This award will recognise the hospitality business that has taken the most innovative steps to minimise its impact on the environment in the past 12 months. The award is open to any hotel, restaurant, pub, leisure food service business or other hospitality operation, regardless of size. Entries can be for a single-unit business or for a group of units. Innovation will be manifested in such initiatives as implementing renewable energy sources; investing in new technology and equipment to minimise water and energy consumption; minimising the amount of waste sent to landfill through recycling initiatives, adopting more biodegradable products, and liaising with suppliers to reduce packaging; adopting more energy efficient building designs; and promoting seasonal, locally sourced produce to reduce food miles.

Entries must provide:

An action plan showing strategy for increasing commitment to environmental practices in the past 12 months or continuous improvement over a maximum 5 year period.

The business case for activities undertaken and their key objectives and quantifiable success criteria.

Tangible and quantifiable evidence that the action plan was achieved, for example KPIs showing reduction in waste or water use per guest night or meal served.

Evidence of how they are educating, training and motivating employees at all levels to play their part in running a sustainable business.

Evidence of how they are involving customers or guests in sustainable practices.

Entries may include an environmental policy document and, where possible, testimonials from customers.

a) Operations

• What makes your business a sustainable business?

• How embedded is sustainability into your operations and the organisation's ethos and culture

• How important is sustainability in business’ decision making?

• What are the principle sustainable projects the business has undertaken in the past 12 months and what have the outcomes been?

• Our planet is moving towards a population of 9 billion people by 2050, with this in mind how does your business support the development of a more sustainable food system?

b) Buy-in and engagement

• How have you engaged with your various stakeholders (employees, customers, shareholders, wider community, etc.) on sustainability issues?

• Who is responsible for sustainability targets/performance and how is this measured and incentivised?

c) Maximising benefits

• How have you used your climate change/sustainability agenda to gain the competitive edge?

• Is sustainability driving your top line as well as generating savings on the bottom line?

• How are you maximising benefits driven by sustainability activity for your stakeholders?

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