MEET THE JUDGES
JUDGE’S NAME Abyd Karmali OBE
There is considerable prestige associated with being a King's Award winner
CATEGORY Sustainable Development
AREA OF INTEREST Climate Change & Sustainable Finance
As Climate Finance Executive at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Abyd Karmali is responsible for scaling up company investments into low-carbon climate-resilience opportunities across the investment and commercial bank. He has spent much of the past 30 years working on a wide range of climate change issues, honing expertise from multiple vantage points including techno-economic, policy, strategic and financial. In addition to sitting on the board of the business NGO, The Climate Group, Mr Karmali is also a member of The Aga Khan Foundation (UK), a national committee of international development NGOs. Abyd holds an MS in Technology & Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
WHAT’S YOUR TOP TIP FOR A COMPANY THAT IS THINKING OF APPLYING FOR A KING'S AWARD? In Sustainable Development, the baseline for performance is changing fast to adapt to new scientific realities. Good housekeeping along environmental, social and economic dimensions is now simply a pre- requisite. Judges are increasingly looking to understand how each applicant is bringing a sustainable development lens into the very heart of its business, including sometimes adapting its business model. DESCRIBE THE BENEFITS OF BEING A KING'S AWARDS WINNER, AS YOU SEE IT There is considerable prestige associated with being a King's Award winner. This creates value for a company by strengthening the relationships between the company and its customers, owners, suppliers and broader stakeholders within the community.
WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE TO BE A JUDGE FOR THE KING'S AWARDS? I accepted the invitation to be a judge on the Sustainable Development panel because of my own focus over three decades on how the private sector can be a leader in sustainable development. WHY DO THE KING'S AWARDS MATTER TO BUSINESS? The Awards serve an important purpose in helping to increase awareness within business about the two degrees target of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Further, the Awards can identify and reward UK companies that are aligning their businesses with ambitious environmental, social and economic performance indicators. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT BEING A KA JUDGE? Two aspects stand out. First, it is truly a privilege to be deliberating on the merits of applications with such an outstanding group of fellow judges, each of whom is considered a leader on sustainability from the private sector, the think tank sector, academia or government. Second, it is wonderful to read about the journey each company is making to try to improve its sustainability performance and to help recognise those that can be described as leaders in their particular sector of the economy. WHAT SPARKS YOUR INTEREST ACROSS KING'S AWARD APPLICANTS THIS YEAR? This year the applicants came from a variety of sectors, geographies and sizes. The diversity of companies interested in the Awards is a good reflection of their resonance across the British business community.
DESCRIBE A FEW FEATURES YOU BELIEVE MAKE BRITISH BUSINESSES SUCH A GLOBAL SUCCESS
British businesses have an enviable mix of talent in the workforce, creative ideas, and good access to capital, including from mature capital markets. Marrying all of these attributes to a set of values built on corporate social responsibility can help continue position British companies on the global stage as leaders in sustainability and responsible growth.
King’s Awards Magazine 2023
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