All the winners and highly commended entries from the inaugural Women in Green Business Awards
Last night more that 350 top green business leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, and campaigners gathered in central London for the inaugural Women in Green Business Awards.
The first awards to celebrate the achievements of women working across the breadth of the UK's low-carbon economy, the evening featured speeches, comedy, and great food and company. And, of course, 25 trophies handed out to the deserving winners. Here are all the winners and highly commended finalists from the night.
Mentor of the year
Afshan Rasheed
Rasheed impressed the judges for her work leading mentorship programmes at WSP. She was particularly praised for spearheading initiatives to support apprentices and new mums returning to the business.
Buildings professional of the year
Emma Holroyde, Flood Re
In a highly competitive category, Holroyde was praised by the judges for her creative approach to building awareness around flood risk. Judges were impressed by her part in an innovative project which showcased how gardens could be leveraged to enhance building resilience.
Highly commended: Kelly Harrison, Whitby Wood
Clean energy consultant of the year
Sonya Bedford
Bedford earned plaudits for her pivotal role driving forward the development of one of the UK's most ambitious heat network projects. Judges were impressed by her extensive experience working with communities, councils, and companies to get clean energy projects off the ground.
Investor of the year
Monika Paplaczyk, Thrive Renewables
Paplaczyk was praised for her visionary work driving the impressive growth of Thrive Renewables in recent years. The judges also praised her advocacy for women's leadership across the clean energy industry.
Highly commended: Alice Legrix de la Salle, Axa
Climate Clean technology innovator of the year
Katherine Gobey, Levidian
In a highly competitive category, Gobey came out tops for her work advancing trailblazing projects that promise to turbocharge industrial decarbonisation efforts. Judges were impressed by the palpable enthusiasm she has for the cutting-edge hydrogen technologies she is helping to deliver.
Highly commended: Lisa Treseder, Kensa Utilities
Transport professional of the year
Melanie Shufflebotham, Zapmap
Judges applauded Shufflebotham for the ‘doggedness and determination' she has shown at the helm of one of the green economy's most successful start-ups. As founder and COO, she has presided over a stellar 18 months at the company, which has included the launch of new products and its expansion into new markets.
Highly commended: Kate Broome, Kuehne + Nagel
Nature champion of the year
Eva Zabey, Business for Nature
Zabey was praised for her work mobilising some of the world's largest businesses behind the global nature goals for 2030. Judges were impressed with the breadth and scale of her advocacy for nature, both within the private sector and with policy makers.
Carbon markets professional of the year
Swarnali Mitra, CUR8
Mitra was praised for her ‘outside the box' approach to driving innovation within the carbon markets sector. Judges praised her for "pushing the envelope around how the industry works" as she tackles one of the green economy's most complex challenges.
Highly commended: Valerie Morgan, Climate Impact Partners
Clean energy professional of the year
Laura Fleming, Hitachi Energy
Fleming scooped up the award for her astute leadership of a company going from strength-to-strength as it helps prepare the UK grid for the next stage of the energy transition. She was also praised for her commitment to building a more diverse workforce in a historically male-dominated industry.
Highly commended: Louise Alter, Equans UK & Ireland
Communications and marketing professional of the year - in-house
Ellie Chartres, Ad Net Zero
Chartres won over the judges for the pioneering role she had played raising awareness of sustainability within the advertising sector through an industry-wide campaign. She was commended for her creative and all-encompassing approach to building engagement for greener production practices within advertising.
Highly commended: Amy Reid, UK Power Networks, and Laura Moore, Sustainable Ventures
Communications and marketing professional of the year – agency
Kirsty Leighton, Milk & Honey PR
In one of the most competitive categories of this year's awards, Leighton wowed the judges with the speed and perseverance with which she has built a communications agency from scratch in just seven years. They were won over by her work delivering Milk & Honey's impressive B Corp score, its portfolio of purpose-driven work, and its commitment to plastic and carbon projects around the world.
Apprentice of the year
Chloe Lisley, Medik8
Lisley impressed the judges with her diligent and creative approach to tackling complex sustainability challenges. They praised the enthusiasm with which she has taken on diverse cross-departmental projects, and her willingness to cut her teeth across all parts of the business.
Highly commended: Louise Johnston, Schneider Electric and Martha Smith, WSP
Rising star of the year – SMEs
Eilis O'Keefe, Kita
O'Keefe was praised for her efforts to further industry understanding of carbon market developments, both within Kita and across the sector as a whole. She also earned plaudits for her role as co-founder of a ‘women in carbon' social media network which has garnered thousands of followers in a short period of time.
Rising star of the year - corporates and large organisations
Arushi Gupta, Ipsos
Gupta was singled out in a highly competitive category for excelling in her role at Ipsos Mori. Judges were particularly impressed by her ‘incredible' work on developing a double materiality framework for the consultancy.
Highly commended: Michelle de Waele, Balfour Beatty
Women in STEM champion
Rachel Morse, Heidelberg Materials
Morse was praised for the positive impact she is having in communities and in schools as she works to promote green STEM skills, including an eye-catching scheme to introduce a new construction badge for Girl Guides.
