Environment & Energy Awards 2015: Winners revealed

AkzoNobel, B&Q and Sainsbury's were among the big winners at the 16th annual Environment & Energy Awards 2015, announced at glittering awards ceremony in Birmingham last night (22 April).


The Awards, held at the National Motorcycle Museum, celebrated advancements in green technologies; excellence in energy and water management; and outstanding sustainability performances from businesses across the country. (Scroll down for full list of winners).

An esteemed panel of judges – which this year included industry experts from Global Action Plan, Forum for the Future and WRAP – whittled down 67 finalists to individual winners and highly commended businesses across 11 categories ranging from Environmental Leadership through to Innovative Water Management and Sustainability Communications.

Bold decisions

Kingfisher-owned DIY chain B&Q – which scored a hat-trick at edie’s Sustainability Leaders Awards in 2014 – took home the Sustainable Business of the Year award. Judges said the company was “head and shoulders above the rest” and stood out because of its “bold decisions” and “risks” being taken.

Meanwhile, paints manufacturer AkzoNobel, which has committed to growing its total share of renewable energy use to 45% by 2020 – scooped the Innovative Energy Efficiency Project award, praised for showing clear energy savings that are potentially replicable across many other organisations in the future.

And Global Action Plan and Sainsbury’s took home the Environmental Leadership Award for Organisational Behavioural Change; for their work creating an embedded behaviour change strategy which has successfully engaged a wide range of distributed employees through a range of innovative methods.

Behaviour change

Fresh from winning that award, Global Action Plan’s managing partner Andy Deacon said: “As well as recognising the hard work and passion of the Sainsbury’s and Global Action Plan team, the award reflects the impact that employee behaviour can have on the bottom line of a business and the health of our planet.”

Sainsbury’s head of sustainability Paul Crewe added: “We are really proud of the steps our colleagues are taking to save energy in their stores. Our colleague engagement programme with Global Action Plan proves that small behaviour changes, if done on a large scale, can really make a difference.”

One of the categories – the Outstanding Contribution to the Energy Industry award – celebrated an ‘outstanding personality who has excelled in their business life over the past five years’. Instead of the usual entry process, the award-winner – Terry Casey of Instellastar Europe – was specifically selected by the judges based on his esteemed professional knowledge within this sector. 

Environment & Energy Awards 2015 Winners

Environment Product / Service – 4Eco

– Environmental Leadership Award for Organisational Behavioural Change – Global Action Plan & Sainsbury’s

Innovation Award for Environmental Technology – Desert Aquaponic Company

Innovative Water Management & Efficiency – Yorkshire Water

Sustainability Communications Campaign– HM Revenue & Customs

Sustainable Business of the Year – B&Q (Highly Commended: Forest Centre)

Energy Manager of the Year – Louise Hall of Asda Stores (Highly Commended: Gareth Williams of Northern Rail)

Innovative Energy Efficiency Project – AkzoNobel Decorative Paints UK (Highly Commended: L&Q)

Innovative Award for Energy from Waste – NVP Energy

Environmental, Health & Safety Skills Development – O’Donovan Waste Disposal

Energy Product / Service – Lontra

Outstanding Contribution to the Energy Industry – Terry Casey of Intellastar Europe

The Environment & Energy Awards run alongside The National Energy Management Exhibition (NEMEX) and The National Energy Recovery Exhibition which – alongside a brand new high-level conference – form part of Sustainability Live 2015, taking place throughout this week (21-23 April).  

Luke Nicholls

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