Blog

mch’s Short-Listed Application for the National Sustainability Awards

July 28th, 2026

mch is delighted to have been short-listed for, ‘Company of the Year’, at this year’s National Sustainability Awards. Below is an edited extract of our short-listed application:

Summary

At first glance, mch: positive impact is a people development firm. Its vision is to help individuals, teams and organisations fulfil their full potential, so that they can have the positive impact they want to see in the world. It achieves this vision through quality, effective and timely training and mentoring; with both focusing on better managing and leading yourself and others.

However, providing great training and mentoring to clients is only one of four equally important aspects to mch’s business operations. The other three are:

• Treating people well: those who work for and with us
• Having a positive impact on wider society
• Working in partnership with nature

mch was founded in 2005 and attributes its sustained success to continually seeking resonance and harmony between these four aspects of business.

mch operates throughout the U.K., conducts work in mainland Europe and has one full-time employee.

For mch: positive impact, interdependence is at the heart of sustainability. Through partnering with nature, we enable leaders to have a positive impact on the world, whilst also using business to change society for the better and providing a great place to work.

Partnering with the Environment

The Formal

mch has signed up to The Better Business Act. This means the company has formally changed its articles of association, so that it is legally bound to consider the environment and wider society when it makes business decisions.

The Quirky

mch is proud to have a garibaldi fish and a wildflower meadow as two honorary company directors. mch created the meadow and in an example of repurposing for sustainability, the tonnes of gravel that were covering what is now the meadow have been given to others (including a local sports club) for their driveways.

When faced with both strategic and operational issues, it is hoped that better decisions will be made, simply by asking;

“What is best for the wildflower meadow?” Or “What would the garibaldi fish prefer?”

Strategic Impact of Partnership

The Concept of Enough

Nature seeks balance and so a fundamental consequence of being in partnership with nature is continually striving for resilience and enough, not efficiency and continual growth. mch considers this countercultural approach was key to weathering the global financial crisis in 2007-9 and COVID in 2020-21.

The concept of enough extends to mch’s training work, as it is yet to use artificial intelligence to design any of its training materials. Gaining consistently excellent feedback without using it is enough. In doing so, mch’s digital carbon footprint is reduced.

Saying No

Occasionally, mch has refused work. It has done so because, after conducting due diligence, it is not convinced the client is operating sustainably.

Being Selective

A key commitment mch has made to its partnership with nature is not to fly for work purposes. This has necessitated ceasing to work in Australia and The Middle East.

Investing Wisely – Pensions and Banking

mch believes that where business chooses to spend and invest its capital is key to sustainability. A detailed review of mch’s ethical pension in 2024 prompted a two-year search to find a more appropriate one and mch plans to share its findings with other businesses to coincide with Ethical Finance Global 2026.

Since its foundation, mch has changed its banking provider three times in search of ever more ethical banking.

Rethinking Value and Communicating the Realities and what is to be Gained

Whilst the above strategic implications of partnering with nature illustrate challenges for businesses, mch has tried to espouse the benefits too. For example, in taking the train to Denmark for work, rather than the plane, mch highlighted that you can;

‘Have breakfast in Belgium, lunch in Germany (together with a haircut) and supper in Denmark.’

This richness would be impossible by flight.

Such insights, together with the following topics have been shared:

• International Travel by Train rather than Plane
• mch’s four-fold approach to business and how it can be measured.
• Doughnut economics.
• Calculating your carbon footprint.
• The Better Business Act.
• The concept of enough.
• Highlighting world recycling day, what you can do and its impact.

• Individual vs collective action and how environmental problems are often ‘wicked’.

  Standard Practices of the Partnership

  “The world is moved along not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.” Helen Keller

mch uses 100% renewable electricity to power its office. It measures and offsets its carbon emissions, including for cloud computing. It also adopts the 6R approach and indicative examples include:

Recycling

• Recycling printer cartridges and redundant electricals, often raising money for charities in the process.

• When overseas, bringing back all items that can be recycled in the UK, but not in the country in which mch is working.

Repair

• mch’s two work bags are 25 and 15 years old respectively. Both are still operational on account of being repaired frequently.

Reduce

• mch switches off utilities and equipment when not in use and printing is kept to a minimum.

Reuse

• mch staff travel with a reusable cup, a carrier bag and a paper bag. The latter avoids using the ones provided in food shops for the 1-2 minutes between selecting a food item and then eating it. • mch has used both second-hand laptops and phones.

Refuse

• mch refuses new phone upgrades, only replacing such equipment when they no longer function.

Rethinking

• mch helps other businesses rethink their approaches to sustainability.

Selected Impact

Since 2005, mch estimates that relative to the average company, it has used:

• 40% fewer new phones

• 20% fewer new laptops

• 500 fewer paper bags

Enabling Leaders

Through its leadership development work, mch is increasingly encouraging leaders to become more sustainability-minded. This can be through training, or by delivering development opportunities in nature. It can also be through the contracting process e.g. negotiating to travel by train, rather than plane.

mch recognises that it can be easier for businesses to partner with nature from the very beginning. Consequently, mch is developing a pro bono initiative to help entrepreneurs leaving university to consider sustainable practices.

Changing Society for the Better

mch considers that sustainability is intrinsically linked to equity and so for the last six years, it has donated over 10% of its pre-tax profits and donated over 400 volunteering hours/employee towards a more just and equitable future.

It also believes impact is amplified through collaboration and so is actively engaging with the likes of The School for Moral Ambition and People, Planet, Pint, whilst supporting the campaigns of Oxfam and the work of On Purpose.

Accountability and Transparency

mch has published social responsibility reports since it was founded in 2005. These include how it provides a great place to work and its broader stakeholder engagement.

blog comments powered by Disqus