ENGINEERING

MATTERS

AWARDS

CHAMPIONING THE ENGINEERS WHO MAKE THE WORLD BETTER
Entries now closed
Winners announced on the podcast from April to September 2026

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

The Engineering Matters Awards return in 2026 – entries are now closed.

We invite projects, companies, innovations, and exceptional individuals in the engineering industry to step into the spotlight and showcase their achievements.”

This is your chance to gain recognition for groundbreaking work, celebrate your team’s dedication, and inspire others in the field. Whether it’s a transformative project, a pioneering innovation, or exemplary leadership, the Engineering Matters Awards offers the perfect platform to highlight your contributions to engineering excellence.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to be celebrated among the best – enter now and let your accomplishments shine!

All Gold Award winners will receive a dedicated Engineering Matters podcast episode featuring their acheivements.

THE CATEGORIES

INNOVATION CHAMPION

Innovation can take the form of a new product, like a piece of equipment or a software tool; a process or way of working; or a project that combines elements in a new way. Innovations might be developed by an individual or company, a project joint venture, a trade association, or a university department.

The Engineering Matters Innovation Champion awards recognise all forms of innovation in engineering. Bronze awards may be granted to great ideas that still need to be proven commercially, or to a widely adopted change that brings slight, but significant, gains. Innovations granted a Gold award will need to demonstrate their performance across the judging criteria.

This is a judge selected category. All entries in all categories will be considered for the Innovation Champion.

NET ZERO CHAMPION

Governments and organisations around the world are setting ambitious Net Zero goals. But how will we achieve those goals? Progress on Net Zero will require new technology to eliminate carbon emissions. It will also require smarter planning of projects and supply chains, and new tools to accurately predict, measure and report emissions.

The Engineering Matters Net Zero Champion awards recognise projects, processes, and tools that make a real contribution to reducing carbon emissions. Entrants should demonstrate measurable and verifiable benefits. The highest awards will be given to those entries that demonstrate significant impact or widespread scope, or that overcome a specific challenge.

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION CHAMPION

We all work better, when we all work together. But many people are not given the chance to develop and contribute their skills. Sometimes tangible barriers prevent people contributing as engineers: sites can be hard to access for people with mobility issues; working hours can put off those with caring responsibilities, and promotion policies can hold back those who take time off to parent a young family; local schools may not teach the right skills for an engineering career. Other barriers are less tangible: recruiters’ prejudices can stop them seeing candidates’ full potential; those who might be able to make a contribution as engineers, can fail to see a place for people like them in the industry.

The Engineering Matters Diversity & Inclusion awards recognises organisations and projects that have helped open the industry to a wider range of employees.

SUSTAINABILITY CHAMPION

Sustainability ensures that we meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It promotes the conservation of natural resources, reduces waste and pollution, and supports social and economic stability. Without sustainability, we risk irreversible damage to our planet and its inhabitants.

The Engineering Matters Sustainability Champion awards recognise those playing a significant role in reducing waste, recycling materials or reusing materials.

HEALTH & SAFETY CHAMPION

Choices made by engineers can have profound impacts on the safety and wellbeing of construction workers, and of the public. Workers on construction sites face higher risks of accidents and of long term health problems. How projects are designed can have long lasting effects on the wellbeing of workers, users, and the general public.

The Engineering Matters Health & Safety award recognises projects, policies, and processes that deliver measurable reductions in accident rates, or improvements in long term health and wellbeing, throughout construction and operation. The highest awards will be granted to entries that demonstrate significant impact, and that demonstrate their widespread applicability.

ENVIRONMENT CHAMPION

Engineering’s impacts on the environment go beyond carbon emissions. Engineering projects can boost biodiversity or improve access to nature. They can reduce the need for polluting transport modes, or mitigate the harms of climate change.

Design choices can also mitigate or reduce harmful impacts during the construction and operation of projects. They can reduce the need to use virgin materials, or can be designed with end-of-life reuse in mind. The Engineering Matters Environment Champion awards will recognise the teams, projects and innovations that help protect and restore the environment.

