Sustainability can seem like a complicated challenge for small businesses. It can feel disconnected from everyday business needs.
But it can be much simpler than that.
In what way does your business affect the environment? How do you treat your people and the communities around you? How well is your organisation run? And what could you do differently?
They are questions every business can ask.
And they sit right at the heart of what our returning Sustainability Champion sponsor, Plan-It ESG, does.
For the third consecutive year, Phil Parramore and Plan-It ESG are supporting the Wigan Business Awards. Helping us recognise the businesses across Wigan Borough that are making positive changes.
Making ESG Make Sense
Plan It ESG works with organisations to tackle Environmental, Social and Governance challenges. They turn some very big subjects into practical actions.
Because ESG isn’t simply about being greener.
The environmental part matters, of course, but it also asks businesses to think about their social impact and how well their organisation is governed.
That might mean looking at environmental impact, considering how a business contributes positively to society. Making sure an organisation is well run and financially sustainable, or responding to changing expectations from customers and employees.
Those expectations are changing.
People increasingly care about the organisations they buy from, work for and work with. Sustainability can seem like a complicated challenge for small businesses. Ethics, sustainability and social responsibility are becoming part of everyday business decisions.
For businesses, understanding that shift matters.
Experience Behind the Advice
Plan-It ESG founder Phil Parramore brings decades of experience across business support, consultancy, project management and organisational development.
His career has included almost 30 years within the public sector, followed by the creation of GuideDotYou Change Solutions in 2013 and, since 2023, trading as Plan-It- ESG.
He has supported organisations with business strategies and plans, project management, growth mentoring, performance measures and training alongside particular interests in renewable energy, social and affordable housing and community services.
Plan-It ESG is the next stage of that journey, bringing together expertise and trusted partners to help organisations understand and respond to the environmental, social and governance challenges facing them.
And Phil doesn’t just talk about supporting organisations and communities.
He gives his time to them too.
Part of Team WBA
Phil’s involvement with the Wigan Business Awards goes beyond sponsorship.
He is also part of the team that helps us with the shortlisting process, giving his time and experience to help us work through the applications we receive and determine which businesses progress to the finalist stage.
It’s no small task.
Every application needs to be considered properly and fairly, and our shortlisting team has the rather unenviable job of making some extremely difficult decisions when the standard is high.
Having experienced businesspeople willing to give their time to that process is incredibly important to us.
And after three years working alongside Phil, we know just how seriously he takes it.
A word from Phil
I’m delighted to be sponsoring the Sustainability Category and be a small part of the Wigan Business Community, which has such a big heart and, vitally, a family and supportive feel. There’s no need to panic if you feel like you don’t understand what Sustainability means, haven’t done much yet, or anything at all. I’d suggest you start with understanding why Sustainability should be built into your business model, before designing strategies and activities that align with your “why”. It isn’t a finish line, it’s a journey, and that first small step is just as important as any big, transformative action. Those early steps are what start to set the tone and build the culture in an organisation, and that matters just as much as where you eventually end up.”
Phil Parramore, Founder, Plan-It-ESG
Finding our Sustainability Champion
The Sustainability Champion Award is about recognising meaningful action.
We’re not looking for businesses that have solved every environmental or social challenge facing the world. And we’re certainly not expecting every entrant to have a dedicated sustainability department.
We want to recognise businesses that understand they can make a difference and are doing something about it.
That could be reducing waste, changing how resources are used, supporting employees, improving their impact on the community, introducing more responsible processes or making sustainability part of the way decisions are made.
Relatively small changes, repeated consistently, can have a significant impact.
And businesses of every size have a part to play.
That makes Plan-It ESG a particularly fitting partner for this award.
Phil spends his working life helping organisations think more carefully about their environmental, social and governance responsibilities, not only through Plan-It-ESG, but also in his roles as chair of the board at Community Gateway Association and as a patron for The Swallows Head and Neck Cancer Charity. Through his work with the Wigan Business Awards, he also gets to see what businesses across our borough are already putting into practice.
We’re delighted to welcome Plan-It ESG back as our Sustainability Champion sponsor for the third consecutive year.
Thank you, Phil, not only for continuing to support the Awards, but for rolling your sleeves up and being part of Team WBA too.
