World of Books Group wins two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise in 2022

Leading circular economy pioneers World of Books Group (Wob) has been honoured with two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise this year winning both the Sustainable Development Award and the International Trade Award.

Wob is one of only seven companies to achieve two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise this year from a total of over 200 winners.

The company received its first award for their exemplary and comprehensive sustainability strategy, which uses their recommerce model to encourage consumers to shop more sustainably.  Wob has also been granted an award for its contribution to international trade, harnessing innovative technologies to fuel their expansion into international markets. This is the company’s second win in the category, following a previous win in 2017.

Employing 720 people, World of Books Group was set up in 2002 when a group of book-loving entrepreneurs rescued a bag of books from a charity shop bin destined for landfill and sold them secondhand.  Now in its 20th year, Wob has grown into a leading B Corp and global company driving the circular economy, selling over 12 million used books per year to customers in over 175 countries.

Graham Bell, CEO of World of Books Group, commented ‘‘We are absolutely delighted to be recognised at this year’s Queen’s Awards. One award win is brilliant, but to have won two awards really is a huge accolade, and is a testament to the hard work and amazing results our people have delivered . Since our foundation, World of Books Group has been committed to balancing profit and purpose and we feel honoured to have won our award for sustainable business. It is also fantastic to have another win reflecting our growth in the international market.”

The two awards come shortly after Wob launched its Impact Report, which saw the business exceed £100 million sales for the first time in 2020/21 whilst contributing to the equivalent of saving over 26,000 tonnes of new paper – which is over 449,000 trees.

Now in its 56th year, the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious business awards in the country, with winning businesses able to use the esteemed Queen’s Awards Emblem for the next five years.

For more information on the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, visit https://www.gov.uk/queens-awards-for-enterprise.