Sector drives wider change at Inspirational Leader Awards

This year’s Inspirational Leader Awards teaches us that progress depends on people who can turn good intentions into lasting organisational change, says Sarah Duncan, co-founder & director, Expert Advice/Sleeping Lion.

I was privileged to be on the committee for this year’s awards and came away hopeful that our sector can educate others that environmental and social responsibility can go hand in hand with commercial success.

The nominees demonstrated that effective ESG leadership is not about ticking boxes or producing impressive reports, but it is about turning ideas into action, making responsible business practices part of everyday decision-making and bringing people together around a shared purpose.

The strongest ESG initiatives are rarely the work of one individual or department; they depend on creating an organisational culture in which everyone understands their role.

Magaly Etter, ESG manager, Whatley Manor Hotel & Spa, demonstrated this approach by embedding sustainability objectives across every department, with department heads accountable for their performance. At Robinsons Brewery, sustainability lead Isabelle Masters developed a network of 30 sustainability representatives across pubs, giving local teams ownership of improvement initiatives. Helen Bishop, group head of sustainability & engagement, Watergate Bay Hotel and Another Place, used volunteer green teams as opportunities for learning and engagement rather than simply administrative committees.

Alex Matulina, ESG manager, PPHE, also demonstrated the importance of collaboration, bringing together executives, procurement, operations and chefs to support the company’s decarbonisation strategy.

These examples illustrate an important shift in hospitality: that sustainability is becoming a shared business responsibility rather than the remit of a specialist team, encouraging the whole business to take part.

Another defining feature of this year's awards was the way nominees used technology and data to deliver tangible improvements.

At The Savoy, Debra Patterson, director of quality and sustainability, championed AI-powered food waste monitoring through Orbisk, helping the business better understand and tackle food waste. Helen Bishop introduced real-time utility monitoring and smart controls, while Etter developed sophisticated carbon accounting and supplier integration using Greenly.

At group level, Matulina and Joe Sabberton-Coe, ESG coordinator, Clermont Hotel Group, helped establish ESG governance and reporting frameworks, demonstrating the importance of measuring progress and translating information into meaningful decisions.

The results achieved by nominees were equally impressive. The Savoy recorded a recycling rate of more than 98%, while Whatley Manor became the first independent hotel in the UK to achieve EarthCheck Gold certification.

These achievements demonstrate how effective leadership combines ambition with accountability, ensuring that sustainability commitments translate into measurable operational progress, with transparency at the heart of proving the success of these strategies.

From pioneering environmental certifications and science-based decarbonisation across more than 40 hotels to tackling microplastic pollution, supporting vulnerable communities and developing more inclusive hospitality spaces, the nominees demonstrated the extraordinary breadth of leadership emerging across the sector.

The message from this year's nominees is clear; the future of hospitality will be shaped not simply by businesses that respond to environmental and social challenges, but by leaders who inspire their teams to become part of the solution, something I am very much looking forward to celebrating.