PT. Unilever Indonesia Tbk in Jakarta, Indonesia, won a Gold Stevie® Award for Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year (Asia, Australia & New Zealand) in the Company/Organization Awards categories of The 2013 International Business Awards.  Entries to the 2014 International Business Awards, the world’s premier business awards program, are now being accepted.  Get your entry kit here.

We talked with Sinta Kaniawati, General Manager of the Unilever Indonesia Foundation, about its Stevie® Award-winning program.

“The trash generated by city dwellers is set to increase significantly in the next two decades, especially in fast-growing cities in developing countries like Indonesia.” Sinta explained. “Poor waste management makes residential neighborhoods in cities more prone to health, environmental, and social problems.”

Waste pollution in tropical regions can result in malaria, typhoid, and dysentery. A lack of recycling programs has resulted in the burning of plastic waste, which has contributed to 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to a World Bank Report in 2012.

To tackle this problem, Unilever Foundation Indonesia developed its “Community Waste Bank Program” to empower communities to take action to reduce waste while receiving economic benefits.

We asked Sinta what winning a Gold Stevie® Award for Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year had meant to the Foundation.

“Winning the Gold Stevie is an international recognition of what we are doing with our CSR program here in Indonesia, and it really does make a difference,” Sinta told us. “With its panel of reputable international judges, The International Business Awards provides recognition and confirmation that our program meets international standards—even though, at present, it is only implemented locally in Indonesia. We hope that, with the exposure our program has gained through the Stevie Awards, our Community Waste Bank program can also be replicated elsewhere.”

The Unilever Indonesia Foundation launched the first Community Waste Bank program in 2004 with just 20 Community Waste Banks in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city with a population of over 3 million.  By 2012, the program had grown to 499 banks, a 2000% increase in just 8 years. The program is now being carried out in the ten most populated cities in Indonesia, and reaches a combined population of more than 20 million people.

Helping Communities to Help Themselves

The Unilever Indonesia Foundation program assists communities in developing a system where they can collect inorganic waste and sell it based on its value. The money is saved at the Waste Bank and can be cashed over time. The system works like a regular bank, except that individuals deposit waste instead of money.

In 2012, 278 tons of waste was collected, generating 300 million Inodnesian Rupiah (approximately $26,000) of profits.  This was shared by more than 28,000 waste bank customers and directly impacted 140,000 beneficiaries. The profits have enabled low-income families to buy 3 kg of rice per month.

Areas with waste banks have reduced their waste by 80% and reported a considerable reduction in health problems.

The waste bank program aims to realize the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan target of “Reducing Environmental Impact” with the target of halving Indonesia’s waste by 2020.

In 2013, the Unilever Indonesia Foundation was on target to increase the number of waste banks to 700 while continuing to develop them into larger business units.  The Foundation’s unique approach has put the community at the center, while engaging governments, NGO partners, media, and its own corporate functions to support the program.

“Working with our NGO Partners, we trained the community to establish and manage the waste banks.” Sinta explained. “We support access to the market by establishing links with waste collectors as waste buyers. We also support the scaling-up of each waste bank to become larger business unit by approaching local banks to assist with soft loans for waste shredding machines.” Additionally, communities have been taught how to turn plastic waste into attractive recycled household items for sale; and organic waste is turned into compost.

In 2009, the Foundation’s Community Waste Bank program won the Stevie® Award for Environmental Responsibility Program of the Year for adding value to plastic waste. The program has influenced the Government of Indonesia to include waste banks in Indonesia’s “Adipura” Cities Performance Awards; and it was adopted as a Best Practice CSR Program in Waste Reduction by Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment in 2013.

Future Sustainability Programs

We asked Sinta where the Unilever Indonesia Foundation would be focusing its attention in 2014. “Over the coming year, the three main sustainability programs we will focus on are health, wellbeing, and nutrition; reducing environmental impact; and enhancing livelihood—especially for Indonesian smallholder farmers,” Sinta told us.

“Winning a Stevie Award has energized the whole team at Unilever Indonesia Foundation to keep doing what we are doing,” concluded Sinta.  “We look forward to creating more effective programs that will benefit the community throughout Indonesia.”

About Sinta Kaniawati

Sinta Kaniawati started her career in the corporate world in 1990 when she joined Unilever Indonesia as a management trainee. She built tremendous skills in market research, marketing for national and international brands, and customer development, and was assigned a senior position at Unilever Indonesia Foundation in 2007.  

