Being a Sustainability Champion doesn’t have to mean everything is perfect all of the time.
It means recognising the changes your business is already making, and the impact those choices can have.
For some businesses, it brings to mind solar panels, electric vehicles or major environmental policies.
For others, it may feel like something they are “not far enough along” to talk about yet.
However, sustainability is often already part of the way a good business operates.
For some businesses, sustainability is a series of practical choices, from reducing waste and buying locally to improving energy use, reusing materials, supporting the team, and helping customers make better decisions.
At the Wigan Business Awards 2026, the Sustainability Champion category is designed to recognise those steps.
Not perfection. Progress.
Sustainability is Good Business
More customers, clients and partners are paying attention to how businesses behave.
They want to know that the organisations they work with are thinking carefully about their impact.
That doesn’t mean every business needs to have a full environmental strategy in place, but there is value in showing the changes you have made and the reasons behind them.
A sustainability award can help you tell that story with confidence.
Being shortlisted or winning gives your business a credible way to talk about the work you are doing.
It can support your reputation, strengthen your marketing and help you stand out when customers are choosing who to trust.
For businesses applying for tenders, funding or new partnerships, it can also give useful evidence of responsible practice.
You Do Not Have to be an Environmental Business
One of the reasons businesses often overlook this category is because they do not see themselves as “sustainable businesses”.
But sustainability is not limited to one sector.
A café reducing food waste can have a strong story to tell.
So can a construction business reusing material, a retailer changing its packaging, an office reducing energy use, a manufacturer improving processes or a service provider helping clients make better choices.
Some businesses make a difference through products. Others do it through operations, supply chains, transport, training or community projects.
The category is broad because sustainability looks different depending on the business.
What matters is that you can explain what you are doing, why you are doing it and what has changed as a result.
Small Changes Still Count
Award entries are often strongest when they are honest and specific.
You do not need to claim you have transformed everything overnight.
In fact, judges are more likely to connect with an entry that shows clear, practical action.
That might include switching suppliers, cutting single-use items, reducing print, improving recycling, using local businesses, choosing ethical materials, extending the life of products or making your workplace more efficient.
Small changes can show real leadership, especially when they are consistent.
If those changes have saved money, reduced waste, improved processes, supported customers or changed how your team thinks, they are worth talking about.
Recognition Can Help You Build Momentum
Entering an award gives you a chance to pause and reflect on what you have already done.
It can help you identify progress you may have overlooked and think more clearly about your next steps.
Recognition can also give your team something to feel proud of.
When a business is trying to make better choices, it often takes effort from more than one person. A sustainability award can acknowledge that shared work and encourage more of it.
What Judges Will Want to Understand
A strong entry should be clear and grounded.
Judges will want to know what your business has changed, how those changes were introduced and what difference they have made.
Where possible, include evidence. That could be a reduction in waste, money saved, local suppliers used, miles reduced, products reused, customers supported or staff trained.
If you do not have exact figures, explain the impact in plain terms. A specific example is always stronger than a general statement.
For example, instead of saying, “We are committed to sustainability,” you could say:
“We changed our packaging supplier in 2025, reducing plastic use across our customer orders and supporting a UK-based supplier.”
That kind of detail helps judges understand the action behind the claim.
Is This Your Category?
If your business has made changes to reduce waste, use resources more carefully, support local suppliers, improve processes or encourage customers to make more sustainable choices, the Sustainability Champion category could be a strong fit.
You do not need to have a perfect sustainability story.
You just need to show progress, purpose and impact.
Enter the Wigan Business Awards 2026
Nominations for the Wigan Business Awards 2026 are open now.
Nominations close at midnight on Friday 29 May 2026.
Award entries close at midnight on Monday 29 June 2026.
Submit a nomination or find out more by clicking HERE.
