Climate Change Award supported by the Environment Leadership Team

 For businesses taking leading steps along the journey to a sustainable future

Climate change and natural resource depletion are arguably the most challenging and complex issues impacting business’ sustainability today. With widespread evidence confirming their dire environmental, social and economic consequences, leading companies are measuring, reporting and reducing their carbon footprint and going beyond this to value natural capital and the natural resources used and impacted by  the business whilst helping employees, suppliers, customers and wider stakeholders to take action as well. 

Eligibility: In order to enter this award, your business or organisation must be signed up to The Prince’s Mayday Network- the UK’s largest movement of businesses on a journey to a sustainable future.  Named after the international ‘Mayday Mayday’ distress signal and founded by HRH The Prince of Wales as a call to action to business, the Network aims to inspire, engage, support and challenge by helping businesses through the steps of the Mayday Journey and celebrating their achievements. For more information about the Mayday Network and to join visit: www.maydaynetwork.com

This Award recognises best practice from companies around the world, and inspires others to follow their lead.  A successful entry will detail specific, measurable activities the business has undertaken to achieve core business and environmental benefits including reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and other resource use as well as the promotion of behavioural change.   We are looking in particular for companies tackling this issue across their whole business, not just in isolated cases, and those businesses demonstrating real entrepreneurial zeal in development and execution of environmentally positive products, services and solutions. 

Examples may include:
• Innovating in the delivery of state of the art energy efficient buildings and processes
• Innovation of core products, services and solutions based on positive environmental stewardship
• Developing and integrating into processes, products and services new low-carbon or low-resource  technologies
• Inspiring, encouraging and investing in entrepreneurship around an environmentally sustainable future
• Engaging in and supporting skills development in the company and society around  environmental sustainability
• Working with suppliers to minimise the embodied environmental footprint of products or projects
• Raising staff awareness and increasing positive behavioural change at home and at work
• Engaging and educating customers about climate change and valuing natural capital (whether product specific or more strategically) and positively influencing consumer behaviour
• Educating and positively changing the behaviour of key stakeholders including investors
• Working in partnership with national and local government, NGOs, community groups and other business groups to promote and support an environmentally sustainable lifestyle and infrastructure

As well as carbon reduction this award is looking for businesses that are valuing natural capital and as such have prioritised other environmental issue (s) that are pertinent to their business’ survival in a sustainable future. In choosing an impact area to report on, companies should focus on the most significant impact to their sector. Based on previous responses to the Mayday report-back and BITC’s CR Index, BITC recommends impact areas in the application form and guidance notes (according to each sector / economic group). Other impact areas will be accepted provided companies explain the reason for their choice.

If business and commuting travel are a priority issue for your business you may be better suited to entering Business in the Community’s ways2work Award which focuses on these issues. Find out more at www.bitc.org.uk/environmentawards