Highly commended: Julia Ward, Queequeg Renewables
Diversity and inclusion champion of the year
Dorothy Oduguwa
In a highly competitive category, Oduguwa was praised for her comprehensive approach to advancing her company's D&I agenda. Judges were particularly impressed with her commitment to making social inclusion a key part of the company's internal and external operations.
Diversity and inclusion strategy of the year
UK Power Networks
UK Power Networks impressed the judges with its "equality to equity" strategy which sets out plans for D&I dashboards, neurodiversity training, and a mentorship programme for women in leadership.
Employer of the year
Kaluza
Kaluza scooped this award for its strong track record of policies designed to create an inclusive and equitable workplace. Judges praised the firm's successfully delivery of initiatives, partnerships, and campaigns specifically designed to break down the barriers women face in the workplace and the wider tech industry.
Entrepreneur of the year
Melanie Shufflebotham
Shufflebotham was praised for her innovative leadership of Zapmap, which has seen the innovative company grow from a concept to the UK's leading EV charging information platform. Judges commended her for doubling the size of her team, achieving significant revenue growth, and her dedication to decarbonisation and gender diversity.
Corporate sustainability lead of the year
Joanna Gilroy, Balfour Beatty
In a highly competitive category, Gilroy's dedication to embedding sustainability into all aspects of Balfour Beatty's work impressed the judges. She was praised for her work spearheading a groundbreaking strategy for decarbonisation and overhauling the firm's corporate governance and KPIs to embed greener practices at the firm.
Business of the year
Greenbank
Greenbank was praised for its commitment to gender diversity and equality in the male-dominated financial services industry. Judges were impressed by its efforts to champion female representation at multiple levels of the business. Highly commended: Greenhouse Communications and KLH Sustainability
Politician of the year
Carla Denyer
The winner of this year's Politician of the Year award is Carla Denyer, in recognition of her leadership in driving the parliamentary Green Party of England and Wales to its most successful election result to date. Carla began her career in the green economy as an engineer in the wind industry, before quickly emerging as one of the most influential voices in UK green politics.
While she is just starting her tenure as an MP, she has already left a lasting impact through her work as a long-serving councillor in Bristol. One of Carla's most significant achievements was drafting and proposing Europe's first climate emergency declaration, a motion that was adopted by the city of Bristol and inspired a nationwide movement. Hundreds of councils across the UK followed Bristol's lead, resulting in far-reaching changes to waste, energy, and transport policies.
In the recent election campaign, which Carla co-led alongside her colleague Adrian Ramsay, the Greens secured a record four parliamentary seats and were placed second in dozens more, providing further evidence of public support for progressive climate and nature policies. Thanks in large part to Carla's tireless advocacy,
Labour now faces a strong progressive green force in Parliament, which will push for even greater climate action. We are proud to honour Carla Denyer with the Politician of the Year award for her impressive leadership, her pivotal role in reshaping green politics, and her commitment to building a more sustainable future for the UK.
Leader of the year
Tamsin Lishman, Kensa
Lishman wowed the judges for her visionary leadership of Kensa during what has been a bumper year for the Cornwall-based ground source heat pump company. They praised her for her role overseeing the launch of a flagship heat pump product, positioning the company as a leader in clean heat, all while fostering a diverse, inclusive workforce.
Highly commended: Anna Guyer, Greenhouse Communications
Woman of the year
Maria Mendiluce, We Mean Business Coalition
Mendiluce has been recognised for her high profile work championing ambitious corporate climate action as CEO of the influential We Mean Business Coalition. Under her leadership, the coalition has raised the stakes for corporate ambition on climate and emerged as one of the world's leading green business advocacy groups.
Lifetime achievement award
Dr Nina Skorupska
The winner of this year's Lifetime Achievment Award is Dr Nina Skorupska in recognition of her contribution to the renewable energy and clean technology industry over many years and her advocacy for women in STEM.
Earlier this year, Nina stepped down after more than 10 years at the helm of the REA, a role which saw her champion the interests of the renewables and clean technology sector during a pivotal time for the green economy. Over a period which included the Paris Agreement, Brexit, the UK's COP26 Presidency, and numerous Prime Ministers, Nina was a leading advocate for the green economy, constantly pushing for bold, forward-thinking energy and technology policies. Before joining the REA in 2013, Nina worked for two decades for the RWE Group in roles covering everything from engineering and R&D to power station operations and energy trading.
Having been one of the UK's first female power station managers in the 1990s, Nina has been a long-time champion of enhancing diversity and inclusion in the energy industry and the green economy. She was formerly deputy chair of the WISE campaign and is current ambassador of the Powerful Women initiative, both of which aim to dismantle barriers to women's participation in green industries.
Although she has now stepped down as CEO of the REA, Nina's dedication to advancing the green economy remains as strong as ever. She continues to lend her expertise as an advisor and board member for key organisations driving the UK's transition to net zero, including the Carbon Trust, National Grid ESO, Transport for London, and the Energy Research Accelerator.
Nina's visionary leadership, relentless advocacy, and dedicated commitment to a more sustainable and inclusive future make her the deserving winner of this year's Lifetime Achievement Award.