COMMUNITY CHAMPION

The role of engineers in society is to solve problems and create a more liveable world. Through the development of a project or a product an engineer may have the opportunity to bring about a wider community benefit, beyond solving the primary problem. It is those choices that this award recognises.

The Engineering Matters Community Champion awards will recognise those making a significant contribution to supporting a community.

THE JUDGING PROCESS

Entrants in the Engineering Matters Awards are not measured against other entries. Instead they are measured against a carefully created criteria that seeks to identify the best practice in each category. A Gold Award recognises the most significant and established successes. While silver and bronze awards recognise those with great potential. A bronze entry this year could well become a gold winner next year.

The Engineering Matters team has decades of experience in researching and reporting on the engineering industry. To ensure the integrity of the Engineering Matters Awards, the team will conduct their most thorough investigation into every entry, with additional interviews at each successive stage and by seeking independent opinions of experts with specialist knowledge relevant to the individual entry.

There may be multiple gold, silver or bronze category winners or none at all.

STAGE ONE: INITIAL SIFT

A single judge will review the nomination to ensure it meets the minimum criteria and is submitted to an appropriate category.

STAGE TWO: INTERVIEW

A researcher or judge will conduct a recorded interview with a representative of the nomination. This interview may be used to produce an Engineering Matters Short episode if the entrant is successfully shortlisted.

STAGE THREE: SHORTLIST

Each nomination will be measured against the category criteria. To be short-listed the a single judge will need to be persuaded that the nomination has a realistic chance of meeting bronze level.

STAGE FOUR: SECOND INTERVIEW

A judge or researcher will conduct a second interview with knowledge of the nomination. Ideally the interviewee will have detailed knowledge of the nomination without being directly involved in its development, such as a client or industry advocate. Not all nominations will require a second interview. Having or not having a second interview is no indicator of the likelihood of winning an award. The interviews will be recorded and may be used to produce a full length episode of Engineering Matters for every Gold award.

STAGE FIVE: THE WINNERS

All judges will assess each shortlisted nomination and discuss their views on the final grading. At this point the judges may pause the assessment to request further information or an outside opinion After carefully reviewing each nomination, the judges will award each successful entrant with either a bronze, silver or gold award.
Winners will be presented their awards at a ceremony in London in March 2025.

PAST WINNERS

Innovation Champion

GOLD
Fido | AI and acoustic leak detection
AmberSemi | AC Direct DC Enabler
Seratech | Carbon capture concrete production

Net Zero Champion

GOLD
National Highways | Low carbon accelerator
ABB | Quarry truck repowering
BCIS | Built Environment Carbon Database
Dumarey Flybrid | Flywheel power
storage for construction cranes
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors |
Whole Life Carbon Assessment Professional Standard

Sustainability Champion

GOLD
Keltbray | HIPERpile
Intelligent Growth Solutions | Vertical farming technology

Environment Champion

GOLD
Red Pitaya | Methane monitoring
iNaturalist | Community developed geomodel

SILVER

Guerrilla | Run-off pollution prevention
Capterio | Gas Flare Monitoring
Fathom | Global flood maps
Intelligent Growth Solutions | Vertical farming technology

BRONZE
Fido | Colorado Basin water supply
Agreed Earth | Geospatial analytics for agriculture

Health & Safety Champion

GOLD
Fugro | RILA system
Fugro | The VBM3000

Diversity & Inclusion Champion

BRONZE
BuildHer | Empowering african women through construction

Community Champion

GOLD
Rolls Royce Novel Nuclear | Schools tutoring
The Washing Machine Project | Hand crank washing machines

BRONZE
Fugro | Coastguard volunteer
EKFB | HS2 community engagement in Aylesbury

PREVIOUS CELEBRATIONS

ANY QUESTIONS?

For any help with the Engineering Matters Awards reach out to Alex Conacher at: alex.conacher@reby.media