The Stevie® Awards, organizer of the world’s premier business awards programs, has issued a call for entries for the 2025 (sixth annual) Middle East & North Africa Stevie® Awards, sponsored by the RAK Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Entry kits and complete details on the competition are available at http://MENA.StevieAwards.com.

The Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards are the region’s only awards program to recognize innovation in the workplace in all its forms. The awards are open to all organizations within 18 nations in the MENA region: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

All individuals and organizations - public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small - may submit any number of nominations to any number of the categories.

There are no entry fees in this awards program. Organizations may submit as many nominations as they would like, without cost. Instead, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners will pay a “winners fee” for each successful nomination.

Nominations may be submitted online through two entry deadlines. Winning nominations submitted through the first deadline, October 2, will have reduced winners’ fees. November 6 is the second and final entry deadline.

Winners of the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Awards in the competition will be announced on January 16, 2025, and celebrated during a gala event at the Waldorf Astoria in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, on February 22.

New for the 2025 competition, the Sustainability Categories recognize the recent achievements of individuals, teams, and entire organizations to plan, approach, and achieve organizational, industry, or national sustainability goals.

Other new categories include Most Innovative Finance Executive of the Year, Most Innovative Operations Manager of the Year, Most Innovative Product Manager of the Year, Most Innovative Sales Executive of the Year, Most Innovative Sustainability Leader of the Year, Most Innovative Technology Leader of the Year (added to the Individual Professional Awards Categories), Award for Innovation in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), Award for Innovation in Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR), Award for Innovation in Education Technology (EdTech), and Most Innovative Technology Team of the Year.

Nominations citing innovative achievements will be accepted and judged in both Arabic and English, in more than 100 categories across the following category groups:

• Apps & Websites
• Achievements
• Annual Reports & Other Publications
• Company/Organization
• Corporate Communications & Public Relations
• Customer Service
• Human Resources
• Individual Professionals
• Live & Virtual Events
• Management
• Marketing
• New Products & Services
• Social Media
• Sustainability
• Technology
• Videos
• Thought Leadership

Winners of the 2024 edition with multiple Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Awards include Abu Dhabi Sports Council, UAE; Acceligize, UAE; AXS - TECOM Group, UAE; Beyaz Kağıt San. ve Tic. A.Ş., Turkey; Big Data Minds MENA, Jordan; DHL Express, multiple locations across the region; Dhafra Region Municipality, UAE; General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, UAE; Glimpse, UAE; KAFALAH, Saudi Arabia; Megamind IT Solutions, Saudi Arabia; Miral Destinations, UAE; Ooredoo Group, multiple locations across the region; Petromin Express, Saudi Arabia; Qatar Vision Production Company; QNB Finansbank, Turkey; RAK Ceramics, UAE; RAK Police, UAE; Royal Commission for Jubail & Yanbu, Saudi Arabia; Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia; SOCAR Türkiye; STC, Saudi Arabia; The Captain Agency, Turkey; Ministry of Justice, UAE; The Others Brand Experience Agency, Turkey; Vaki Bank, Turkey; Visiontech Systems International LLC, UAE, and ZIGMA8 | 360º CREATIVE COMMUNICATIONS, Iran, among others.

The 2025 competition will be judged by more than 100 professionals around the world. Those who wish to apply to participate on one of the juries may do so at https://mena.stevieawards.com/sa-judge/register.

Stevie-winner Trupanion is a leading medical insurance provider for cats and dogs in North America. With over 1,200 global employees, they help pet parents budget and care for their pet’s veterinary bills when they face unexpected sickness or injury.

Trupanion stands out for its simple, customizable plans, offering up to 90% reimbursement on eligible veterinary expenses and no annual or lifetime payout limits, making it a preferred choice for many pet owners.

In contrast to competitors, they feature a per-condition deductible rather than an annual one, meaning once a customer meets the deductible for a particular condition, they won’t have to pay it again for that condition's treatment during their pet's lifetime. Another key feature is the Vet Direct Pay system, which allows Trupanion to pay participating veterinarians directly at the time of treatment, minimizing the upfront costs for pet owners. This system is supported by their proprietary software, Trupanion Express, which streamlines the claims process and ensures fast payment.