Since 2009, Sinta has served as a Board Member of Indonesian Business Links and is a former executive team member of the Indonesian National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. She was named Secretary General of the Indonesian Global Compact Network in 2010, and again in 2014; and she is a member of The International Society of Sustainability Professionals.

Sinta Kaniawati was born in Bandung, Indonesia. She completed her degree at Bogor Agriculture Institute. Despite a busy professional career, Sinta has a wide range of interests.  She loves music and is active in a variety of social organizations such as Bina Antarbudaya (the Indonesian Foundation for Intercultural Learning), and Toastmasters International.  She is also an enthusiastic leadership and communications trainer. Sinta is a LEAD Indonesia Fellow (cohort 15) and has been a presenter at The Climate Reality Project.

She is married with a young son and daughter.

About Unilever Indonesia

PT. Unilever Indonesia Tbk is one of Indonesia’s leading Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies. Its portfolio of Home & Personal Care and Foods & Beverages products is distinguished by many of the world’s best known and most trusted brands, including Lifebuoy, Vaseline, Pepsodent, Lux, Pond’s, Sunlight, Rinso, Blue Band, Royco, Dove, Wall’s, Rexona, Clear, and others.

About Unilever Indonesia Foundation

Unilever Indonesia Foundation focuses on improving health, hygiene, and nutrition; reducing environmental impact; and improving livelihood through sustainable socio-economic programs with the community. The Foundation has been recognized nationally and internationally since 2007.  In addition to The International Business Awards, it has received an Energy Globe Award; the Indonesian MDG Award for Environment, Improving Maternal Health, Reducing Child Mortality, and Combating HIV/AIDS & Other Diseases; and the Indonesian CSR Award and AFCSR Award.

Cisco of San Jose, California, won a Stevie® Award for Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year, in the company awards categories of The 2011 American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A. (Final judging is now underway for the 2012 ABAs. 2012 winners will be announced at one of our two awards banquets: June 18th at the Marriott Marquis in New York City or September 17th at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco. Click here to order tickets.) Here we profile the company’s award-winning efforts in 2010, and how Cisco’s tremendously successful CSR programs continued to expand in 2011.

Cisco’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs are designed to provide long-term benefits not just to its employees, customers, shareholders, and partners, but also to individuals in communities around the world. In 2010, Cisco focused on three main areas: its employees, the environment, and social investments.  In 2010, Cisco’s corporate awards-winning CSR programs covered:

Employees

• A record 85% of employees completed Cisco's annual Pulse employee survey, up 5 percentage points from fiscal year 2009.
• Talent Connection and CareerPath initiatives were piloted to facilitate career-development opportunities for Cisco employees.
• Telecommuting and flextime opportunities have been long-standing and are used by 95% of Cisco employees.

The Environment

• Nearly 20,000 Cisco employees used Cisco Virtual Office to extend Cisco's own network into their homes, permitting high-speed access to voice, video, and data applications and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by telecommuting one or more days each week.
• To reduce air travel, Cisco installed over 800 Cisco TelePresence® units in conference rooms, customer briefing centers, and individual management offices in over 200 cities in almost 60 countries worldwide. Cisco used WebEx desktop conferencing more than 19 million people-hours in fiscal year 2010.

Society

• Cisco provided $138.7 million in corporate and foundation cash and in-kind contributions to nonprofit organizations worldwide in 2010.
• Cisco employees volunteered 148,355 hours of service with nonprofits around the world.
• The company supported the installation of networking equipment at 83 schools, hospitals, and clinics as part of Cisco's Connecting Sichuan Initiative.
• As part of its Clinton Global Initiative commitment, Cisco helped establish more than 23 Community Knowledge Centers in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Cisco Networking Academy®, Cisco's flagship CSR initiative, offered information and communications technology education to more than 900,000 students in 165 countries.

Continuing Commitment in 2011
Cisco continuing commitment to CRS is underscored in its 2011 Cisco® Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, which provides details of how the company applied its expertise, technology, and partnership strategies to address environmental, social, and governance issues in 2011—and lays out the company's 2012 objectives.

