Haymarket Business Media publication ENDS Report – the UK’s leading title for environmental professionals – has had an unrivalled impact in 2024, delivering groundbreaking investigative journalism exposing public health scandals, political skullduggery and shaping policymaking on the environment.

ENDS Report’s editorial team faced a series of tough tests during the eligibility period for these awards. It was set targets to increase subscription revenues by developing new tracker tools and data reports, to increase subscriber engagement by more than 15% and to increase the output of original content in the face of growing competition from unreliable and AI-generated content.

In response, the team’s strategy has been to put investigative reporting front and centre of the publication’s multi-channel content offering, executing an ambitious plan to use its public interest journalism to serve its audience and provide industry leadership.

The threat posed by toxic PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ rocketed up the political agenda in 2024 as a result of impactful investigative journalism by ENDS Report’s editorial team. A series of spectacular scoops and trailblazing long-form video have led to two legal cases being launched against a producer of the chemicals and a call from MPs for compensation for those impacted. The Environment Agency is investigating, and national media outlets are now closely following the story.

Meanwhile, following a move away from print in 2021, ENDS Report’s multi-channel content package continues to evolve at pace. The delivery of the content is expertly executed and meticulously crafted with a creative flair, creating a distinctive voice which is delivered consistently in all the channels the brand operates in. Showstopping broadcast quality documentaries have generated huge levels of engagement, with the TOXIC film leading to a massive 431.8% spike in registrations. The rapid growth of the brand’s flagship ECO Chamber podcast continues, with downloads up more than 50%. And the results of a reader survey carried out in April 2024 show that ENDS Report’s subscribers love the content the title is producing.

The team too is alive to changing market dynamics, reimagining the brand’s content offering to help subscribers meet shifting regulatory requirements. A suite of new high-value tools – packed with cutting-edge data visualisations – provides them with actionable insights, supporting strong growth in revenues.

The team’s outstanding efforts have supported a strong commercial performance. Revenues increased 20% between 2022/23 and 2023/24, with a new series of immersive high-value data reports adding £177,000 of new revenues, and a new policy tracking tool, launched in October 2024 and adding £100,000 more.

Audience engagement continues to grow too. Subscriber engagement was up 25% in the second half of 2024 compared to the previous 12-month period, and downloads of the ENDS Report’s podcast are up 50%.

But it is through its brilliant storytelling that this brand stands apart. Thanks to the team’s tenacious reporting the threat posed to the public by toxic PFAS, ‘forever chemicals’ rocketed up the political agenda in 2024. National media outlets now want to talk about PFAS. And when they do, they talk to ENDS Report, crediting the team multiple times, with mentions in the Times, Guardian, and on Channel 4 News.

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