6th Edition
OCTOBER 7th, 2025
InterContinental Athénée Palace Bucharest, Le Diplomate hall
InterContinental Athénée Palace Bucharest, Le Diplomate hall
Sustainability developed as a wide concept in the past years with a nuanced understanding of its three dimensions: society, environment and business. Sustainability is considered to be everything included in the social and economic areas with environmental impact and puts a great pressure to Governments, authorities, organizations, public and private companies and not the least, people as stakeholders to all the processes, to address and support the long-term ecological balance for a greener and sustainable future.
Established 6 years ago, SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS FORUM & AWARDS GALA depicts each year the essentials and fundamentals of the sustainability and green developments within the SUSTAINABILITY FORUM and rewards the performance of initiatives, projects, companies and leaders acting in cross industries in Romania within the SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS GALA.
15:30 - 16:00
16:00 - 17:15
17:15 – 17:30
17:30 - 18:45
18:45 - 19:30
19:30 - 21:00
THE BUSINESS CASE FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability is not just an ethical responsibility but a powerful driver of business success. In today’s rapidly evolving world, organizations face growing challenges from climate change, resource scarcity, shifting consumer expectations, and tightening regulations. These challenges, however, are also opportunities. Businesses that embrace sustainability as a core strategy are positioning themselves as leaders in innovation, resilience, and profitability.
THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY - RETHINKING BUSINESS MODELS
In a world facing growing environmental challenges, the traditional "take-make-dispose" business model is no longer sustainable. The circular economy offers a transformative solution by rethinking how we design, produce, and consume. It focuses on eliminating waste, keeping materials in use, and regenerating natural systems—creating a sustainable, closed-loop system.
GREEN FINANCING AND INVESTMENT
As the world shifts toward sustainable development, green financing and investment are emerging as critical tools to fund the transition. Green financing focuses on directing capital toward projects and businesses that drive environmental benefits, such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable infrastructure. For businesses, accessing green finance not only helps mitigate environmental impact but also attracts investors who prioritize sustainability.
FUTURE TRENDS IN BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY
The world of business sustainability is rapidly evolving, driven by technological advancements, shifting consumer priorities, and urgent environmental challenges. Staying ahead requires understanding the future trends shaping sustainability, from the rise of renewable energy and circular business models to the integration of AI and data-driven ESG strategies.
COLLABORATING FOR IMPACT
Achieving meaningful progress in sustainability requires collaboration across businesses, governments, and communities.
No single organization can tackle the complex challenges of climate change, resource scarcity, and social inequality alone. Collaboration for impact is about leveraging collective strengths to create scalable, transformative solutions.
The SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS GALA is dedicated to the performance and proven commitment in the development of sustainable initiatives, projects and leaders in the business sectors of the Romanian economy, to highlight even more the primary importance of acting sustainably regardless of industry or region. The Gala event portrays and rewards the concepts, projects, leaders and companies that made a mark in the sustainability field in Romania. The Gala Awards displays and explores cutting-edge solutions and the most relevant voices in climate change, resource conservation, and ethical business practices. The event not only serves as a catalyst for driving change but also cultivates a sense of collective responsibility, inspiring participants to play an active role in shaping a more sustainable and resilient global economy.
The SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS GALA aims at offering the spotlight for standing out leading companies, managers and projects as FRONT-RUNNERS IN SUSTAINABILITY.
THE SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS have been designated to COMPANIES, LEADERS AND INITIATIVES that have met the criteria of:
• Successfully meeting the sustainability objectives / targets
• The innovative and new approach of the project / initiative
• The commitment and perseverance of promoting and leading sustainable projects in the company and industry
• The scale up potential of the initiative / project at the level of company and industry
NOMINATION TIMELINE
May 26. START OF All categories nominations entries. Companies and individuals can submit their nomination choices on the online forms for GENERAL & SPECIAL CATEGORIES.
August 30. Deadline for nominations entries. The nominating procedure will be closed after this date and late entries will not be considered for Sustainability Awards 2025 edition
September 1. All nominations entered in the competition will be submitted to Jury.