Tactics for Telesales and Call Center Teams
With only 3% of cats and dogs having insurance in North America, they have consistently needed to scale their Telesales team to support Trupanion’s reach.

Pet parents are not required to insure their cats and dogs and often don’t realize that there are insurance options to help cover the cost of their veterinary bills. With that in mind, they have built a team of sales representatives who can explain how covering pets with Trupanion’s insurance is so impactful in extending the time families can have with their furry family members.

Trupanion has been operating since 1999, but the telesales team established itself within Trupanion’s contact center in 2011 due to the rapid growth of its member base. In 2021 the team was around 30 sales agents and has doubled in size to 60 agents.

Unique to other telesales teams, Trupanion’s only focus on warm leads. Converting leads to members in the discovery phase also ensures that members are enrolling their pets before any medical emergencies arise, contributing to the best experience they can have with any pet insurance product. 

Since 2021, Trupanion’s Inbound Sales team has been handling approximately 17,000 inbound leads per month with a consistent conversion rate of 45%. Year over year, Trupanion grows by at least 20% net new pets and the Inbound Sales team brings in over 90k of those new pets each year.

Their product covers Canada, the United States, Puerto Rico, and Australia, with a 150-person customer service team providing 24/7/365 support for global members and over 937,000 pets.

Some may consider the call center at Trupanion as untraditional in that they don’t use scripts or have handle time goals. They believe that team members shine the best on every call without rigid guidelines and that they need the time and flexibility to take care of the customer in a manner that feels authentic to them.

Since the pandemic, their contact center has evolved to be a remote-first environment, with team members working from home across the United Stastes and Canada. If team members prefer to have an office experience, the Seattle headquarters is open to all, including team members’ cats and dogs.

Trupanion won two Silver Stevie^® Awards and a Bronze Stevie for Front-Line Customer Service Team of the Year - Financial Services Industries; Contact Center of the Year (Over 100 Seats) - Financial Services Industries; and Inside or Telesales Team of the Year, respectively, in the 2024 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

Interested in entering the 2025 awards program?

Stevie-winner Simply Contact is a customer support outsourcing company, originally founded in Dnipro, Ukraine, in 2013.

Over the past decade, the company has grown significantly, expanding its operations across Ukraine with offices in Kyiv, Lviv, and Poltava, as well as establishing a presence in Warsaw, Poland. With a team of over 600 employees, Simply Contact provides multilingual and multichannel customer support services to clients worldwide, handling operations in more than 18 languages.

The company's client roster includes a diverse array of organizations, from established brands like Wizz Air and government entities such as the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Ministry of Digital Transformation to innovative startups like Bolt, Wheelshare, and Ditto Music. Simply Contact’s ability to serve such a broad range of clients is a testament to its versatility and commitment to delivering high-quality customer service solutions.

One of the key strengths of Simply Contact lies in its ability to adapt and scale its services efficiently, especially during periods of fluctuating demand. The company has implemented a blended support model, which allows for dynamic agent allocation based on immediate needs. This approach has proven particularly effective in reducing call center abandon rates and improving response times. For instance, on the Wizz Air project, Simply Contact managed to reduce the average handling time by 30%, while ensuring that 80% of calls are answered within 35 seconds and all emails are addressed within five days. This level of efficiency not only enhances customer satisfaction but also optimizes operational costs, saving clients up to 10% in total cost of ownership.

Another notable achievement is the improvement in customer satisfaction (CSAT) for Bolt, one of Simply Contact's key clients. By retraining agents, developing a dynamic monitoring system, and implementing targeted strategies for specific scenarios, Simply Contact was able to elevate Bolt’s CSAT from 64% to over 80%, surpassing the industry standard. This significant improvement is indicative of the company’s systematic and thoughtful approach to customer service, which continues to drive positive results for its clients.

Simply Contact's ability to adapt to client needs and improve operational efficiency has made it a strong contender in the customer service outsourcing industry. Through innovative practices like the blended support model and a focus on reducing handling times and increasing customer satisfaction, the company has consistently delivered cost-effective solutions. These strategies have proven successful in enhancing the customer experience for clients across various sectors, from established brands to emerging startups.

As the company continues to evolve, it remains focused on delivering tailored, high-quality services that address the unique challenges of each client, reinforcing its position as a leader in multilingual and multichannel customer service.

