The future of sustainability

The Environmental Impact category recognises companies that integrate climate risk assessments and adaptation measures in their day to day operations.  Through investments in areas such as water supply, green buildings, pollution management, recycling and sustainable energy, they make a measurable difference to the impact on the environment.

The winning motivation will reflect how the company identified and responded to the environment in which they operate – including water management, plastic usage, carbon emissions and climate change impacts that would affect their businesses –  leading to increased resilience through improved practices, thereby reducing long-term risk. This will include policies with particular emphasis on economic inclusion, gender equality and stakeholder engagement. Annual revenue must be above R35 Million per Annum.

The Clean Energy Award will be given to a company able to clearly demonstrate that it is fully invested in leaving a green footprint by making a continued and significant attempt to adopt practical energy efficient strategies. 

The motivation will show how the company has reduced its carbon emissions, and prioritised green alternatives to traditional business practices. This should be accompanied 

by evidence of a commitment to protecting natural resources and the environment in business practices and staff policies.Annual revenue must be above R35 Million per Annum.

The Biodiversity Award recognises the outstanding contribution of a company to conservation at local, national and international levels. The successful company will show how it has made a conscious effort to raise awareness about biodiversity and how it relates to sustainable business goals. 

The motivation should provide validated evidence regarding products or services which have made a significant effort to combat the effects of climate change on biodiversity. Annual revenue must be above R35 Million per Annum.

The CSI category recognises the importance of corporate social responsibility and is open to companies that demonstrate an awareness of the social injustices that exist within our society and provide evidence of attempts to mitigate their effects not only in the workplace but on a wider societal level.

The motivation must include evidence of the scope of the company’s social investment initiatives, their scale and impact. Annual revenue must be above R35 Million per Annum.

The Diversity and Inclusion Award will be given to the company that can best demonstrate its long-term commitment to transformation within its culture. The Award will recognise a company that is at the forefront of improving the lives of their employees while also ensuring similar practices in their supply chain. 

The motivation should reflect representation of diversity at all levels of the organisation, equal access to opportunity, fair treatment practices, diversity education and training – reflect how implementing this culture has impacted its business. Annual revenue must be above R35 Million per Annum.

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The Sustainable Business of the Year category recognises the organisation that is advancing the green economy and has a proven track record of taking its environmental, social and governance performance to new heights over the last year in an effort to achieve sustainability. 

The motivation should clearly demonstrate how sustainability is being effectively embedded within the core business and detail the environmental and social improvements that are a result of recent sustainability commitments. Of interest to the judges will be how the organisation has used sustainability to gain a competitive edge and maximise stakeholder benefits and how the organisation’s sustainability progress has helped to drive change in the broader community. Annual revenue must be above R100 Million per Annum.

The Sustainable Supply Chain Award will recognise companies that prioritise sustainability as a core part of their supply chain strategy and are working to achieve measurable, sustainability goals within their own business operations, from supply chains to product life cycle management.

The motivation should provide evidence of a commitment to sustainable partnerships, ethical practices, and improving the environment as an integral part of the business strategy which has been communicated to all departments to ensure buy-in. Annual revenue must be above R35 Million per Annum.

The Good Governance Award recognises a company who has set an exceptional example in terms of transparently managing its business practices.

The motivation should demonstrate the company’s outstanding record regarding governance and reflect how it acknowledges, encourages and promotes best practice in its annual reports. It will also be important to show that the company has established a clear set of guidelines which has made its compliance and regulation journey easy to follow both for itself and for others. Annual revenue must be above R35 Million per Annum.

The Sustainable Finance Award will be awarded to a company that best demonstrates how it has made investments that actively contribute to progress on climate change.

The motivation will reflect how the company assisted investors in achieving sustainable, low carbon, green growth. It should demonstrate how climate finance in general can be used to complement large-scale investments in low-carbon infrastructure and showcase how the company is allocating finances for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects and programmes. Annual revenue must be above R35 Million per Annum.

The Sustainable Product Innovation of the Year category recognises excellence in both sustainability products and sustainably-designed products. The award is open to entrepreneurs, developers and organisations that have created or refined a particular product or solution which promises to deliver significant environmental or social sustainability improvements – ideally with proven results and plans for future scalability.

The motivation should clearly state what the product is, how it works, why it is innovative, who designed it, its purpose and how it will /has impact/ed positively on ESG. Annual revenue must be above R35 Million per Annum.

This Award recognises Start up companies with less than 10 employees which are making exceptional contributions towards creating a set of Environmental, Social & Governance strategies with impactful actions and results for its stakeholders at every level. 

The motivation should include an environmental impact overview, social and supply chain policies as well as transparent, clean governance checks and balances. Annual revenue must be above R5 to R35 Million per Annum.

This award will be given to an individual who has dedicated their life to the advancement of sustainability and, as a result, has achieved outstanding, measurable success for the green economy.

The motivation must reflect decades of dedication to the future well being of the environment, society and corporate governance and show the impact of exemplary leadership. Annual revenue must be above R35 Million per Annum.

The Sustainability Rising Star Award will go to an individual (<35 years) who can demonstrate an unwavering commitment to the principles of ESG in their organisation. This may take the form of a business focus or project.

The motivation should provide a detailed analysis of the sustainability principles which drive the business or project/s which the individual has initiated and reflect their scalability. Annual revenue must be above R35 Million per Annum.

The Sustainability CEO of the Year category celebrates a CEO who has consistently ensured that ESG principles have been embedded in the organisation’s policies, principles and practices. 

The motivation should reflect how this has resulted in innovative, sustainable business strategies across the 3 pillars of ESG, detailing what have been outstanding successes for the environment, social and governance – and how this has impacted positively on growth and shareholder success. Included in this would be the relationship with the supply chain and how sustainable requirements are affected across the entire business chain. Annual revenue must be above R35 Million per Annum.

The Sustainability Business Leader of the Year Award will go to an individual who has driven the sustainability strategy of their sector whilst demonstrating inspirational leadership qualities.

The motivation should reflect the individual’s leadership principles and praxis and include how this has resulted in innovative, sustainable business strategies across the 3 pillars of ESG, detailing what have been outstanding successes. The impact of these strategies should be demonstrable at a local and regional level and reflect the current policies of the global climate agenda. Annual revenue must be above R35 Million per Annum.

The Chief Sustainability Officer Award will go to the individual who best demonstrates how they have worked with managers, employees, customers, and shareholders to address the organisation’s approach to ESG responsibilities with the goal of minimising the company’s environmental impact, ensuring social well being and good governance practices.

The motivation should provide examples of oversight of the overall execution, mission, and efficacy of the organisation’s sustainability programmes and departments as well as the initiation of innovative projects which have had measurable success for the organisation and the environment. Annual revenue must be above R35 Million per Annum.