21 January 2020
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BusinessGreen has been celebrating and highlighting the progress of the green economy for over a decade - but doing so has never been more important
Where does the time go? It only seems like a few years back that BusinessGreen was planning to launch the inaugural BusinessGreen Leaders Awards as part of a plan to raise the profile of this most important of industries (and help diversify our revenue streams to guard against the inevitable market volatility that is endemic to the world of B2B media).
In reality it was just shy of a decade ago and today we launch the 10th annual BusinessGreen Leaders Awards.
In the intervening years the awards has grown from a small gathering of around 230 people expertly compered by the late, great comedian Jeremy Hardy, to a key gathering in the green business calendar, bringing together 600 top executives, investors, Cabinet Ministers, and campaigners for one of the world's biggest celebrations of the burgeoning green economy. (It has also helped hugely in diversifying those revenue streams, providing BusinessGreen with an annual event that allows us to continue to invest in the high quality journalism that keeps you all up to date with the latest green business news and analysis).
At the same time the climate crisis and the green economy has gone from largely niche concern to topping the bill at Davos, dominating Prime Ministerial speeches, and defining what it is to be a successful global corporation - and that's just yesterday's news.
This progress from niche to mainstream has been driven in no small part by the talent and dedication of the many green business leaders we have been privileged enough to honour over the years. And through the awards we've helped provide a platform for literally hundreds of pioneering businesses, while also delivering a unique networking opportunity where numerous vital partnerships and collaborations have been nurtured.
There have also been some wonderful memories generated along the way: intense judging panel debates, moving and inspiring speeches from the likes of Christiana Figueres, Lord Deben, and Claire O'Neill, and a fair few hazier after-party recollections, usually involving karaoke bars and at least one leader of a UK political party.
Most of all though, the awards have provided countless celebrations of the many wonderful businesses and individuals that are driving the net zero transition and the development of the green economy. They have helped to provide people working on the biggest of challenges with a useful reminder that they are not alone, that the net zero transition is a collective endeavour, that their sterling work is hugely appreciated and deservedly recognised.
And ultimately that's why this tenth annual awards - which will be staged precisely half way through this critical 12 months for the green economy - are so important. As such, we hope you'll enter this year and join us in celebrating both the huge progress we have all made and the enormous potential for further great strides during the crucial decade ahead.
A version of this article first appeared in the BusinessGreen Overnight Briefing, our daily newsletter briefing exclusively for BusinessGreen subscribers.
