The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has announced its 2025 Industry Awards shortlist chosen from a record breaking number of entries.
Last year saw the Association break the 100-entry barrier for the first time, but 12 months later it has recorded a further 44% increase in entries received. This includes another significant contribution from non-members – reflecting the awards as “a true celebration of the whole building engineering sector”.
The awards, which now comprise 27 categories, reward individuals, teams, and companies responsible for delivering projects, products, innovations, and initiatives that demonstrate excellence in all aspects of building services engineering.
The winners will be announced at a glittering BESA Awards dinner at the historic Brewery, Chiswell Street, London on October 16 following the Association’s Annual Conference at the same venue earlier in the day.
The headline sponsor of the gala event is Mitsubishi Electric and the dinner is also being supported by several individual category sponsors.
There are awards for outstanding projects and firms as well as individuals who have gone above and beyond the call of duty for the greater good of the industry.
Categories cover the full supply chain from manufacturers and distributors though contractors, engineers, and clients, and they reflect the industry’s efforts to get to grips with today’s big issues like competence and compliance, indoor air quality, and decarbonisation.
New categories for 2025 include: Contractor of the Year winners for each of the four UK nations: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – culminating in an overall National Contractor of the Year award sponsored by Ideal Heating/ACV.
These awards recognise contractors who have demonstrated excellence in project delivery, innovation, client satisfaction, and industry leadership. There are also two specialist contractor categories for Ventilation Hygiene and Service and Maintenance firms sponsored by SFG20. Also new for 2025 are the Distributor and Supplier of the Year categories.
The finalists in this year’s WorldSkills UK competition (Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heat Pump category) sponsored by BAXI will also be honoured at this year’s awards dinner. BESA is the organising partner of the competition, which celebrates both emerging and existing technical skills.
Apprentices and young engineers from right across the industry are also honoured as usual in a series of awards celebrating emerging talent. 2025 sees the second presentation of the Rising Star of the Year sponsored by Tilbury Douglas alongside a range of specialist apprentice categories which culminate in Apprentice of the Year sponsored by Gratte Brothers.
The Manly Trust Management Training Award provides another opportunity for a promising individual to progress their career.
There are three ‘Project of the Year’ awards covering the industry’s best work in Net Zero sponsored by Frese Group, Indoor Air Quality sponsored by Nuaire and Retrofit sponsored by Schneider Electric. There are two new ‘Excellence’ awards for outstanding achievements in Competence and Compliance sponsored by AIRO and SFG20 Excellence in Maintenance.
The general company initiative awards cover: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Training Provider of the Year, Product Innovation of the Year, and Learning and Development.
“We have been completely blown away by the level of interest in this year’s awards,” said BESA’s group events manager Charlie Ward. “The depth, breadth and quality of the entries shows just how much great work is going on across our industry.
“I am particularly grateful to our panel of judges who had the tough job of working through the huge volume of entries – they were the victims of our success!”
The full shortlist for BESA’s Industry Awards 2025 can be found online here
