Winning companies honoured and made history as pioneering champions of the first-ever Arabia CSR Awards

Emirates Environmental Group publicly announced the winners of its Arabia CSR Awards on 26th October 2008 during a Gala Dinner and Awards Night at the Burj Al Arab.

Exclusively for the Awards, His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan Bin Talal of the Kingdom of Jordan, a noted CSR advocate, appeared on a video message to deliver a special note to the guests and Award participants:

"We cannot continue talking about globalization and democracy from the top down. There must be an empowerment process. When it comes to the standards such as CSR, this is not a public relations exercise. Civil liberties have to be understood in their complimentarity. The values or standards and best practices of CSR can be applied more broadly, beyond the marketplace."

Also speaking on the night was Head of the Award Advisory Panel, Dr. Elizabeth Ness; Head of the Award Jury Panel, Dr. Michael Hopkins; and Soren Petersen, Head of Global Compact Networks, Partnerships, Participants Management & Communication on Progress from the United Nations Global Compact. The support of the Compact has complemented an international dimension to the Awards, which has added value. A common theme emerged from the speakers - that such Awards lend testament to the fact that CSR provides a valuable framework for companies to adopt in overcoming current global challenges, addressing diverse stakeholder and shareholder issues and moving forward.

The ceremony hosted senior executives and CEOs of participating companies, and professionals from government, civil society and media.

At the gala event, EEG Chairperson Habiba Al Marashi said:

"Congratulations to the winners! They are bringing home the coveted distinction of being the winners of the first cycle of the Arabia CSR Awards. Bravo to the highly commended and to the shortlisted companies! Each of these entities are bringing to the table their own unique brand of CSR, armoring themselves with more responsible practices."

"The outcome of this Award has shown that CSR is climbing to the top of the agenda in the region's business community. Those days of overlooking CSR as merely a far-fetched concept are quickly diminishing in the shadows of maturing CSR practitioners from these participating companies. Further to our goal of recognizing the leaders of the responsible business movement in the Region, the Awards process is designed especially for companies to take a critical look at their CSR practices and find out where they stand. I am confident this year's participants will agree that going through the Awards submission process has given them a clearer idea of CSR, and of what more needs to be done. We are all in this together. Our drive towards sustainability is only as good as its weakest link. Together, we will help each other and drive CSR to the next level." he added.

Setting itself apart from other CSR accolades in the Region, the Arabia CSR Awards targeted the core of CSR practice rather than individual projects. The winners were selected on the basis of the company's CSR activities, particularly good governance, addressing all key stakeholders sincerity and on-going commitment in incorporating ethical values into their business, compliance with legal requirements, involvement in community related activities and protection of the environment. The companies were evaluated for their overall CSR best practices and not for one-offs or non-sustainable short-term projects.