The Awards are organized by Enterprise Asia to encourage continued corporate leadership towards sustainable economic development for the region.
The Awards are held in four subregions of Asia: Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and West Asia, with a total of 32 countries participating to promote responsible entrepreneurship in Asia.
The Awards recognize organizations for their initiatives and impact towards the society and environment through their Corporate Sustainability projects in five categories: Social Empowerment, Green Leadership, Health Promotion, Investment in People, and SME CSR.
Award nominees have to undergo a stringent evaluation and judging process spanning a period of 6 months, including compulsory on-site and project audit before being selected from amongst other highly qualified nominees from all over Southeast Asia as winners.
Among the winners included Indonesia's PT Adaro, that has since 2003 sponsored free cataract surgery to over 4,000 underprivileged patients across Indonesia.
Singapore's Keppel Land took home an award in the Green Leadership category for their continued efforts to reduce energy and water consumption and minimise carbon emissions, which have been widely recognised as among the most outstanding in the industry. Globe Telecom of Philippines received an award for its "Sagot Ka ni Kap!" which empowers communities across Philippines with communications and IT tools.
Malaysian and Thai companies shared the limelight with the most number of projects awarded, at six each; while Singaporean and Indonesian companies took home respectively five and four awards, and Philippines had three projects recognised.
William Ng, president of Enterprise Asia noted that through the Awards, the organisation hopes to create the awareness of the importance of responsible entrepreneurship as an important driver of change in nurturing future generations of socially responsible individuals.
He said, "More than ever, we now see the urgency to institutionalize responsible entrepreneurship as a mean to protect our market, shareholder's value, and the sustainability of our businesses. Doing good is more than just a social obligation, it is essential to businesses."
Ng added that this year's submissions have improved quantitatively and qualitatively, indicating a growing awareness among corporates and increasing maturity of the Asian CSR community in project planning and delivery.
Recipients of Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Awards 2012 Southeast Asia:
I. Green Leadership Award
- Double A (1991) PLC, Thailand: The Revolutionary Solution to Sustainable Sourcing of Fiber: Paper from Khan-Na
- Keppel Land Limited, Singapore: Ocean Financial Center (OFC)
- Pimalai Resort and Spa, Thailand: The Pimalai Environment Responsible Project
- Martina Berto Tbk, Indonesia: Green Movement
- QL Resources Berhad, Malaysia: Palm Biomas Pellet Biofuel Project
- Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, Philippines: RCBC "It's Our Nature to Care" Campaign
- YTL Corporation Berhad, Malaysia: Coral Reef Conservation and Rehabitation at Pangkor Island
II. Social Empowerment Award
- Globe Telecom, Philippines: Globe Bridging Communities
- L'Oreal, Thailand: Thailand Beautiful Tomorrow
- Mastercard Worldwide, Singapore: Project Inspire: 5 minutes to Change the World
- Maxis Berhad, Malaysia: Maxis Cyberkids Programme
- PT Sampoerna Tbk, Indonesia: Community Empowerment in Managing Natural Resources
- Rapu-Rapu Minerals Inc, Philippines: Community Development Assistance Program
- Selangor Dredging Berhad, Malaysia: One-Two Juice - Sinarmas Forestry, Indonesia: Empowerment Program for Ex-Illegal Loggers
III. Health Promotion Award
- Pantai Holdings Berhad, Malaysia: Pantai Think Pink!
- PT Adaro, Indonesia: Indonesia Free Cataract Surgeries for Underpreveleged Patients
- Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore: Seeing is Believing
- Thai Life Insurance PLC, Thailand: One's Gift for Life. Too May for the Disabled
IV. Investment in People Award
- PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk, Indonesia: The Mandiri Young Entrepreneur Program
- Siam Cement Group, Thailand: Embedding People Value for Sustainable Future
- Starhub Limited, Singapore: Ongoing Employee Engagement and Retention Efforts
V. SME CSR Award
- Borneo Rainforest Vanilla Sdn Bhd, Malaysia: Product Buy-Back Guarantee
- Sampran Riverside, Thailand: Sampran Cooperative Group
About Enterprise Asia
Enterprise Asia is a non-governmental think tank for the development of entrepreneurship across the region and in the promotion of opportunities and fair ground rules for emerging entrepreneurs. We champion honest, fair, and responsible entrepreneurship across Asia. We believe the true foundation of any nation's economy lies in its entrepreneurial resources; which if properly nurtured can be the most potent asset for sustainable and predictable economic planning.
With entrepreneurial spirit ingrained within a country's culture, numerous social and economic issues, including urban poverty, urban-rural income disparity, racial or culturalsensitive dynamics, labour exploitation and economic slavery can be diminished and eventuallybe eradicated.
We work with governments, NGOs and other organizations to promote competitiveness and entrepreneurial development, in uplifting the economic status of people across Asia and in ensuring a legacy of hope, innovation and courage for our children.
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
