Best in class
“One of those undiscovered gems of the Fellowship” – this is how Fellow Peter Jones, former director of waste management firm Biffa and member of Boris Johnson’s London Waste and Recycling Board, described the RSA’s long-running Environment Awards Forum.
The Forum has been coming together twice a year to discuss how award schemes can encourage business and public sector organisations to adopt sustainable practices and policies. Not only does it maintain an important online resource for those interested in environment and sustainability issues, it also accredits environmental award schemes across the UK.
This month, to mark its 10-year anniversary, the Forum relaunched with the goal of building membership and increasing its value as a networking facility. There will also be a drive to increase awareness of the Forum’s accreditation scheme, which is designed to ensure that UK environmental award schemes are well thought out and managed, with clear judging criteria, qualified judges and transparent judging procedures. There is still a long way to go in raising standards: to date, only 10 of the 400 schemes currently operating in the UK have received RSA accreditation.
“Already, the Forum has encouraged an interest in good-quality award schemes and in stimulating better practice in environmental and sustainable development issues,” explained Fellow John Bowman, chair of the Forum. “However, we need to encourage even more award organisers to develop their schemes to meet accreditation standards.”
RSA accreditation benefits award scheme organisers and entrants alike, helping schemes to attract more high-quality entrants and enabling winners to generate new business through their success. Entering (and winning) an accredited UK scheme is also the only way businesses can go forward to the European Business Awards for the Environment, a high-profile event that has seen at least one UK winner each year since the RSA began administering the process.
With this track record, it’s no surprise that Fellow Peter Jones called the Forum's accreditation scheme "one of the ‘best in class’ across the EU and beyond".
Visit the Environment Awards website or email Accreditation for more information.
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