Citizens Awards

CSR continues to become more sophisticated, more strategic, and undoubtedly, more effective. From American neighborhoods to the most remote villages in emerging markets, business is tackling core issues such as economic empowerment, community investment, and health & wellbeing.  This work adds significantly to the positive changes and improvements in our society.

On December 6, the Business Civic Leadership Center will host its 13^th annual Corporate Citizenship Awards, where BCLC will recognize businesses who have found creative and effective ways to make a positive difference in society.

What corporate citizens do for society really matters.

Over the summer and fall, as I’ve come to know the 2012 Corporate Citizenship Awards finalists better, several thoughts kept returning:

If you had a chance to read Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl Wundunns’ Half the Sky, you will recall the remarkable stories of girls and women triumphing over obstacles to become economic engines, community leaders, and entrepreneurs. PBS recently debuted the book in a two-part TV series where Kristoff and his fellow Ambassadors traveled to visit organizations and individuals working to provide the infrastructure, tools, and training programs to women and girls in vulnerable parts of the world.

This is the second post in our 2012 Best Partnership Award "Finalist Lightning Round" week-long series. This series brings you the opinions of the people who make the Best Partnerships work. (Read: Day 1)

Today we're bringing something new to you. For the first time in the history of the Best Partnership Award, our blog will feature a week-long "Finalist Lightning Round" to give you the chance to hear directly from some of the people who make these Best Partnerships work. 

A few years ago, I traveled to Port-Au-Prince with a group of companies to find ways for corporate resources to effectively support the Haiti earthquake's relief and recovery needs. We met with a number of nonprofits on the ground and facilitated many great partnerships. 

BCLC recently announced the finalists for the 2012 Citizens Awards. As one of the internal reviewers for the Partnership Award, I was thrilled by the deep cooperation between corporations and non-profits evidenced in the applications. This year our application form included a new section for applicants to share “lessons learned.”  The responses to this section provide a golden opportunity for us to share some best practices from the leading initiatives of our corporate partners.

To find leading examples of the innovative and diverse ways business makes a difference in society, look no further than the Corporate Citizenship Awards. Since 2000, the “Citizens” Awards have spotlighted successful, inspired, and replicable models of positive business impact on people, communities and the environment.