Finance for the Future Awards 2013

Recognising financial leadership in driving sustainability

NatWest, The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project and ICAEW have launched the Finance for the Future Awards, a unique and leading edge awards programme, rewarding innovative organisations that are embedding sustainability with support from the finance team.

Sir Gerald Acher CBE LVO, A4S Ambassador

Register your interest to enter the 2014 awards here.

The Finance for the Future Awards aim to be distinct from other awards in the marketplace which mainly focus on green issues and corporate social responsibility. Few awards look at sustainability from a finance perspective, in particular taking a long-term view of capital allocation, investment and risk management to drive a better and more sustainable return.

Our awards focus on embedding sustainability within an organization as well as rewarding new thinking. They seek to identify innovative approaches to finance and business that have supported fundamental changes in the business rather than the financial reporting of sustainability.

Entrants for the awards must be able to demonstrate how leadership or support from the finance team has had a measurable impact on the organization’s decision-making.

This may, for example, take the form of changing how something was done, developing new processes or how the organization has allocated financial capital effectively to minimise risk and/or create new opportunities. These will not only have a positive financial impact for the organization, but also a lasting environmental, economic and/or social benefit. 

The entry should outline why the initiative was worthwhile, how the approach has influenced strategy and decision-making and what corporate behaviours are driving the new way of doing business.

These awards will focus not just on the outcomes but on how those outcomes are achieved and in particular on the role that the financing of the business and the finance function has to play in achieving these outcomes.

The awards are open to all organizations operating in the UK, where the UK operation is leading or is actively engaged with the innovation or change.  The categories cover all sectors and sizes of organizations.

The award objectives

  • Rewarding financial leadership that promotes business decisions for long-term sustainable value. The awards will look for outstanding examples of leadership from the finance function that have had a measurable impact on an organization’s decision-making, risk management and capital investment over the long term and thereby encouraged a shift in corporate behaviour.
  • Encouraging and celebrating accounting for sustainability as a key to embedding sustainability into a business’s organizational thinking and activity. The awards will recognize that the financing of the business and process for assessing business decisions can have a significant impact in driving long-term sustainable value.
  • Focusing on innovation and new ideas, and particularly on the way the business assesses new ideas to create sustainable value for the long term and/or finances those ideas or innovations.
  • Sharing best practice through development of case studies and educational resources based on the experiences of the nominees and winners. 

Winners will receive:

  • Recognition as a leader in driving long-term sustainable value
  • Profile for your organization through case studies which will demonstrate your achievements
  • An invitation to join the Finance for the Future Awards Alumni
  • Invitations to a range of events
  • A trophy and certificate

The Awards Celebration

2013

The awards host, Simon Jack, financial journalist, with guests

Five leading organizations that have created innovative, resilient business models were announced at the second Finance for the Future awards celebration.

The evening featured a keynote speech from Neil Wood, Chief Financial Officer of LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games).

2012

The inaugural celebration of the Finance for the Future Awards 2012 annouched six of the UK’s top finance teams, recognizing how their innovative sustainability initiatives make good business sense for their respective organizations.  

HRH The Prince of Wales provided a video message for the evening. The evening also featured an address by Gaynor Coley ACA, the Eden Project’s Chief Executive - Enterprise, on the role of finance professionals in leading sustainability. 

The Finance for the Future Awards networking reception

Lessons in driving business sustainability – Winning Entry Case Studies

Through the awards, we seek to highlight the best practice demonstrated by the winners to serve as a beacon to others. These inspirational case studies demonstrate why the 2012 winners were worthy of Finance for the Future Awards.

 

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