Ceylon Chamber introduces a new award recognising women’s empowerment 

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, in its Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability (BCCS) Award 2019 to be held for the 16th consecutive year, is introducing a new award category.

A new award will be open in 2019 to recognise the efforts and initiatives taken by corporates to strengthen and empower women. Demonstrated efforts to increase women’s participation in the labour force, to support women’s innovation, and more will be taken into account.

The whole event recognises the importance of corporate sustainability in Sri Lanka and encourage businesses to adopt the best possible practices that are in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the chamber said in a media release.

The BCCS Awards assesses the interactions of a corporate entity be they public, private, listed or unlisted; along with its stakeholders – the environment, their employees, customers, suppliers, the community, government, and other shareholders.

Applications for the awards are called under Categories A and B, according to the company’s turnover. Any listed or unlisted company/ enterprise from the Private or Public sector with a turnover of Rs.15 billion or more fall under Category A; whereas those with a turnover under Rs.15 billion fall under Category B. 

The main awards are for the Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Award 2019, the Top 10 Corporate Citizens, the Triple Bottom Line Award, the Category Awards, the Sector Awards, and the Grand Slam Award, among several others. The Category Awards for best performance are judged by (a) environmental commitment, integration, and environment beyond business, (b) employee, customer, and community relations (c) governance, financial performance, and economic contribution. Meeting all three of these categories under Planet, People, and Profit qualifies the company for the Triple Bottom Line Award.

Over 10 sectors are eligible for the Sector Awards, including the agriculture, construction, finance, leisure, and healthcare sectors among many others. The closing date for applications is October 11.