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Posted: Wednesday 3 March 10, 10.40am GMT

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Business in the Community (BITC) has launched the Coffey International Award which for the first time is supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The award identifies and celebrates examples of excellence from businesses that have positively impacted one or more of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The closing date for this award is Friday 19 March.

The support from DFID marks the beginning of a new strategic partnership that BITC has embarked upon with the government department. The partnership aims to promote the engagement of businesses in contributing towards the Millennium Development Goals. With DFID’s support and expertise, BITC will raise awareness of the goals amongst business and encourage and inspire its members to do more.

Gareth Thomas, International Development Minister, said:

“The private sector has a huge part to play in the fight against global poverty, and some of the world’s poorest people are benefiting from the innovative programmes implemented by UK companies.

“It is right that businesses should be recognised and celebrated when their actions make a positive difference in communities as it can inspire others to take similar action, which is why I’m delighted that DFID has been invited to support this prestigious award.”

Whilst the speed and degree of progress in addressing the MDGs is the subject of much debate, businesses have made a significant contribution. The private sector is crucial to meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Businesses are an engine of growth and development, and can have a potentially huge impact on improving the lives of people in developing countries by increasing investment, creating jobs and increasing skills, and developing goods, technologies and innovations which can make people’s lives better. With the support of DFID, this award is about identifying and celebrating such contributions to support progress against the MDGs.

Previous entrants have found the application process a valuable tool for evaluating the work they have been doing, and provides a template for their programme development. They also value the means it gives them of recognising and celebrating success within the organisation, as well as without.

Last year’s winners of the Coffey International Award were IBM with their innovative The World Community Grid. The World Community Grid harnesses the computing power of 1.3 Million computers and makes them available to NGOs and scientists for humanitarian research. World Community Grid is a powerful example of IBM’s smarter planet vision in which systems from utility grids to healthcare can be made to work better, as a result of increased data, interconnected networks and greater embedded intelligence.

Also last year, Standard Bank were Highly Commended for their Employee Wellness Programme in Africa which provides their workforce with free healthcare, not only supporting their employees but also the local community. Standard Bank’s employee wellness programme directly relates to Millennium Development Goal 6, combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Through their programme of education, support and direct outreach Standard Bank reach an estimated 160,000 people from the employee to anyone living with the employee’s family.

Stephen Howard, Chief Executive of Business in the Community said:

“The Awards for Excellence are robust, rigorous independent and peer assessed. They look behind the headlines to recognise and celebrate those companies which have shown remarkable leadership, innovation, creativity and a sustained commitment to corporate responsibility.”

Roger Olds Managing Director, Coffey International Limited said:

“Coffey is delighted to sponsor this prestigious International Award as part of the Business in the Community Awards for Excellence in Corporate Responsibility. As a professional services organisation delivering social and physical infrastructure solutions, the Coffey vision is ‘global specialists solving emerging challenges to improve the lives of communities.’

Our sponsorship of the award demonstrates our commitment to providing specialist support and advice to meet current and future challenges. I believe that the Coffey International Award will encourage applications celebrating examples of excellence from businesses that have positively impacted one or more of the MDGs, and I encourage businesses around the world to submit an application for consideration for this prestigious award.”

National Awards for Excellence
The Coffey International Award is just one of the categories in the highly respected BITC Awards for Excellence. They are the only peer assessed awards for Corporate Social Responsibility and last year were assessed by over 150 assessors from all sectors of business. This year they are run in association with the Financial Times.

There are 12 categories in this year’s awards for excellence. Entries that achieve a specific standard, set by our independent assessors each year, are awarded a Big Tick. The Big Tick is the most respected endorsement of responsible business practice. In each category the best Big Ticks are put forward for consideration for the title of Example of Excellence – the overall winner for the category.

In 2009 there were 358 entries for national awards across 14 categories, including 277 brand new entries, resulting in 106 Big Ticks and 81 Big Tick re-accreditations.

The Examples of Excellence will be celebrated at a showcase event on 5 July 2010 in central London, followed by a special Gala Dinner celebrating 25 years of HRH The Prince of Wales’s presidency of Business in the Community.

ENDS

Notes to editors

For media enquiries please contact Clare Haines, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) / 020 7566 8758 / 07786 566 136 or Zoë Arden, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) / 07770 915 997.

