9 companies compete for the prestigious prize in the 2021 Annual Responsible Business Awards
116 social good entries are competing for the 2021 Annual Responsible Business Awards, this country’s most prominent corporate social responsibility and sustainability contest organised by the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum (BBLF), one of the two launchers of the Bulgarian Diversity Charter.
This year saw the launch of a new category, Diversity at Work, part of BBLF’s efforts to promote equality and social inclusion in workplaces. A total of 9 companies entered their D&I programmes competing for the prominent recognition: IBM Bulgaria, Paysafe, Hewlett Packard Enterprise GDCB, Transpress, BGAssist, Nestle Bulgaria, Cargill Bulgaria, BAT Bulgaria, Musala Soft. A huge thank you to them all for being our diversity category pioneers!
„Companies and organisations play a major role in fostering a feeling of belonging and sharing common values. Diverse teams and inclusive workplaces are a source of creativity, innovation, satisfaction and excellence in performance. The Diversity at Work Award is more than a recognition as winners will share their best practice and success stories which would motivate others, on the one hand, and contribute to building a fairer and more tolerant society, on the other”, BBLF Chair Levon Hampartzoumian says.
The 19th edition of the Awards is mottoed Lead by Example and aims to recognize and celebrate companies with purpose. The contest provides an outstanding opportunity for the private sector to showcase their consistent and successful campaigns that benefit people, nature and the community. The Awards are a high-profile platform that enables responsible businesses to share their successful social good campaigns, get recognition for their sustainability and boost their corporate citizenship reputation. The contest is open to all enterprises big and small across sectors, and free to enter.
The 2021 Awards saw 116 entries, or a 4.5% increase on 2020. The number of entrants has also risen: 80 companies, or 2.56% more than last year, with just half of them are BBLF members.
Investor in the Community is yet again the most competitive category with 34 entries (a slight increase on the previous year). Next is Investor in Knowledge with 19 nominations marking a decrease on 2020. The Investor in Human Capital and Working Conditions and the Cause-Related Marketing titles are each sought by 16 companies. The Investor in the Environment category sees a hike of interest with 15 entries, or more than two-fold more. Seven campaigns were submitted in the Best Social Policy of SME category. All 116 entries also compete for the special Engage Award that honours employee involvement in social good campaigns.
Champions in the seven categories are selected by an independent and balanced panel of judges featuring respected experts from the public sector, NGOs, academia, business and the media. Assessment criteria are as follows: specific benefits to the community; work in partnership with other stakeholders; employee involvement; consistency; innovation and public recognition.
Winners in all categories as well as finalists, ranked second and third will be announced at a formal award-giving ceremony to be held as long as the COVID-19 situation is eased, possibly in April 2021. At the event, all entries will be showcased, and their summaries will later get published on BBLF’s online CSR platform.
For updates please follow our web page www.bblf.bg and social media with #bblfawards2021.
