Chambers Ireland CSR Awards 2019 – Applications Now Open
Chambers Ireland has announced that applications to its highly successful and well publicised annual CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Awards are now open.
With more emphasis and importance placed on CSR on the agendas of responsible companies, Ennis Chamber urges its member companies to consider making an application.
The award categories are as follows:
Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion
This category seeks to recognise initiatives that enhance the diverse environment of workplaces and foster inclusion for all staff. Diversity and inclusivity in business is about ensuring that the workplace environment is one in which staff are valued for their many differences and are not left behind or excluded because of them.
This category might include initiatives which examine who is being hired, who is being promoted, and what can be done to improve these practices so that no one is excluded based on gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability or other traits. On inclusivity, programmes entered in this category might look at the culture within a company and how a business ensures that diversity is welcomed and differences are embraced.
Excellence in Community – Partnership with Charity
This category awards excellence in working with a partner charity. Businesses can partner with a charity in a number of different ways, for example, engaging in an awareness campaign with a partner charity, or providing operational and skills sharing which will support the charity’s work.
This category is about engaging in a considered partnership with a charity and offering support through a variety of collaborative means, with staff engagement, skills sharing and more of relevance.
Excellence in Community – Volunteering
This category aims to award a company for excellence in employee volunteering. Volunteering is a way for a business to give back to the local community by offering their time and skills free of charge.
Volunteering enables employees to engage in meaningful activities which will enrich communities and benefit the participants too. Skills and knowledge sharing are ways in which a company can meaningfully add to the work of a charity partner. Projects entered in this category should outline time commitments, levels of staff participation, knowledge transfer and skills sharing involved the programme.
Excellence in Community – Community Programme
A community programme represents a sustained effort by a business to strengthen its links with the community in which it operates, and to have a positive impact on its locality. The programme should respond to a specific need in the community and should focus on the measures taken by a business to engage with the community and all relevant stakeholders on talking it.
Excellence in Environment
In following with the principle of ‘Think Global, Act Local’ this category seeks to celebrate organisations that have taken actions to improve their local environment. Companies are invited to report on projects that work to enhance biodiversity; reduce waste; or improve water or air quality. These activities could include campaigns to encourage greener behaviours or installation and restoration projects that have environmental improvement as their primary goal. These programmes might have been carried out on-site or within the local community of the company and have had a tangible outcome in terms of improving the environment.
Excellence in Marketplace
Marketplace CSR involves incorporating sustainability and high ethical standards in the development and operation of a company’s operations, products and services. Marketplace CSR focuses on the relationships a business maintains with customers and suppliers. Key areas of focus include sustainable and rights-conscious procurement practices, products & services that have defined sustainability attributes and the ways in which a company provides services for a diverse range of needs across its customer base. Examples of initiatives in the marketplace category might include the measures a company takes to ensure that there are no human rights risks in operations or supply chains, or how a company caters to more vulnerable clients in products and services, or measures a company takes to engage suppliers in improving sustainability by working with them to reduce their environmental footprints.
Excellence in Workplace
Workplace CSR is about creating a happy and supportive environment for your employees. It involves going above and beyond what is required by business to ensure employees can develop to their full potential, and work in an environment that is welcoming and full of opportunities. This can range from sports initiatives, to flexi-hours, to mental health support or health initiatives.
Excellence in CSR Communication
The communication and management of CSR are vitally important in highlighting the work that companies engage in. This category reflects the steps taken in CSR communications across the board, internally with employees on the company’s CSR work and engagement, externally with the charity partner or community, and wider again, with customers and external business stakeholders. CSR communications is about spreading the CSR message effectively and sharing best practice and knowledge in CSR work. Excellence in communications gives as many people as possible the opportunity to input and get involved in CSR.
Excellence in CSR by an SME
SMEs, though often operating with smaller resources and budgets, often engage in meaningful and high quality CSR work, and this category recognises the best practice by such businesses, which prove that size is not a factor in the capabilities of a business to make a positive impact in the world. The SME category applies to companies with 50 employees or less and recognises excellence in CSR in a variety of areas. This category is not specific to environmental or community based projects; all categories of projects can be entered.
Outstanding Achievement in CSR (all shortlisted candidates are automatically eligible for this award)
For information on this year’s awards including how to apply as well as tips on your application and FAQs, visit: www.csrawards.ie
Keep up to date with the awards on Twitter and LinkedIn with the #CSRAwards2019 hashtag!
Please note that the deadline for applications is 12PM Monday 1st of April 2019.
Should you have any queries about your application please contact Carly.Mooney@chambers.ie.