* The Nominations for categories: BRAND OF THE YEAR, NET-ZERO CARBON STRATEGY OF THE YEAR & SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING & COMMUNICATIONS will be submitted to ONLINE PUBLIC VOTING between July 18 - September 19
October 7. The WINNERS’ announcement and Awarding Ceremony
• GAME CHANGER IN SUSTAINABILITY
• SUSTAINABILITY FRONTRUNNER IN THE INDUSTRY
• SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIP OF THE YEAR
• ESG INVESTOR OF THE YEAR
• BEST SUSTAINABLE FINANCE SOLUTIONS PROVIDER
• SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAIN OF THE YEAR
• LEADERSHIP IN SUSTAINABILITY
• EDUCATIONAL PROJECT IN SUSTAINABILITY
• SMART SUSTAINABLE CONCEPT
• SOCIAL VALUE INITIATIVE IN SUSTAINABILITY
• CIRCULAR ECONOMY INNOVATION OF THE YEAR
• WASTE AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PROJECT OF THE YEAR
• TECHNOLOGY IMPACT AWARD
• SUSTAINABILITY AMBASSADOR
• PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
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Cut down the development time with drag-and-drop website builder. Drop the blocks into the page, edit content inline and publish - no technical skills required.
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• BRAND OF THE YEAR
• SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING & COMMUNICATIONS
• NET-ZERO CARBON STRATEGY
OF THE YEAR
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No special actions required, all sites you make with Mobirise are mobile-friendly. You don't have to create a special mobile version of your site, it will adapt automagically.
No special actions required, all sites you make with Mobirise are mobile-friendly. You don't have to create a special mobile version of your site, it will adapt automagically.
No special actions required, all sites you make with Mobirise are mobile-friendly. You don't have to create a special mobile version of your site, it will adapt automagically.
Cut down the development time with drag-and-drop website builder. Drop the blocks into the page, edit content inline and publish - no technical skills required.
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- Sustainability strategy: Demonstration of forward-looking ESG/sustainability strategy integrated with business strategy by Integrating ESG considerations into the core corporate strategy and explain how they relate to their businesses and operations
- The commitment and perseverance of promoting and leading sustainable projects in the company and industry
- Corporate governance: Strong involvement and commitment from management in leading the organization to manage sustainability risks and opportunities and achieve its sustainability goals
- Identifying and engaging key stakeholders as well as address the material ESG issues concerned by stakeholders
- Creating value through social performance. Community contributions and development engage with local community to understand their needs and concerns with an aim to prevent and solve problems contribute (e.g., time, money and other resources) in the areas of environmental protection, employment opportunities, education, health, culture and heritage, sport and technology development & access
- Creating quantifiable value through environmental performance
(e.g.
• Climate Change: identify and mitigate significant climate-related issues; monitor and mitigate carbon emissions; finance environmental impact
• Pollution & Waste: monitor, manage and mitigate emissions (SOx, NOx and PM), hazardous and nonhazardous waste, spills and sewage
• Use of resources: promote sustainable and efficient use of energy, water and other raw materials
• Natural capital: protect, conserve and enhance biodiversity & land use, ecosystems and other natural resources
• Environmental opportunities: create opportunities in clean tech, green building, renewable energy)
- Successfully meeting the sustainability objectives / targets.
- Setting out clearly its sustainability vision, strategy, management approach with action plans and initiatives to implement its strategy
-Setting sustainability targets or key performance indicators (KPIs)facilitating comparative information on economic, environmental and social performance, supported by reasonable length of explanations of the underlying changes * specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound
- Setting ambitious but realistic goals in relation to available resources.
- The project’s goals and outcomes having been clearly documented.
- The project/initiative serves as a good example for other institutions.
- The innovative and new approach of the project / initiative
- The scale up potential of the initiative / project at the level of company and industry
- Successfully meeting the sustainability objectives / targets
- The awardees must have made, and continue to make, a unique and outstanding academic or societal contribution to sustainability in general or to a sustainability-relevant issue in particular.
- Outstanding contribution in sustainability projects in 2022. Disclosed actions taken with quantifiable results, scope of impact, targets and future plans of the initiatives
- Demonstrated innovation & value addition
- Testimonials
The awarded WINNERS of SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS GALA will be announced and celebrated on stage on September 24, during a prestigious Awards Gala.
Limited seats available
InterContinental Athénée Palace,
Strada Episcopiei, București 010292
20 Brailita Street, 1st Floor,
Sector 3, Bucharest
Email: office@thediplomat.ro
Phone: +40 722 523 535