We Mean Business Coalition’s chief executive officer Maria Mendiluce, Zapmap’s co-founder and chief operating officer Melanie Shufflebotham, and co-leader of the Green Party England and Wales Carla Denyer are among those to have been awarded an inaugural Women in Green Business Award celebrating their work driving the UK’s net zero transition.
Announced at the end of last week ahead of Net Zero Festival powered by Business Green, which takes place on 22 and 23 October, the awards honour the women leading the UK’s green economy, and the sustainability-focused companies improving diversity and inclusion across the industry.
Maria Mendiluce was awarded Woman of the Year for her work championing ambitious corporate climate action and leading We Mean Business to become one of the world’s leading green business advocacy groups.
Melanie Shufflebotham won Entrepreneur of the Year and Transport Professional of the Year for her work at the helm of one of the green economy’s most successful start-ups in which she oversaw the company’s growth from a concept to the UK’s leading EV charging information platform.
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And Carla Denyer was awarded Politician of the Year in recognition of the Green Party of England and Wales achieving its most successful election result to date.
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Meanwhile, ethical investment firm Greenbank was awarded Business of the Year for its commitment to gender diversity and equality in the male-dominated financial services industry and championing female representation throughout the business. And energy platform Kaluza won Employer of the Year for its success breaking down the barriers facing in workplace and the wider tech industry.
James Murray, co-founder of Net Zero Festival and one of the Women in Green Business award judges, said: “Women are currently vastly under-represented in sectors critical to the net zero transition, such as STEM fields, energy and utilities, automotive, construction, and manufacturing.
“These sectors are all facing a major skills crunch as demand for green roles explodes but will be denied the breadth of perspective needed to drive forward the net zero transition unless we focus on rapidly increasing the participation and retention of women within green business.
Cecilia Keating, features editor at BusinessGreen, added: “These awards are the first to showcase the brilliant achievements of the women working within the UK’s burgeoning green economy and the companies as committed to tackling gender inequities as they are the climate crisis. We hope that it inspires many more green businesses to address any imbalances across their workforces.”
The winners of the Women in Green Business Awards are:
Greenbank: Business of the Year for its commitment to gender diversity and equality in the male-dominated financial services industry, championing female representation at multiple levels of the business.
Kaluza: Employer of the Year for its strong track record of policies designed to create an inclusive and equitable workplace, successfully delivering initiatives, partnerships, and campaigns specifically designed to break down the barriers women face in the workplace and the wider tech industry.
UK Power Networks: Diversity and Inclusion Strategy of the Year for its “equality to equity” strategy, which sets out plans for diversity and inclusion dashboards, neurodiversity training, and a mentorship program for women in leadership.
Dr Nina Skorupska, former CEO of the Renewable Energy Association: Lifetime Achievement Award for her work contributing to the renewable energy and clean technology industry over many years and her advocacy for women in STEM.
Maria Mendiluce, CEO of We Mean Business Coalition: Woman of the Year for her high-profile work championing ambitious corporate climate action as CEO of the coalition.
Carla Denyer, co-Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales: Politician of the Year for her leadership in driving the parliamentary Green Party to its most successful election result to date and her pivotal role in reshaping green politics, including drafting and proposing Europe’s first climate emergency declaration.
Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder and COO of Zapmap: Entrepreneur of the Year and Transport Professional of the Year for her innovative leadership of Zapmap, growing the company into the UK’s leading EV charging information platform, and her dedication to decarbonization and gender diversity.
Tamsin Lishman, chief operating officer at The Kensa Group: Leader of the Year for her visionary leadership during a successful year, overseeing the launch of a flagship heat pump product and fostering a diverse, inclusive workforce.
Sonya Bedford, partner at Spencer West and Consultant at Vattenfall/Community Energy: Clean Energy Consultant of the Year for her pivotal role driving forward the development of one of the UK’s most ambitious heat network projects and her extensive experience working with communities, councils, and companies to get clean energy projects off the ground.
Eva Zabey, executive director of Business for Nature: Nature Champion of the Year for her work mobilizing some of the world’s largest businesses behind the global nature goals for 2030 and her advocacy for nature within the private sector and with policymakers.
Rachel Morse, sustainability manager at Heidelberg Materials: Women in STEM Champion of the Year for the positive impact she is having in communities and schools as she works to promote green STEM skills, including introducing a new construction badge for Girl Guides.
Monika Paplaczyk, investment director at Thrive Renewables: Investor of the Year for her visionary work driving the impressive growth of Thrive Renewables and her advocacy for women’s leadership across the clean energy industry.
Katherine Gobey, head of business development at Levidian: Clean Technology Innovator of the Year for her work advancing trailblazing projects that promise to turbocharge industrial decarbonization efforts and her enthusiasm for cutting-edge hydrogen technologies.
Laura Fleming, business development manager at Hitachi Energy: Clean Energy Professional of the Year for her leadership in helping prepare the UK grid for the next stage of the energy transition and her commitment to building a more diverse workforce in a historically male-dominated industry.
Dorothy Oduguwa, head of diversity and inclusion at giffgaff/Vodafone: Diversity and Inclusion Champion of the Year for her comprehensive approach to advancing the diversity and inclusion agenda, making social inclusion a key part of the company’s internal and external operations.
Afshan Rasheed, director at WSP: Mentor of the Year for her work spearheading and leading mentorship programs at WSP, including initiatives supporting apprentices and new mums returning to the business.
Joanna Gilroy, group head of sustainability at Balfour Beatty: Corporate Sustainability Lead of the Year for her dedication to embedding sustainability into all aspects of the company’s work, spearheading a groundbreaking strategy for decarbonization, and overhauling corporate governance and KPIs.
Emma Holroyde, Flood Underwriting Manager at Flood Re: Buildings Professional of the Year for her creative approach to building awareness around flood risk, including an innovative project showcasing how gardens could enhance building resilience.
Elle Chartres, sustainability lead at Ad Net Zero: Communications or Marketing Professional of the Year for the pioneering role she played in raising awareness of sustainability within the advertising sector through an industry-wide campaign and building engagement for greener production practices.
Kirsty Leighton, founder and CEO of Milk & Honey PR: Communications or Marketing Professional of the Year for building a communications agency from scratch in seven years, achieving impressive B Corp certification, and leading purpose-driven work with commitment to environmental projects.
Eilis O’Keefe, carbon analyst at Kita: Rising Star of the Year for her efforts to further industry understanding of carbon market developments and co-founding a ‘women in carbon’ social media network that has garnered thousands of followers.
Arushi Gupta, sustainability consultant at Ipsos: Rising Star of the Year for excelling in her role, including developing a double materiality framework for the consultancy.
Chloe Lisley, Sustainability Apprentice at Medik8: Apprentice of the Year for her diligent and creative approach to tackling complex sustainability challenges and her enthusiasm for taking on diverse cross-departmental projects.