Simply Contact won a Bronze Stevie^® Award for Contact Center or Customer Service Outsourcing Provider of the Year in the 2024 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

Interested in entering the 2025 awards program?

Stevie-winner Accela provides a unified suite of cloud solutions trusted by governments across the globe to accelerate their digital transformation, deliver vital services, and build stronger communities. 

The company offers agile, purpose-built solutions and the power of a platform that provides users with a consumer-like experience, shares data across departments, and ensures world-class security. With over 600 jurisdictions worldwide, Accela’s products manage critical tasks efficiently and effectively.

The Challenge
Accela implemented a Salesforce-powered community where members sought fast, relevant information. However, there were some challenges. Customers and support representatives had to juggle between multiple content repositories to find all available information. At times, they ended up with irrelevant or missing results due to the many content silos. The team knew gaps existed in their published knowledge repositories but had no way to identify all of them or understand which ones were having the biggest impact on their customers. Consequently, their support team was flooded with customer support requests. The management team wanted to reduce the load by improving the self-service experience.

All things considered, Accela was looking for an overarching solution that could not only enable users to self-serve but also provide access to all documented information from a single search point.

The Solution
Enter SearchUnify, a unified cognitive search platform. Its out-of-the-box support for 60+ enterprise platforms helped Accela index all its disparate content repositories and integrate them seamlessly with its customer community. This created a unified discovery experience for their customers within the online community.

As a result, when customers searched for help, the engine scoured all of Accela's documented knowledge to find and return every relevant answer. Support reps received the same experience in their agent console. This eliminated the need to switch tabs or login to separate systems to access the right content.

SearchUnify's ML-fueled algorithms significantly improved search relevance in the online customer community. It factored in customer data such as their activity across all touchpoints and engagement patterns. This ensured every customer only saw content relevant to their profile. Its insights engine empowered knowledge teams to immediately identify and close content gaps, which further helped improve customer satisfaction scores while reducing the load on customer support teams.

Furthermore, SearchUnify’s platform bridged the gap between multiple systems to provide a real-time, end-to-end view of the customer's self-help journey. Accela teams could now follow individual customer paths starting with search terms, to search results, content clicks, and answers read to cases submitted. This provided powerful and actionable insights that allowed Accela to dramatically improve its customers’ experiences.

Accela won a Gold Stevie^® Award for Best Use of Technology in Customer Service - Computer Industries in the 2024 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

Interested in entering the 2025 awards program?

The Stevie® Awards, organizers of the world’s premier business awards programs, have announced the winners of six Grand (“best in show”) Stevie Award trophies in The 2024 (21^st Annual) International Business Awards®, the world’s leading business awards competition.

Nominees in the 2024 IBAs were not able to apply for Grand Stevie Awards directly. Winners were determined by a points system based on the total number of awards won in the IBAs with a Gold Stevie win counting for three points, a Silver Stevie win for two points, and a Bronze Stevie win for 1.5 points, as well as having the highest average score in selected categories.

This year’s Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners in The International Business Awards were announced on 14 August. They and the winners of the Grand Stevies announced today will be recognized during an awards gala in Istanbul, Türkiye, on 11 October.

Winners of the 2024 Grand Stevie Awards are:

Organization of the Year
With 55 award points earned by Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie wins by multiple units under its umbrella, Ayala Land, a subsidiary of Ayala Corporation of the Philippines, is the most honored organization in The 2024 International Business Awards®.

Most Honored Marketing Agency
Lounge Group, one of the biggest full-service communications agencies in Hungary, earned 20 award points with four Gold and four Silver Stevie wins on behalf of clients Budapest Airport and MVM Group. This is the first-ever Grand Stevie win for Hungary.

Most Honored Public Relations Agency
Weber Shandwick’s office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, wins with 34 award points earned on behalf of a single client, Miral Destinations, a leading creator of immersive destinations and experiences. This marks the seventh Grand Stevie Award won by Weber Shandwick over the years, and the first since 2017.

Highest-rated Nomination of the Year
There is a tie for this Grand Stevie prize this year, with both nominations receiving average scores from the judges of 9.86 out of a possible 10.

