Putting together a good entry takes effort and time! And you will have a lot of other things to do at work apart from this application. So, start early, and give yourself at least three weeks to gather all the data you'll need.

Read the Guide for the Applicants and guidance, provided in the Entry Forms very carefully. Refer to the evaluation criteria to know, how your application would be assessed and make an effort to address them in your answers.

It is not binding in any way, but opens you an opportunity to get valuable recommendations from contest organizers and answers to your questions.

Make sure your CEO (or equivalent) is aware of the Awards - you would need his/her sign off for entering the Awards; request the CEO’s quote for the Entry form in good time to fit into his/her diary – if your nomination wins, your colleagues and CEO would be happy to see this quote published in contest-related communications.

Responsible business is all about teamwork... Inform your colleagues about Awards and ensure their support; they’ll be able to give you valuable information and feedback to make your entry compelling.

The Jury has numerous entries to look through and you may have included lots of impressive facts and figures further into your entry, but burying your best bits is not a good idea – talk about them up front. A summary should be just that – summarize your entry with key facts and results in a brief paragraph to grab the Jury’s attention from the first line. Write the summary with the expectation that it would be published on the Contest website and other communication materials if your company wins.

If you are submitting an entry from a large and well-known company, do not assume the assessors already know your operations, business or products. Smaller or lesser known organizations will sometimes submit far more detailed entries giving background information and statistics to help put their entry into perspective.

Make sure to answer the questions that are asked without deviating from the point or providing unnecessary information. But remember, you do not have to provide equally detailed answers to all questions to submit an entry. Provide as much information as available, as much as you consider enough to convince the Jury and present strong points of your project.

You may have the perfect project, but the Jury can't just take your word for it. You should back up your statements with testimonials, facts and figures. Images will help bring your story to life and, where complex processes and structures are concerned, a table or diagram is definitely worth a thousand words. But make sure they support your description of the project, rather than substituting for it

It’s important to demonstrate in your entry not only what has been done in frames of the project, but what were the results and impact. You'll have to give them hard evidence (facts, statistics and testimonials) of the benefits you've achieved for society and environment and also for the business. Assessors like before and after data, and quotes from third parties, especially those who've benefited from what you've done.

This question, asked in all categories, is about giving an insight into the general CSR ethos and strategy of your company. It is important to make a clear connection between the project you are entering and the company’s overall CSR strategy.

We are all on a journey. Use this years’ experience and the feedback provided to make your submission next year even more outstanding.