I have been shortlisted for the prestigious BusinessGreen Leader of the Year award for the development of The Responsible Business Standard, our auditable accreditation designed specifically for smaller businesses.
I’m really honoured to be shortlisted alongside entrants such as Juliet Davenport from Good Energy, Askar Sheibani from Comtek and Gavin Starks from AMEE UK. However, the BusinessGreen Awards “recognise the pioneers of sustainable thinking” and, as most people know, our new standard covers much more than just “green.”
Sustainability is important to everyone. Of course environmental issues are high on that agenda but true sustainability is a much bigger picture. We also need to sustain our businesses; our family life; our communities – for now and for future generations. Organisations of all types, however small, that are ethical, value driven and considerate of people and the environment gain a host of benefits including real competitive advantage; and it also helps create a better society. That’s the ethos behind ORB and The Responsible Business Standard – it really is a win-win situation.
I believe I have been shortlisted because our pioneering national accreditation will increase small business awareness of the benefits of sustainable thinking and ensure an increasing number of organisations are committed to ongoing social and environmental improvements. I’m really looking forward to more and more businesses taking The Responsible Business Standard and reviewing how much they have put in to action when we do the light touch annual review. That will be really exciting!