• LLYC, Llorente y Cuenca, founded in Madrid, Spain, and now with 16 offices in 13 countries, earns a Grand for its nomination “StepbyWater,” winner of the Gold Stevie Award for Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Digital Creativity, on behalf of client StepbyWater. This marks 13 Grand Stevie wins for LLYC in the past 11 years.
• UNICEF Thailand, Bangkok’s Gold Stevie-winning nomination for Best Annual Report - Non-Profit Organizations, “A Tale Of Two Thailands - UNICEF Thailand Impact Report 2023” earns a Grand Stevie. This marks the second Grand Stevie win for UNICEF, with their Cambodian chapter having won in the 2022 IBAs, and the third Grand win for Thailand.

Highest-rated New Product or Service Nomination of the Year
With an average score of 9/10, Azul, of Sunnyvale, California, USA, provider of “the Java platform for the modern cloud enterprise,” wins their first Grand Stevie Award for their nomination of Azul Platform Prime, Gold Stevie-winner for Best New Cloud Application or Service.

Maggie Miller, President of the Stevie Awards, remarked, “The six Grand Stevie Award winners exemplify the exceptional range and caliber of entries we received at the IBAs in 2024. Top organizations continue to adapt and thrive in a world of constant change, and our judges were truly impressed by the outstanding creativity, resourcefulness, and skill demonstrated by these winners in propelling their organizations forward over the past two years. We eagerly anticipate honoring these Grand Stevie Award recipients at the upcoming gala in Istanbul.”

The International Business Awards feature a wide variety of categories to recognize achievement in every facet of work life, including management awards, new product awards, marketing awards, PR awards, customer service awards, website awards, and more.

Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award placements in the 2024 IBAs were determined by the average scores of more than 300 professionals worldwide in the three-month judging process. Winners were selected from more than 3,600 nominations submitted by organizations in 62 nations and territories.

The nomination process for the 2025 IBAs will open in February. For more information about The International Business Awards, including a complete list of all Stevie Award winners in the 2024 competition, visit www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

Stevie-winner Bigleaf Networks specializes in optimizing internet performance for businesses through a cloud-first SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) solution.

Their technology focuses on ensuring reliable internet connectivity by dynamically managing and prioritizing network traffic, which is crucial for businesses dependent on cloud-based applications. Bigleaf's solution detects and mitigates network issues automatically, providing consistent performance and reducing downtime for critical business operations.

The company serves various industries with a plug-and-play setup that requires minimal IT intervention, making it accessible to businesses without extensive technical expertise. Bigleaf's services include real-time traffic analysis, automated failover, and load balancing across multiple ISP connections. This approach ensures optimal internet performance and reliability, allowing businesses to maintain productivity and efficiency even during network disruptions or heavy usage periods.

Bigleaf has built a reputation for providing network optimization solutions. It offers dynamic Quality of Service (QoS) and intelligent internet traffic load balancing services designed to guarantee optimal performance for essential internet and cloud applications. Their commitment to innovation and excellence has led to the delivery of cutting-edge solutions that meet the evolving needs of modern businesses.

Founded on the goal of revolutionizing internet connectivity, Bigleaf has successfully optimized network performance for businesses of all sizes across various industries. Their dynamic QoS and intelligent traffic load balancing services ensure uninterrupted access to essential applications, enhancing productivity and driving business growth.

Since July 2021, Bigleaf has achieved significant milestones in customer service, evidenced by impressive G2 ratings and reviews. These ratings highlight the company's dedication to delivering exceptional customer service and satisfaction. Bigleaf boasts a 98% gross customer retention rate and an outstanding 114% net retention rate, demonstrating its success in retaining and expanding its customer base through effective service and support.

These achievements underscore Bigleaf's focus on prioritizing customer satisfaction and providing value-added solutions tailored to client needs. Through its proactive approach to customer service and commitment to excellence, Bigleaf Networks has solidified its reputation as a trusted partner and industry leader in delivering exceptional customer experiences.

Bigleaf Networks won a Bronze Stevie^® Award for Customer Service Success - Technology Industries in the 2024 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

Interested in entering the 2025 awards program?

The Stevie® Awards, organizer of the world’s premier business awards programs, has extended the final entry deadline in the 2024 (21st annual) Stevie® Awards for Women in Business. Entrants now have until September 4 to submit nominations. The original final entry deadline was August 21.

