With pictures of UK extreme weather conditions all over the news and daily reports of the global climate crisis, it’s now more difficult than ever to ignore the fact that significant environmental action is required.  As individuals we’re encouraged to make whatever contribution we can to the overall solution but as businesses too we have a vital role to play.

For this reason we thought it might be good to take a look at Environmental-themed awards and provoke some thought on the possibility of being able to achieve two very significant things in one fell swoop.

If award entry is already on your radar but you have, as yet, no fixed idea on what category (or indeed what type) of accolade you will target, then environmental awards may be the ideal place for you to start.  There are the real ‘biggies’ such as the SEAL Awards – standing for Sustainability, Environmental Achievement & Leadership – where, as well as identifying the 50 most sustainable companies in the world, trophies are awarded to the organisations found to have the most impactful and innovative Environmental initiatives.

If this feel just a little bit too ‘corporate’ for your liking and you don’t fancy competing against the Sonys, ciscos. BTs and Toyotas of the business world, then fear not, there are many other places to go to have your Environmental credentials tested against your peers.

The edie Sustainability Leaders Awards are the UK’s largest award event in this field.  Organised by specialist publishing company Faversham House, these awards are open to companies of all types and sizes from both the public and private sector. From multi-nationals to micro-organisations, there are categories to recognise every element of positive impact, although with a September 27^th deadline you would need to get your sustainable skates on to get an award in this year.

As well as these more established, perhaps better known awarding bodies there are also a plethora of smaller events all around the country.  There are many local County partnerships who are increasingly looking for Environmental champions within the business community and of course the various wildlife organisations and trusts tend to also hold their own awards to encourage a closer working relationship with commercial enterprises.  Needless to say, a quick Google search will reveal the vast choice of events and opportunities regardless of what your business is and where you are based.

Our suggestion here is that an Environmentally-based award could help you achieve a number of goals at the same time.  Awards success, and the shiny trophy in the cabinet, may be the most obvious direct benefit, but there is also no doubt that any step towards a more sustainable operation is beneficial to all.  Many companies find huge cost savings just as a result of taking a good, hard look at their environmental profile and wonder why they never did it sooner. In considering what we use and how we use it – regardless of whether it is materials or energy – generally results in buying less and being smarter with the things we actually do need to buy. Embedding sustainability within an operation can never be anything but genuinely good and the thought that it can also lead to awards success (and the various separate opportunities that brings) is most definitely ethically sourced food for thought.