For further information about the 2010 Awards for Excellence please visit www.bitc.org.uk/awards or contact the awards manager Claire Brady at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call 020 7566 8668.

About Business in the Community
Business in the Community mobilises business for good. Our members commit to take action on the key issues of today, be they people or planet, and create a unique platform for collaborative action.

Business in the Community’s approach to responsible business provides a clear framework to address new challenges, improve business performance and benefit society.

Our members recognise the relationship between responsible business practice, addressing social and environmental need and the role this plays in building confidence and creating wealth.

We work across four areas of expertise in the workplace, marketplace, environment and community. By sharing knowledge and experience, and developing innovative solutions, we are a catalyst for change and demonstrate the positive impact business can have on society.

We are 1 business-led charity with 27 years of experience and 200 business leaders actively engaged in leading campaigns. With more than 800 companies in membership, we represent 1 in 5 of the UK private sector workforce and through the Global network of partners nearly 6500 worldwide.

www.bitc.org.uk

About Coffey International
Coffey is a leading global professional services consultancy focusing on both physical and social infrastructure. We use specialist knowledge to deliver extraordinary outcomes for our clients across the full lifecycle of a project, from concept to completion. And all of our people have one thing in common: a passion to solve emerging challenges to improve the lives of communities. www.coffey.com

About DFID
The Department for International Development (DFID) leads the UK Government’s fight against poverty around the world. www.dfid.gov.uk

IBM World Community Grid Case Study – last year’s winner
As a global leader in IT solutions, IBM’s community investment strategy applies their technical expertise and resources in innovative ways.

Processes
IBM has created the World Community Grid which harnesses the spare computing capacity of 1.2 million computers in over 200 countries and makes it available for free to scientists engaged in not-for-profit, humanitarian research. To date the Grid has accelerated and made research affordable on a wide range of humanitarian projects.

Impact
IBM World Community Grid has provided research scientists with over 230,000 years of computer run-time at no cost, and delivered over 250 million research results since 2004, often enabling research which would not otherwise be possible.

The ‘Fight AIDS’ project, one of the many running on World Community Grid, has identified over 40 potential drug candidates. It has achieved this in 6 months rather than 5 years using normal computing resources, and scientists are now proceeding with laboratory work to develop new drugs.

World Community Grid helps raise public awareness of, and engagement in, the challenges facing society. Between 200 and 250 individuals join the Grid every day, thereby helping accelerate progress toward the MDGS.

World Community Grid provides significant value to IBM. It exemplifies how the application of IBM’s leading edge technology and expertise delivers exceptional value, and it epitomises one of our core values “Innovation that matters for our company and the world”. The very high level of on-going media attention since launch in 2004 has contributed significantly to IBM’s brand and reputation amongst internal and external stakeholders.

More information at: www.worldcommunitygrid.org

Standard Bank Employee Wellness Programme – Highly Commended last year
Standard Bank has initiated a comprehensive HIV/Aids programme that focuses on managing and mitigating the impacts of the pandemic on its staff, business and communities.

Processes
The programme has been rolled out across 17 African countries, reaching 40,000 employees and their families – an estimated 160,000 lives.

In order to support the health initiative, Standard Bank has also trained 715 employee ‘Wellness Champions’ to raise awareness in the workplace and the wider community about health and wellness issues and refer the bank’s employees to appropriate internal support structures and employee benefits.

Inspired by the successes of its wellness programme, Standard bank has become a key driver in developing and informing strategic partnerships across Africa.

Impact
HIV prevalence across Standard Bank’s employees in South Africa has been held to a flat figure of 3.9% and more employees are aware of their HIV status at an earlier stage and are receiving appropriate treatment and care.

Employee engagement is higher than other organisations – not only is it seen as being socially conscious and ‘doing the right thing’ but the business case for healthy productive employees speaks for itself.

Aside from being socially conscious and ‘being the right thing to do’ the goals for the long-term wellness of employees translate directly into better productivity, better performance and ultimately savings for the bank.

Standard Bank’s employee wellness programme directly relates to Millennium Development Goal 6, combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Through their programme of education, support and direct outreach Standard Bank reach an estimated 160,000 people from the employee to anyone living with the employee’s family.