Entry kits and complete details on the competition are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business honor the achievements of working women in more than 100 categories, including Best Female Entrepreneur, Female Executive of the Year, Mentor or Coach of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, Achievement in Equal Pay, Women Helping Women, Employee of the Year, Woman-Owned or -Run Company of the Year, and Female Innovator of the Year. All female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run, worldwide, are eligible to be nominated.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are widely considered to be the world's premier business awards competition for women. In 2023 the competition attracted more than 1,600 nominations from organizations in more than 26 nations.

The 2024 Stevie Awards for Women in Business will be judged by more than 200 leading professionals around the world, and nominees will have access to all the judges’ comments and suggestions about their nominations. Finalists will be announced on September 18, and winners will be announced on November 8 at an awards ceremony in New York City.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business recognize achievement in the workplace in award categories including:

Achievement Categories
Communications & Marketing (Developed for/by Women) Categories
Company/Organization (Women-Owned or -Led) Categories
Individual Women Categories
Media (Developed for/by Women) Categories
New Product & Service (Developed for/by Women) - Categories
Social Media Categories
Sustainability Categories (new for 2024)
Thought Leadership Categories

There are 11 new Sustainability categories, to recognize innovative achievements by individual women and women-led or -owned organizations in resource and environmental sustainability since the beginning of July 2022.

Stevie-winner GoCo is on a mission to automate manual human resources (HR) tasks and empower HR professionals to make work a better place.

GoCo.io is modernizing HR, benefits, and payroll with its modern, all-in-one, solutions for SMBs (small-to-medium-sized businesses). Unlike other HR platforms, GoCo is built to support existing processes, policies, and providers so that SMBs don’t have to change the way they work in order to adopt a modern HR system.

GoCo's Client Success (CS) Team provides exceptional service tailored to customers' evolving needs. The department has undergone strategic expansions and process changes over the years to introduce specialized roles for each aspect of the platform and foster a culture of dedicated support.

As the company has grown, the CS Team has expanded from eight team members to over 50 team members specialized in different areas of the process and product. The history of GoCo's CS Team reflects a dedication to innovation, client-centricity, and a consistent pursuit of excellence in delivering service to clients.

Unlike many players in the space, GoCo prioritizes a personalized approach. It assigns a dedicated team of named contacts to every client at each stage of the process and throughout their lifecycle as a client. This team, based 100% in the United States, offers a genuine human connection with a reachable phone number, eliminating the use of impersonal 800 numbers, offshoring, chatbots, or AI in client interactions.

Their commitment to customer success is further exemplified by having specialists dedicated to each facet of the platform, ensuring expertise in addressing specific client needs. Notably, they don't impose extra charges for any services, including group training, private one-on-one sessions, or training new client administrators, a stark departure from industry norms.

“There's never enough time for busy HR leaders to get everything done, but GoCo has an answer to that,” said Ben Eubanks, Chief Research Officer, Lighthouse Research & Advisory. “With a robust HR platform focused on small businesses and their unique needs, 100% of GoCo clients say the system saves them time each week, said Ben Eubanks, Chief Research Officer, Lighthouse Research & Advisory. "Most importantly, those employers are turning that newly freed up time toward creating workplaces that engage and support the workforce in a powerful way.”

They said these awards exemplify the company’s unwavering dedication to driving positive change in the HR technology landscape: "It's a tremendous honor to receive these accolades, which are a testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire GoCo team," said Nir Leibovich, Co-Founder and CEO at GoCo. These awards reaffirm our commitment to delivering best-in-class solutions and unparalleled customer service to our clients."

Since winning its award, GoCo has made significant strides in enhancing its platform with cutting-edge features aimed at revolutionizing HR management for SMBs. Among the notable additions to its arsenal are expense management with an AI receipt scanner, a built-in AI knowledge base, attendance management and scheduling, and employee engagement and eNPS surveys.

Additionally, GoCo proudly announced the addition of Steve Allison as the new Vice President of Client Success. With over 30 years in the Benefits and HR industry, Steve brings a wealth of experience to the GoCo team. His appointment underscores GoCo's commitment to delivering unparalleled service and support to its growing client base.

