Express & Star Business Awards 2026: Meet the finalists - Sustainability

The shortlisted finalists have been announced for the Sustainability category of the Express & Star Business Awards 2026.

This award recognises businesses working to ensure their environmental impact is kept to an absolute minimum, such as through recycling, carbon offset, water conservation or sustainable energy schemes.

Judges have been looking for businesses helping to drive wider progress in the green economy in addition to their own sustainability achievements as well as companies that have demonstrated growth and financial success while delivering social and environmental benefits.

DJH Accountants & Business Advisers

DJH national accountancy and advisory group has fundamentally embedded sustainability into its identity, becoming a certified B Corp in 2025 and using a Mission Lock to legally commit the firm to balancing profit with purpose.

The firm has committed to halving its overall emissions by 2030 and achieving Net Zero by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement.

To help reduce the carbon footprint of staff commuting to work the Tuska electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme was introduced. Improving office energy efficiency has also reduced on-site energy emissions by seven per cent.

Social sustainability is driven by community commitments, including offering one paid volunteering day annually for each of the 800-plus team members, equating to more than 6,000 hours of community contribution. They also fund the £320,000 annual Great Ideas Grants programme, supporting grassroots initiatives focused on community and environmental resilience.

As a Top 40 UK accountancy group, DJH is extending its impact by building ESG advisory capabilities to support thousands of SME clients on their own sustainability journeys, demonstrating that financial success and social responsibility are mutually reinforcing partners.

Euro-Matic

Euro-Matic UK Ltd’s business is fundamentally focused on sustainability, specifically focusing on the protection of water as an increasingly stressed resource. The company provides simple, scalable, evidence-based solutions to address water quality, conservation, and chemical reduction, believing water protection should be treated with the same seriousness as energy efficiency.

The main product is Shade Balls, a floating cover system for reservoirs and wastewater treatment plants. These balls cover approximately 91 per cent of the water surface, a deliberate design choice that prevents algae and duckweed growth while allowing light and oxygen to support a natural ecosystem for wildlife like fish and amphibians. The environmental benefits are substantial: independent studies have shown up to 90 per cent evaporation savings and a significant reduction in the need for chemical treatments and mechanical cleaning. Cutting chemical dependency also improves downstream river quality.

The Cannock based company's commitment to the environment extends to its operations, running a zero-waste production approach that reuses all regrind material. Their Shade Balls are UV-stabilized, durable products engineered for a service life exceeding 30 years, reducing replacement cycles and material consumption. Crucially, Euro-Matic’s growth is driven by sustainability, as their solutions deliver measurable environmental benefits alongside clear operational cost savings, creating a scalable model where commercial and environmental value reinforce each other.

Haywoods Contracts

Haywoods Contracts, a UK manufacturer and installer, integrates sustainability into its daily operations, detailed formally in its ESG Policy. The company aims to minimise environmental impact across four core areas: climate control, waste, air pollution, and resource efficiency. Practical measures include manufacturing in its own workshop to cut transport emissions, keeping energy consumption low, reusing packaging, and minimising production waste. Haywoods maintains recycling programs for aluminium, paper, cardboard and plastics, recovering value from manufacturing waste and older products returned from sites.

The Burntwood based business promotes a sustainable supply chain by preferring recycled content, considering the energy efficiency of equipment, and sourcing responsibly, including timber certified by FSC and PEFC. By utilising local and UK suppliers, Haywoods supports regional jobs and reduces transport-related impacts. A key recent achievement involves extending its recycling arrangements to local charities and community organisations, such as the community store and foodbank.

Haywoods views sustainability as an ongoing area of continuous improvement, balancing environmental responsibility and social benefit with continued commercial growth.

PLAY@Lower Drayton Farm

PLAY@ Lower Drayton Farm combines regenerative farming, renewable energy and hands-on education to inspire thousands of visitors to engage with sustainable food and farming.

Primarily a working beef and arable farm and secondarily a visitor attraction, it embeds sustainability throughout its operation.

The business is committed to a regenerative farming journey, seeking to leave the land in better condition for the next generation. Key practices include using organic fertilisers like manure, growing companion crops to enrich soil and support pollinators, and adopting direct drilling techniques to protect soil structure and cut diesel use. The farm has also introduced low-impact technology, such as a solar-powered autonomous farm robot.

It has made big investments in renewable energy, installing solar panels and operating a renewable bio-gas plant that converts agricultural residues into biomethane, generating energy for around 6,000 homes. The by-product, digestate, is reused as a nutrient-rich fertiliser, supporting a closed-loop system, as the farm works toward achieving Net Zero carbon emissions by 2040.

In visitor operations, sustainable packaging is prioritised and a farm-to-fork approach using local suppliers to cut food miles. Waste reduction efforts include donating tonnes of surplus produce, such as pick your own pumpkins, to food banks. The farm uses its platform to provide hands-on environmental education, with events and school sessions enabling thousands of children to experience and understand sustainable food production and environmental stewardship.

The business's financial growth has enabled continued investment in its renewable energy, regenerative farming and educational initiatives.

The Big Phone Store

The Big Phone Store in Wolverhampton puts sustainability at the centre of its growth, extending device life through refurbishment, cutting waste and proving circular retail can deliver commercial, social and environmental value.

The business was founded on sustainability, using a circular business model focused on repair, reuse and responsible recycling to extend device life and cut electronic waste, by offering a lower-impact choice than buying new. This model is commercially successful, with turnover surpassing £5 million and more than 80,000 refurbished devices sold in 2025.

The primary environmental focus is keeping devices in use for longer. The company achieved a 98 per cent ‘keep-in-circulation rate’ for the 20,000 trade-in devices received in the last 12 months, with 88 per cent being fully refurbished. This system results in a 68.6 per cent lower carbon impact compared to replacing devices with new ones. Operational sustainability efforts include an on-site solar system and a fully electric local fleet.

To drive wider participation in the green economy, the business improved its trade-in process using AI-supported logic, leading to 99.8 per cent of customers receiving their exact quoted amount and a 24 per cent increase in repeat trade-ins. This build in customer trust makes refurbished tech a mainstream choice. By keeping devices in circulation and offering them up to 40 per cent less than new, The Big Phone Store creates social value through affordable technology access and skilled employment in Wolverhampton.

You can see the full list here.

The winners will be announced at a black tie ceremony at The Halls Wolverhampton on June 4, 2026.