The first Better Business Awards ceremony took place on the evening of September 25th at the Sherwood Hotel. The awards were presented in five categories that demonstrate responsible business: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Diversity and Social Enterprise. The award sponsors and winners are Taiwan based Companies that have been dedicated themselves to development of Responsible Business.
Supporting Companies for the awards are: CSR is Adecco Group, Diversity is British Council, Social Enterprise is KPMG.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an increasingly important part of any company. From the early days of simple (though important) Philanthropy CSR has become an integral corporate activity. Globally employees are placing increasing importance on a company’s CSR actions in their decision to work for that company. Companies now find that attracting the best talent - and retaining that talent - is reliant on their company having not only a great CSR programme but also on how they communicate that programme to the world. CSR is also being integrated into the mission of a company and is no longer seen as something “other” or additional.
This award is to recognize a company operating in Taiwan that demonstrates excellence and/or innovation in their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme. The award is not dependent on a company’s size and is open to local and/or foreign companies. It will consider not only the CSR programme that a company runs but also how that programme is relevant and integrated into the business and the benefits that it brings to the recipients, the employees, and the wider network of stakeholders.
Social Enterprise, it uses business methods to solve problems in society and despite the seriousness, many are thriving with as many reporting growth last year as conventional businesses in the world.
Social enterprise is a world trend. Social enterprises are a kind of social innovation, and effectively solve social or environmental problems via a sustainable business model. The major purpose of social enterprise is to pursue public interest and solve social problems. It doesn’t rely on government grants or donations from the private sector. The development of social enterprise in Taiwan is still in the early stages but is getting wide attention. Creating a suitable social business development environment requires public, enterprise, and government to work together. Only in this way we can encourage social enterprise in continuous innovation and steady growth.
A Social Enterprise Award, open to Taiwan-based social enterprises (company limited or company limited by shares) and under the banner of the British Chamber of Commerce in Taipei Business Awards, will provide a great platform to celebrate and share the achievements and learning from organisations in this important area. This will not only leverage KPMG’s professional experience in audit, finance, tax and advisory service, but also involve the professional
consulting and incubation program via connecting our clients’ network. It can create more business opportunities to carry out the cooperation between social enterprises, profit-organizations and potential investors.
We suggest that submissions can be made in the form of a team submission, but all have to be made under the name of a specific company.
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion is at the heart of great business. Companies around the world now recognize that it is the rich diversity of a workplace that creates innovation and helps modern companies to thrive. Beyond simply inclusion companies are now very aware that it is in the diversity of ideas and backgrounds that the future of innovation lies. We are aware that across different organisations in Taiwan, some fantastic, innovative work in equality, diversity and inclusion is taking place.
A Diversity Award, open to Taiwan-based organisations from both the private and public sectors and under the banner of the British Chamber of Commerce in Taipei Better Business Awards, will provide a great platform to celebrate and share the achievements and learning from organisations in this important area. It will also, more crucially, become a valuable tool to acknowledge the organisations and individuals excelling in the area and to recognise the impact that their work has on their organisations but also on the wider communities and on society at large. Submissions can be made in the form of an individual or a team submission, but all have to be made under the name of a specific company or organisation.
This is aligned to our own aspirations at the Standard Chartered Bank to be an organisation recognised as taking a leading role in international approaches to equality, diversity and inclusion.
The following diversity dimensions have been identified as global common areas of focus:
Gender: To engage all genders in our continued support and progress towards gender equality
Nationality & ethnicity: To have a workforce representative of our client base and footprint
Generations: To leverage generational experiences to increase innovation and deliver products and services for employees and clients at various life stages
Disability: To be a disability confident organisation with a focus on removing barriers and increasing accessibility
Sexual orientation: To provide support, enable individuals to bring their whole selves to work and be appreciated for who they are and what they bring to the organisation
Diversity of thinking: To enhance innovation as well as enable groups to reduce risks