GoCo won a Bronze Stevie^® Award for Customer Service Department of the Year – Computer Software - 100 or More Employees in the 2024 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

Interested in entering the 2025 awards program?

Das bielefelder Werk der ZF Friedrichshafen AG engagiert sich konsequent im Wandel hin zu einer grüneren Industrie - und ist damit in der gesamten Branche ein Vorreiter.

In einer Industriebranche, die aufgrund ihres Ressourcen-Hungers nicht immer den besten Ruf hat, setzt die ZF Friedrichshafen AG an ihrem Standort in Bielefeld konsequent auf ein innovatives Konzept von Müllvermeidung, Recycling und Wiederaufbereitung. Hier wird bereits seit einigen Jahren ein Cradel-to-cradle-Konzept (C2C) verfolgt, das es ermöglicht, die Herstellung von Getriebeteilen so umwelt- und materialschonend wie irgend möglich zu realisieren. Für dieses Engagement wurde die ZF bereits mit mehreren Preisen ausgezeichnet.

Nun folgt mit einem der begehrten Gold Stevies bei den German® Stevie Awards in der Kategorie "Wiederverwendung und Recycling" eine Anerkennung besonderer Klasse!

In den letzten zwei Jahren ist es der ZF gelungen, eine wichtige neue Wertschöpfungskette zu installieren und diese so zu optimieren, dass diese möglichst sparsam mit den eingesetzten Rohstoffen umgeht, bzw. so weit wie möglich auf den Einsatz neuer Ressourcen zu verzichten. Während Mitwettbewerber in dieser Zeit unter gestörten Lieferketten und Teuerung gelitten haben, konnte die ZF hingegen Altteile wieder aufbereiten und den Materialeinsatz niedrig halten. Im Gegensatz zu einem Neuteil lassen sich so bis zu 90% an Werkstoffen und Energie einsparen - das ist gut für die Umwelt und die Kunden, denn aufgearbeitete Aggregate sind deutlich günstiger als Neuteile! Zugleich konnte die ZF eine Zertifizierung ihres C2C-Konzepts erreichen, so z.B. auch bei ihrem pneumatischen Kupplungsausrückzylinder für AMT-Getriebe, dem ConAct, der somit wahrscheinlich das weltweit erste solchermaßen zertifizierte Bauteil mit elektronischen Komponenten überhaupt ist. Mittlerweile sind sämtliche Produkte am ZF-Standort in Bielefeld zu 100% nach Cradle to Cradle zertifiziert!

Um dies zu realisieren, müssen bestimmte Kriterien erfüllt sein, z.B. muss die Materialgesundheit und die Kreislauffähigkeit genauestens geprüft werden. Diese Kriterien sind bei Teilen aus Metall, wie der bereits 2017 zertifizierte Kupplungsdruckplatte MFZ 430, einfacher einzuhalten als bei z.B. solchen aus Plastik. Deshalb wurde die Zertifizierung damals an genau diesem Teil beispielhaft vorgenommen, um das nötige Know-How und passende Kontakte aufbauen zu können. Die Erfahrungen wurden dann nach und nach auf weitere Produkte übertragen. Mit Erfolg, denn mittlerweile sind auch Aggregate mit elektronischen und Kunststoffteilen zertifiziert.

Neben den oben genannten Kriterien spielen jedoch auch andere Faktoren eine wichtige Rolle: Der Einsatz erneuerbarer Energien und ein verantwortungsvoller Umgang mit dem Rohstoff Wasser sind die eine Seite, aber auch die soziale Gerechtigkeit - also ethische Geschäftspraktiken bei aller Beteiligten, faire Bezahlung und menschenwürdige Arbeitsumstände entlang der gesamten Lieferkette - spielen eine große Rolle. Das Cradel-to-Cradel-Konzept ist dabei von der Europäischen Kommission offiziell anerkannt. Aufgrund des großen Erfolges in Bielefeld werden die Themen Altteile-Rückhol-Konzept und C2C mittlerweile in weitere Standorte getragen und finden z.B. bei einer neuen Produktionslinie in einem ZF-Werk in Brasilien Anwendung.

