely considered and used to guide sustainable development within the organisation, and not just used for ‘rainbow-washing.’
Winning entries will be able to show why they have aligned with certain SDG goals or targets, how they are using them to improve their own sustainability performance, and if they are influencing others to do so, too.
Entrants should specify which SDGs they are aligned to and the judges will be paying special interested to organisations which drill down to specific SDG target levels. Entrants should also specify why the chosen SDG(s) are material/relevant, how they are meeting each SDG/SDG target, and how the adoption of SDGs is helping them go ‘above and beyond’ previous sustainability achievements to achieve impact.
Judges will consider awarding more than one Gold winner for:
- Depth of SDG alignment – recognising organisations who are focussing in detail on a single or several SDG targets
- Breadth of SDG coverage – recognising those organisations with a material focus on all or many of the SDGs.
A useful guide to the SDGs can be found here.
Criteria
Judges will be looking for evidence of the following points within the supplied application form (weighting percentages in brackets):
- Success in appropriately mapping SDGs to key activities and impacts (20%)
- Extent and range: the depth and / or breadth of SDGs successfully addressed (25%)
- The measurable progress made towards objectives of the selected SDGs (45%)
- Success in influencing others (eg, suppliers, customers, staff and stakeholders) to pursue SDGs (10%).
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.