In 2022, 118 submissions were received for the Sword of Honour awards and 80% of these were adjudged to have reached the pass standard.
There is no quota of Swords to be awarded and nor will there be in future years. If every applicant meets the minimum criteria, every applicant will be awarded a Sword of Honour.

General Comments
A maximum of 60 marks are available for the written aspect of the Sword of Honour application. Applicants must score a minimum of 45 marks to remain eligible with a minimum of two individual responses being scored within the top mark band (11-15 marks). Submissions become ineligible for a Sword of Honour should any individual responses be scored within the lower mark band (0-5 marks).
With the pass standard set high (45 out of 60), it is important to score well on each question. One or two weak answers will put the pass standard out of reach. As in previous years, the highest-scoring applicants answered all aspects of each question and adhered closely to the marking scheme, and it was evident that the advice to read the prior year’s Chief Adjudicators Report had been taken. This allowed them to give a much more complete answer and so access the top mark band for each question. Notwithstanding this improvement applicants are again reminded to read the Chief Adjudicator’s Report from the previous year prior to completing the application as this report provides helpful insight, comments, and direction on what is required when completing the application; the webinar hosted earlier this year and available online is another helpful guide.

In 2022, 12 submissions were received for the Globe of Honour awards and 9 of these were adjudged and reached the pass standard. There is no quota of Globes to be awarded and nor will there be in future years. All applicants who meet the minimum criteria required will be awarded a Globe of Honour.

General Comments
It was positive to note that the impact of the global pandemic at a country and company/project level had a less significant impact on the Globe of Honour (“GOH”) applications in 2022. While there were again some excellent applications – the overall quality was below what we have experienced in recent years. There appears no obvious theme or reason, although the weaker applications notably did not consistently link their application back to the Five Star Audit or fully answer the question being asked.
Due to the relatively small number of Globe applications compared to the Sword of Honour, this report is limited in scope. We therefore encourage reference to the Sword of Honour Chief Adjudicator’s Report, which also provides valuable insight into how to make a good submission as it is applicable to both award schemes. Some general features of the best applications included:
• Clear and explicit linkage and reference to the Five Star Environmental Audit
• Effective and justified use of good evidence (e.g., data and statistics)
• Clear and justified use of company/project specific examples
• Well-structured and balanced answers with effective use of paragraphs and key bullets
• Clear and simple language and style, where possible avoiding excessive use of complex terms and acronyms