Um eine stetige Versorgung mit für die Aufbereitung geeigneten Altteilen zu garantieren, hat die ZF ein eigenes System zur Rückholung etabliert. Da diese reverse Logistik, die eine fast lückenlose Rückverfolgung ihrer Produkte ermöglicht, bereits seit 1963 existiert, konnte diese effizient den neuen politischen und wirtschaftlichen Gegebenheiten angepasst werden. Eine eigene Abteilung behält weltweit die Märkte im Blick und kümmert sich um die Rückführung alter Teile. Dies ist keine leichte Aufgabe, denn im Werk werden jeden Tag etwa 50t Alt-Aggregate sortiert - was auf ein Jahr hochgerechnet dem Gewicht des Eiffelturms entspricht! Jährlich werden serienmäßig ca. 325.000 Kupplungsdruckplatten und Kupplungsscheiben, 5.000 Drehmoment-Wandler und 75.000 ConActs Ausrücksysteme nach den Maßgaben des C2C-Konzepts hergestellt, was einen erheblichen Vorteil sowohl für die Kunden als auch für die Umwelt darstellt. 

Dass dieses Konzept aufgeht, sieht man zudem auch daran, dass Kunden gebrauchte Altteile auch aus eigenem Antrieb zurückgeben. Schließlich sorgt ein ausgeklügeltes Pfand- und Rabattsystem, bei dem der Kunde neue Produkte bei Abgabe eines Altgeräts günstiger erhält, für zusätzliche Anreize. Etwa 35% aller Altprodukte können so zurückgeholt und dem Recycling zugeführt werden - wobei sich dieser Prozentsatz in Zukunft weiter erhöhen soll, denn das Ziel ist, möglichst allen Altteilen eine Chance auf ein zweites Leben zu geben. Jedes Bauteil, bei dem die knappen Rohstoffe nicht aufwändig aus der Erde gewonnen werden müssen, sondern stattdessen wiederverwendet werden können, hilft, der Ressourcenknappheit entgegenzuwirken.

Dem Ziel, zeitnah klimaneutral, oder besser, sogar klimapositiv zu werden, kommt die ZF nicht nur durch die bereits 2017 erfolgte Umstellung auf 100% grünen Strom nach, sondern auch durch die konsequente Einsparung von Verbrauchsmaterialien - schließlich sind die weltweiten Entwicklungen eine Verpflichtung zu handeln. Zudem konnte die ZF am Standort Bielefeld praktisch nebenbei Entsorgungskosten für Abfälle in den letzten drei Jahren um 40% reduzieren. Schließlich gilt hier getreu der Abfallpyramide: Recyceln vor thermischer Verwertung! Anfallende Abfälle wurden im Rahmen der C2C-Zertifizierung genau untersucht und werden jetzt einer spezifischen Trennung zugeführt, die es ermöglicht, durch den Verkauf von Materialien wie Altölen, Folien, Metallen oder Aluminium sogar zusätzliche Gewinne zu erzielen. Zudem strebt die ZF an, in Bielefeld einen Standort ohne Abfall zu werden. Das Ziel ist es, dass dort keine Abfälle einer Verbrennung oder Deponierung zugeführt werden müssen: So z.B. bei einer der aktuellen Aktivitäten, bei der 160t alte, genutzte Kupplungsreibbeläge in ihre Bestandteile zerlegt werden und diese Fraktionen wieder der Produktion zugeführt werden.

Die ZF Friedrichshafen AG ist ein weltweit aktiver Technologiekonzern, der Systeme für die Mobilität von PKW, Nutzfahrzeugen und Industrietechnik liefert. Mit insgesamt 153.000 Mitarbeitern an rund 271 Standorten in 42 Ländern ist die ZF weltweit vertreten. Das Werk am Standort Bielefeld beschäftigt z.Zt. 220 Mitarbeiter und hat sich auf die Aufarbeitung von Antriebsstrang-Modulen für den Aftermarket in Europa spezialisiert. Hier wurde gezeigt, dass die Aufarbeitung von Produkten nicht nur ein Umweltthema ist, sondern auch wirtschaftlich lukrativ sein kann! Der Entschluss, sich mit dem C2C-Ansatz weiter zu beschäftigen, wurde auch durch die politischen Entwicklungen sowohl auf europäischer als auch auf Bundesebene bestärkt, z.B. durch die geplante Klimaneutralität im Jahr 2050. Viele Unternehmen sehen sich dadurch immer stärker unter Zugzwang, die restriktiver werdenden Umweltvorgaben umzusetzen. ZF ist durch ihre vorausschauenden Umweltaktivitäten optimal auf die Zukunft vorbereitet. Gleichzeitig steigt bei den Kunden die Umweltsensibilität und diese fragen explizit nach Umweltzertifikaten. Dadurch wird eine durchgehende C2C-Zertifizierung ein klarer Wettbewerbsvorteil! Nebenbei hat die ZF so die große Chance genutzt, ihre Produkte zu verbessern und zu optimieren.

