MEET THE JUDGES
JUDGE’S NAME Sally Uren
In a world where we are drowning in data and comments, a Queen's Award cuts through a lot of noise and is a signal that you are serious, and good
CATEGORY Sustainable Development AREA OF INTEREST Sustainable Development
Sally is Chief Executive at Forum for the Future with overall responsibility for delivering Forum’s mission to accelerate a big shift towards a sustainable future by catalysing transformational change in global systems. An integral part of Sally’s role is to inspire and equip individuals and organisations to deliver systemic change for sustainability. She fulfils this by speaking at national and international conferences, and by writing articles for influential publications like the New Statesman, Huffington Post, Management Today and The Independent. In December 2017, Sally received an OBE in the Queen’s New Years Honours List for services to sustainability in business.
WHAT’S YOUR TOP TIP FOR A COMPANY THAT IS THINKING OF APPLYING FOR A QUEEN’S AWARD? Don't over-think the answers. Reference publically available information where you can. Actually answer the questions! DESCRIBE THE BENEFITS OF BEING A QUEEN’S AWARDSWINNER, AS YOU SEE IT In a world where we are drowning in data and comments, a Queens Award cuts through a lot of noise and is a signal that you are serious, and good. DESCRIBE A FEW FEATURES YOU BELIEVE MAKE BRITISH BUSINESSES SUCH A GLOBAL SUCCESS British business, in the main, is incredibly innovative, often the first to read changes in consumer attitudes and other macro-trends, and willing to have a go at problem-solving. There's an inherent tenacity in British businesses too, which means that failure is often a brilliant learning opportunity, as well as the cue to try something different. When it comes to sustainable development, business as usual just won't deliver the scale and pace of change that we need to see, so the ability of British business to experiment, fail fast, then try again, is critical.
WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE TO BE A JUDGE FOR THE QUEEN’S AWARDS? The sustainable development agenda needs to be central to all businesses, big and small. The Queen's Awards is a high profile, instantly recognisable scheme, and is another way of signalling that sustainable development is a mainstream - rather a niche - issue. WHY DO THE QUEEN’S AWARDS MATTER TO BUSINESS? Because they signal an independent mark of excellence for a business’ performance in a key area. WHAT DOYOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT BEING A QA JUDGE? As a judge we get to see how businesses, big and small, are working hard to reduce their social and environmental impacts while delivering economic success. Such a diversity in approaches is fascinating to see, and the actual judging itself is an experience, given the diverse background of the judges, where I always learn something new. WHAT SPARKS YOUR INTEREST ACROSS QUEEN’S AWARD APPLICANTS THIS YEAR? What was interesting is that we saw the beginnings of a shift from where sustainable development was bolted on to the main business strategy, to a situation where sustainable development is actually driving the business strategy and, in turn, the development of the business' core products and services. A business struggles to deliver one strategy, it's almost impossible to deliver two; so the sooner the sustainable development agenda drives the main business strategy, the sooner business will deliver the transformation needed to ensure Sustainable Development Goals are met.
ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO ADD… Just have a go!
Queen’s Awards Magazine 2021
33
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog