The Unseen Business Awards 2025 returned for their third year, shining a spotlight on the businesses and individuals driving ethical leadership and decisive action against modern slavery.
In partnership with Zentive Agency, we gathered at the London Stadium in September 2025 to celebrate those making meaningful change across industries and supply chains.
This year’s winners share a commitment to eliminating exploitation. From improving working conditions and transparency to championing survivor support, their achievements set a powerful example for others to follow.
Congratulations to all of our winners and finalists – and thank you to everyone who continues to push for a future free from modern slavery.
Launched in 2023, the Unseen Business Awards spotlight the achievements and commitment of those taking bold action to tackle modern slavery in business.
Participants in previous years have included a diverse range of organisations such as Tony’s Chocolonely, Aldi, Lloyds Banking Group, and Manumit Coffee Roasters—each demonstrating their commitment to responsible practices.
The awards aim not only to recognise progress but also to inspire more businesses to take action and help shape a future free from exploitation.
Gain industry recognition for your commitment to ethical practices
Network with like-minded businesses driving positive change
Enhance your brand reputation as a leader in social responsibility
Benchmark your progress against industry peers
Attract and retain talent and consumers who value ethical sourcing
All businesses and individuals taking meaningful action to tackle modern slavery are encouraged to enter. We welcome entries from any size or sector, as long as the project or initiative is recent (conducted within the past two years). Showcase your comprehensive efforts – apply for multiple awards to highlight your impact!
“Being recognised by such an important organisation in the modern slavery landscape as Unseen is an honour. The Unseen Business Awards were a great opportunity to make connections with organisations and individuals who are working purposefully towards exposing and eradicating this heinous crime.”
“As a guest facing business, the public are more aware of and interested in the social and ethical practices of the businesses they engage with. Winning the Business Impact Award has amplified our commitment to tackling modern slavery at Shiva Hotels with our guests.”
“Winning the Innovation Award was a real morale booster; it was great to receive recognition for the new approaches that we’d been pioneering over the previous few months.”
The Unseen Business Awards celebrate exceptional efforts in the fight against modern slavery across two categories: Business Awards and Individual Awards.
We present five awards in total, acknowledging a range of contributions that drive positive change.
This award recognises a business demonstrating significant progress in eradicating modern slavery from its operations or supply chain.
This award celebrates a business pioneering new approaches to identify and address worker exploitation.
Recognising the power of teamwork, this award celebrates businesses fostering successful partnerships to combat modern slavery.
This award honours individuals who have spearheaded efforts to combat modern slavery within their organisation or with the wider sector.
This prestigious award, presented by Unseen, acknowledges an individual’s exceptional support for Unseen’s mission. The winner is chosen internally by Unseen and its trustees. It is not open to nominations.
Our esteemed judging panel comprises leading experts from various sectors, each with a proven track record in combating modern slavery. Their diverse expertise ensures a rigorous and fair evaluation process.
All nominations will be assessed against four key criteria:
Please see the nomination guidelines below for more information on what the judges will be looking for, and further details on award categories.
Download the nomination guidelines for details on award categories and criteria
Prepare your nomination highlighting an impactful project or achievement from the past two years
Shortlisted nominees will be contacted by the end of August
Winners will be announced at our Unseen Business Awards show on Thursday 25 September
Recognise your business’s leadership in ethical practices. Nominate for the Unseen Business Awards and showcase your commitment to ending modern slavery. Gain industry recognition, network with purpose-driven leaders, and inspire others to join the fight.
Nominations closed on 31 July 2025.
The Unseen Business Awards celebrate businesses and individuals making a significant impact in the fight against modern slavery. These awards recognise ethical leadership, innovation, and collaboration in addressing exploitation across various industries and sectors.
Anyone can nominate businesses or individuals who have demonstrated exceptional efforts in combating modern slavery. This includes businesses of all sizes and sectors, non-profit organisations, and individuals leading the charge within their companies or communities. Businesses and individuals can also nominate themselves or their company.
There are five award categories:
Business Impact Award: Recognises businesses making a significant, positive impact in the fight against modern slavery.
Individual Impact Award: Celebrates individuals leading anti-slavery initiatives within their organisations or sectors.
Innovation Award: Recognises groundbreaking approaches, technologies, or practices that tackle exploitation.
Partnership Award: Celebrates businesses that excel in collaboration with others to combat modern slavery.
Unseen’s Star of the Year Award: This special award is selected internally by the Unseen Business Team and is not open for nominations.
Anyone or any business working to address modern slavery and exploitation is eligible to be nominated. We encourage businesses of all sizes—from small enterprises to large corporations—to apply. Past nominees and winners have come from various sectors, demonstrating that meaningful impact can be made at any level.
You can submit a nomination directly through our form. Follow the step-by-step process, select the appropriate award category, and provide supporting evidence of the nominee’s impact and efforts in the fight against modern slavery.
The deadline for nominations is Thursday 31 July at 11:59pm BST. Be sure to submit your nomination before the deadline to ensure it is considered.
Nominations will be assessed against four key criteria:
Commitment: How deeply embedded is the business or individual’s commitment to tackling modern slavery? This includes long-term dedication, leadership buy-in, and integration into core practices.
Collaboration: Does the nominee actively work with others—such as suppliers, NGOs, or peers—to tackle exploitation collectively and share knowledge across sectors?
Innovation: Are they implementing original or forward-thinking approaches to address modern slavery or labour exploitation in new or more effective ways?
Impact: What measurable or demonstrable results have been achieved? This can include changes to working conditions, improved supplier practices, policy shifts, or industry influence.
For more detailed guidelines, please read our nomination guidelines.
Yes! Winners will be announced during the awards ceremony, taking place held on 25 September in the year. Following this, winners will be publicly announced across our website and social media channels. Prior to our awards ceremony, shortlisters will also be announced across our digital channels.
Once the nominations have been reviewed and the winners chosen, all nominees will be contacted directly. We encourage all nominated businesses to stay tuned for updates via email and our social media channels.
No, submitting a nomination for the Unseen Business Awards is completely free of charge.
Yes! You are welcome to submit separate nominations for different categories, as long as they meet the specific criteria for each award.
You can help spread the word about the awards by sharing the nomination process with your network and encouraging others to nominate businesses or individuals who are leading the charge against modern slavery.
If you have any additional questions about the nomination process or the awards, please reach out to us at [email protected], and we will be happy to assist you.
Unseen is dedicated to ending slavery for good. We support survivors and work collaboratively to tackle exploitation in business operations and supply chains.
From ethical supply chain innovation to survivor support initiatives, discover the inspiring stories of the 2025 Unseen Business Awards winners.
Discover the inspiring stories of the 2024 Unseen Business Award winners and the impactful initiatives they’re leading to eradicate modern slavery.
As I came to understand more about the issue, including through a visit to an Unseen safehouse, I knew I needed to do more to stop this abuse and exploitation.
For the last five years of my Civil Service career, I was the Modern Slavery Senior Policy Advisor in the Home Office and led on development of the Modern Slavery Act, including the transparency in supply chains provision and business guidance.
I joined Unseen to lead the development of the Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline, and Unseen’s work with businesses. I am regularly called upon to present at national and international conferences and use my experience of working with Ministers to influence other governments internationally to take action to address modern slavery and, in particular, business supply chain issues.
In my spare time I enjoy keeping fit, music, reading and travelling.
What ultimately compelled me to act was a report on how people from Eastern Europe were being trafficked through Bristol airport to the USA. Kate Garbers, who went on to be an Unseen Director, and I wrote to all the city councillors, MPs and the Police Chief Constable challenging them on the issue. The challenge came back to us: this city needs safe housing for trafficked women. And so Unseen began.
But we never wanted Unseen to be just about safe housing. We wanted to end slavery once and for all, and that remains our driving focus.
I chaired the working group for the Centre for Social Justice’s landmark report “It Happens Here: Equipping the United Kingdom to Fight Modern Slavery”. This is now acknowledged as the catalyst behind the UK’s Modern Slavery Act of 2015. It was a great honour to be awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours that year. On the other hand, I’ve also been described as “the loveliest disrupter you could ever hope to meet”.
This job has taken me from building flat-pack furniture for safehouses, to working with businesses to address slavery in supply chains, to delivering training, raising awareness and advising governments around the world.
When not at work, I enjoy travelling, spending time with my dog Harley, cooking, supporting Liverpool and Yorkshire CC, music (I’m a former DJ) and endurance events such as the Three Peaks Challenge and Tribe Freedom Runs – which I vow never to do again. Until the next time.