Haben Sie mit Ihrer Organisation auch Großartiges geleistet? Dann melden Sie sich jetzt für unseren Newsletter an, um immer über die Fristen der German Stevie® Awards 2025 auf dem Laufenden gehalten zu werden!

High-achieving organizations and executives around the world have been recognized as Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie® Award winners in The 21st Annual International Business Awards®, the world's only international, all-encompassing business awards program. The IBAs have been called “the Olympics for the workplace.”

Winners were selected from more than 3,600 nominations submitted by organizations in 62 nations and territories.

A complete list of all 2024 Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners by category is available at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

More than 300 executives worldwide participated on 11 juries to determine the Stevie winners.

The top winner of Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Awards is Ayala Land of Metro Manila, Philippines with 25 Stevie Award wins.

Other winners of multiple Stevie Awards include, among others: Halkbank, Istanbul, Türkiye (18), Tata Consultancy, worldwide (14), Viettel, Hanoi, Vietnam (13), Akbank, Istanbul, Türkiye (13), DP DHL, worldwide (13), Miral, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (13), IBM, worldwide (11), Cathay United Bank, Taipei, Taiwan (10), Data Dynamics, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA (9), PLDT and Smart, Makati City, Philippines (9), Abu Dhabi Customs, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (8), Cathay Financial Holding Co. Ltd. Taipei, Taiwan, (8), China Resources Land Limited, Shenzhen, China (8), Lounge Group, Budapest, Hungary (8), Manila Electric Company, Metro Manila, Philippines, (8), Atos Customer Services, Istanbul, Türkiye (7), BELBİM AŞ, Istanbul, Türkiye (7), Everise, Plantation, FL USA (7), pladis, Istanbul, Türkiye (7), Russell Harris Event Group, North Hollywood, CA USA (7), Sandoz AG, Basel, Switzerland (7), WNS, Mumbai, India (7), Wolters Kluwer, worldwide (7), A.S. WATSON, Hong Kong, China (6), Beyaz Kağıt San. ve Tic. A.Ş., Adana, Türkiye (6), Ceyhinz Link International Inc., Irving, TX USA (6), HKRI Taikoo Hui, Shanghai, China (6), LLYC, Madrid, Spain (6), Pan American Energy, Buenos Aires, Argentina (6), TELUS, Vancouver, BC Canada, (6), Thai Life Insurance Plc., Bangkok, Thailand (6), ZIMAT, Mexico City, Mexico (6), Mastercard, Miami, FL USA (6), Cisco Systems Inc, San Jose, CA USA (5), DDB Group Philippines, Taguig City, Philippines (5), Dito Telecommunity, BGC Taguig, Philippines (5), HCL Software, Noida, India and Santa Clara, CA USA (5), King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (5), KoçZer, Istanbul, Türkiye (5), KoçSistem Bilgi ve İletişim A.Ş., Istanbul, Türkiye (5), SOCAR Türkiye, Istanbul, Türkiye (5), FPT, Hanoi, Vietnam (5), Sleepm Global Inc., ON Canada (5), TriNet, Dublin, CA USA (5), and Yapi Kredi Bank, Istanbul, Türkiye, (5).

All organizations worldwide are eligible to compete in the IBAs and may submit any number of nominations in a wide range of categories for achievement in management, marketing, public relations, customer service, human resources, new products and services, technology, websites, apps, events, and more.

Winners will be celebrated during a gala event in Istanbul, Türkiye, at the InterContinental Hotel on October 11, 2024. Tickets are on sale now.

Nominations for the 2025 edition of the IBAs will be accepted starting in February.