Financial Times

Community Leader Awards to promote CSR conscience
By Akhry Ameer
The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Sunday Times Business Club have jointly taken on the cause of bridging the gap between private sector organizations and the community.

The two entities will jointly recognize organizations practising proper business ethics in waste management this year through its new Community Leader Awards (CLA), programme.

The CLA programme has chosen to follow a unique model where each year organizations will be able to showcase ethical business practices in different areas.

The ultimate aim of the awards is to promote proper Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices among organizations. The 2005 awards will recognize local companies that have excelled in implementation of efficient and effective waste management programmes in three company size categories. The gold, silver and bronze awards in the three categories will also be determined on merit basis and not restricted to the entries received.

Speaking on the first awards scheme of this nature in the country, Claude Perera, President - CIMA said, "CSR is the buzz word today. All companies are looking at the impact on the environment, community and entire society. We are having problems today with the ozone layer, global warming, etc all due to industrial waste. The Community Leader Awards have been designed to look at how companies respond to waste management this year."

Leading blue chip conglomerate John Keells Holdings (JKH) and its group companies have opted out of the awards to take on the role of strategic partner and sole sponsor to promote this initiative. Sumithra Gunesekera, Director - JKH, hopes their involvement will promote widespread participation and promote CSR practices within the country.

The organizing entities are also being joined by the Central Environment Authority (CEA) that drives environment protection and sustainable development in the country, the National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC) and UN Global Compact.

The NCPC is a UN sponsored project to promote cleaner production practices in the country while the Global Compact is a voluntary corporate citizenship initiative launched directly by the UN Secretary General to promote and catalyze mainstream principles in business practices globally.

This year's winners will receive their awards at the CIMA Global Leaders Summit on May 26 under the patronage of Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, former Malaysian prime minister who is scheduled to deliver the keynote address.

Entry details on the awards may be obtained from the CIMA website or the local office. The two-stage evaluation will be conducted by a technical panel constituting the expert organizations that includes site visits and thereafter by a panel of business leaders who will determine the overall suitability of the organization.

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