Who will win the ‘Green Oscars’ in the UAE this year?

Dubai: Government and private companies that have positively impacted their workforce and the environment will win the CSR award by Arabian Corporate Social Responsibility Network on October 5 at a gala ceremony.

The network on Wednesday made the announcement, inviting all public, private, small, medium and large businesses in the UAE and the region to participate. The award has gone completely paper-free is in its 15th cycle. In the last 14 years it has received over 1,319 applications.

Dubbing the awards as the region’s ‘Green Oscars’, Habiba Al Marashi, president and CEO of the network, said that in the present times the significance of the award has risen manifold. She added: “The world as we knew it changed in 2020, presenting unprecedented and unforeseen challenges on the socio-economic and environmental front. No sector of society was unscathed, and every business was affected in one way or another by the pandemic and its consequences. Governments and corporates grappled with forced lockdowns, human distress and death, slowing down of economic activity, and a society operating on a 24/7 high alert, emergency mode.”

Window of opportunity

However the challenges also created circumstances for innovation and breakthroughs, Al Marashi said. “Two years on, we continue to witness the monumental efforts of governments and the private sector to deal with the situation and fabricate new structures that will support economic recovery and bring stability to the society.”

In order to provide “a fair chance” to different kinds of businesses, the award has several categories. Organisations can apply to the category that best fits its description and activities: Small Public Sector Organisations/Departments, Medium Public Sector Organisations/Departments, Large Public Sector Organisations/Departments, Large-sized Enterprises, Medium-sized Enterprises, Small-sized Enterprises, Energy, Financial Services, Social Enterprise, Construction, Hospitality, Healthcare, Best New Business, Automotive Industry, and others.

New categories

This year the Arabian CSR categories will have three new categories for the public sector organisations based on the size of the entity. This “enhancement” was made with the intent of ensuring “fair competition” among different governmental entities and departments.

Previous winners

Al Marashi invited three winners from the previous year to share their journey and answer questions posed to them on their sustainability practices.

They were Noof Al Blooki, renewable energy and sustainability engineer, Dubai Police; Reena Viveck, CEO of Zurich International; and Yin Tao, President of the China State Construction Engineering Middle East.