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Who’s made the GGA 2021 shortlist?
The 2021 edition of the Global Good Awards, sponsored by CHandCo, has proved to be its biggest and most successful ever, with entries up a staggering 40%.
Ahead of the virtual awards ceremony on 22nd September, organisers have released the shortlist of finalists across the 18 categories.
Contenders in the running for bagging a gold, silver or bronze award range from large organisations and well-known brands such Samsung, Aviva, ITV, Barclays, AB InBev and GSK to smaller enterprises such Earth Cubs, a free, personalised app designed to teach 3-7 year olds about sustainability and environmental issues (shortlisted in the Educational Excellence category) and SOS a UK-registered charity run by volunteers which has recycled over £6m worth of rugby kit to 44 disadvantaged nations around the world (shortlisted in the Waste Reduction and Minimalisation category).
“Thanks to our robust, independent judging process, this year’s shortlist is a fantastic mix of initiatives and programmes from organisations of all sizes across a variety of sectors. Our finalists are truly raising the bar in all aspects of sustainability,” comments Karen Sutton, GGA CEO. “I’m also thrilled that this year’s entries have generated a £1245 donation to Cool Earth, our charity partner, which works alongside communities to reduce deforestation, with an emphasis on protecting trees, rather than just planting more.”
A new category for 2021 – Covid Crisis Champions – proved popular with shortlisters including Investec, Unilever and NatWest in the large organisation category. In the small organisation category, finalists include Scenesaver, a free-to-use, website to do something positive to help the theatre world, set up on a shoestring during lockdown, and Clear Voice Interpreting Services which established a new video offer for clients in just three days, due to no face-to-face appointments going ahead. To date it has delivered more than 30,000 video calls and works with Doctors of the World and the British Red Cross.
The Canon Young Champion category goes from strength the strength following its inaugural year in 2020. With entries up 400%, there are 10 finalists including representatives from Nigeria, India and Dubai. British contenders include the Eco Emeralds, a finalist from last year, who are a group of environmentalists aged 9-11 from All Saints Catholic Primary school in Liverpool and three members of musical climate action troupe SOS from the Kids – Britain’s Got Talent semi finalists in 2019 – who performed at GGA’s virtual ceremony last year.
You can see all the 2021 GGA finalists here.
One category that will not be awarded in 2021 is Environmental Behaviour Change. This was a unanimous decision taken by the judges who cited entrants’ lack of evidence and data with regards to the scale and longevity of the perceived behaviour change. You can read the full judges’ statement here. While many of the projects entered had merit, some were more suited to other categories and were moved accordingly to Employee Engagement & Wellbeing, Climate Action and Waste Minimalisation.
“This was a bold move by our judges but one I wholeheartedly support,” adds Karen. “The Global Good Awards are all about rewarding and celebrating real action and that’s a standard we will not compromise.”
The September awards ceremony will see the inclusion of the very first Ethical Angel Community Investment Award in collaboration with the Charities Aid Foundation, a new category recognising the important role corporate giving has in creating greater social value. The aim of the free-to-enter award is also to create a new way for businesses to benchmark their corporate giving against businesses around the world and understand where they can be doing more. As a result, it is hoped that more businesses will have the confidence to take action, embrace employer supported giving and provide staff with ways to make a personal impact. Entries for this category are still open. See here for more.
The virtual event will be preceded by two ‘Disruption:Delivered’ webinars which proved extremely popular last year. The first will address the thorny issue of how to measure social impact with the subject of the second yet to be decided.
Organisers are also currently planning a Winners’ Lunch to be held in October at BMA House which will be an opportunity for all gold award winners to network as well as meet GGA’s distinguished judging panel.
Bookmark www.globalgoodawards.co.uk to keep up to date with all the latest developments.
The Global Good Awards 2021 are now closed! However, the free-to-enter Ethical Angel Community Investment category remains open until 31st July.
Click here for more!
