Judging Panel 2026

Mark Evans, Publisher, Better Society
Dermot Barnes, Sustainability Programme Director, City St George’s, University of London
Georgie Howlett, Director, Claremont
Gordon Roy, District Surveyor, City of London Corporation
Peter Woods, Head of Facilities, Daiwa Capital Markets Europe

Mark Evans, Publisher, Better Society
Mark has been in financial journalism for over 20 years, working in charity, technology, finance and retail. He is currently the Publishing Director of PPL. He holds a degree from Cardiff, an MA from Oxford Brookes and an MBA from Henley.

Dermot Barnes, Sustainability Programme Director,City St George’s, University of London
Dermot is Sustainability Programme Director at City St George’s, University of London, where he both lectures and leads on decarbonisation and broader sustainability initiatives linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). As well as running a Design and Build contracting company delivering more than 600 energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, he has also worked in the Consultancy and Public sectors where he was responsible for designing and delivering net zero solutions for clients across the built environment. Dermot is also Chair of an award-winning community energy company and is an active member of local sustainability groups. He holds an MSc in Sustainable Resources, Economy Policy and Transitions from UCL Bartlett and is a BREEAM and PAS 2035 qualified Retrofit Assessor.

Georgie Howlett, Director,Claremont

Georgie has over 18 years of strategic social change experience spanning charities, purposeful businesses and the public sector.
Over the years, she has worked with the likes of WRAP, National Trust, RSPCA, Tommy’s, Magic Breakfast and multiple local authorities, spanning insight, comms strategy, messaging and campaigns.
Environmental campaigns Georgie has worked on include everything from getting people to take public transport to festivals, to recycle batteries, to reduce contamination in recycling and getting more people on their bike. Georgie also helped Ella's Kitchen with their purpose and sustainability strategy, and she's currently working with a local authority on a project to tackle littering, using arts-based methods to engage the local community.

Gordon Roy, District Surveyor, City of London Corporation
Gordon has worked in the Local Authority Building Control for over thirty years. Specialising in sports grounds, Gordon led the building control teams on the Olympic park venues for London 2012 and working with the LDSA Sports Grounds Committee, he helped draft the “Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds During Construction” and the model General Safety Certificate and has been a past Chair of the Core Cities, “Sports Grounds and Public Safety Committee”. He is a member of the BSi and CEN working groups on “Spectator Facilities” and BS 9991” Fire Safety of Residential Buildings”. In 2018, Gordon became the Corporation’s, “District Surveyor and Environmental Resilience Director”, with responsibility for inspection and maintenance of the City’s civil engineering structures, and manages the Corporations Building Control service. The District Surveyors team provide a building control service to the City’s world-famous financial sector which includes some of the highest and most complex buildings in Europe. The team have recently expanded the team to help deliver the Corporations, “Climate Action Strategy”, which will help the Square Mile to become Zero Carbon and a more climate resilient City. In 2016, Gordon was awarded Honorary membership to LABC for his contribution to Local Authority Building Control.

Peter Woods, Head of Facilities, Daiwa Capital Markets Europe
Peter has worked in the facilities management and real estate industry for over 30 years responsible for multiple sites for Tesco, Santander and other household names. Energy and sustainability have always been at the top of the agenda to ensure an effective service delivery. Currently working for Daiwa they aim to reduce the impact of the firm’s operations on the environment, through the Group 2030 Vision initiative, promoting the “transition to a carbon-free society and realising a resilient society”. The goal is to promote sustainability and environmental awareness at all levels of the firm with various initiatives to do this.