The report, published earlier this year, outlines Cisco's efforts in five areas: governance and ethics; value chain; Cisco employees; society; and the environment.  Commented John Chambers: "In a time of rapid transition for both Cisco and the communities we serve, Cisco remains deeply committed to acting responsibly, operating sustainably, and contributing to the communities in which we work and live. At Cisco, we know that an intelligent network is not only a powerful tool for doing business, but also for transforming lives, building communities, and protecting the environment. Through the network and strategic partnerships, we can increase the capacity for all of us to succeed." 
Highlights of Cisco’s 2011 CSR program included:

• The company provided $295 million in corporate and foundation cash and in-kind contributions worldwide, including to its flagship Cisco Networking Academy® program;
• The Networking Academy offered information and communications technology education to more than 1 million students enrolled in Networking Academy courses at approximately 10,000 academies in 165 countries;
• Cisco employees volunteered 166,445 hours and donated more than $6.3 million to Cisco CRS programs, generating more than $5.7 million in matching funds from the Cisco Foundation;
• Cisco installed ICT infrastructure, including Cisco HealthPresence®, in 66 healthcare facilities as part of its Connecting Sichuan initiative. More than 7,000 healthcare practitioners use these facilities, which support approximately 15,000 inpatients and 280,000 outpatients per month.

In keeping with its ongoing commitment to the environment, in 2011 Cisco conserved approximately 16.9 million kWh of energy and avoided 7,400 metric tonnes of CO2e emissions by investing $1.9 million in energy-conservation projects. Twenty-six percent of Cisco's global energy use was from renewable sources.

Evolution
Cisco’s CSR reporting evolves from year to year—as does the environment in which all businesses operate. What meets the needs of certain audiences one year may not satisfy a different group of stakeholders the next year.  In response, Cisco conducts stakeholder engagement sessions to gain feedback about its annual CSR report and to stay up-to-date with emerging reporting trends.

Cisco has sought feedback from a range of stakeholders, including:

• MBA students from Georgetown University
• SustainAbility, a sustainable development think tank and strategy consultancy
• Representatives of the socially responsible investment community including SAM and the Vigeo Group
• Experts in environmental issues including Gartner, Inc.

Cisco stakeholders highlighted the need to focus on materiality and robust performance-related data, as well as the need for the company to make greater use of the web. Cisco has used their feedback as an opportunity to educate employees about the importance of focusing on the most significant issues and to track progress on its key performance indicators.

Looking Ahead
Cisco’s Chairman & CEO John Chambers recently attended the 12th World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he spoke on what transformations the world will see in the coming decade.  He commented that  “solving the worlds problems takes bringing diverse people together…not just physically, but more and more through collaborative platforms.” You can view more of his comments at Cisco’s own blog, The Platform.

About John Chambers:
John T. Chambers is Chairman and CEO of Cisco. He has helped grow the company from $70 million when he joined Cisco in January 1991, to $1.2 billion when he assumed the role of CEO, to its current run rate of $40 billion. In 2006,
Chambers was named Chairman of the Board, in addition to his CEO role. Prior to joining Cisco, he spent eight years at Wang Laboratories (1982-1990) and six
years with IBM (1976-1982). He holds a BS/BA degree in business and a law degree from West Virginia University and an MBA in finance and management from Indiana University.

About Cisco:
Cisco, (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate, and collaborate, this year celebrates 25 years of technology innovation, operational excellence and corporate social responsibility. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com.

Salesforce.com Foundation of San Francisco, California, USA received a Stevie® Award for Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year - More Than 2,500 Employees in the company awards categories of The 2011 American Business Awards. (The 2012 American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A., are currently accepting entries. Request an entry kit here and submit your entries by the March 28 deadline.) Here we look at what makes Salesforce.com's CSR program stand out.

Salesforce.com's Philanthropic Model
The Salesforce.com Foundation is considered by many to be a global leader in integrating philanthropy and business through its 1/1/1 integrated philanthropy model. This ground-breaking 1/1/1 integrated model—now being replicated by companies around the world—sets aside 1% of salesforce.com’s employee time, 1% of equity, and 1% of product for nonprofits.

The founder of salesforce.com, CEO Marc Benioff, believes that creating a sustainable philanthropic model doesn’t just require monetary commitments, but rather the culmination of all that a company has to offer—most notably an employees’ time and expertise—in order to make a strong impact on each nonprofit that the Foundation serves.

The business awards winner has made tremendous strides since its inception. From a numbers perspective:

• 250,000 employee hours have been donated to nonprofits. Salesforce.com gives employees six paid days per year to volunteer for organizations of their choice, and organizes team volunteering events to help employees connect with their communities;
• 11,000 nonprofits are using donated Salesforce licenses to better serve their missions; and
• More than $23 million in grants have been awarded. Funds are dispersed via several distinct grants, including matching gifts for employee donations, employee-championed projects, and funding for technology projects focused on youth development.

The Positive Impact of Philanthropy
While the business award winning company has grown to over 5,000 employees, it still keeps philanthropy at its core through its best CSR program practices, which creates a positive impact on its entire community. From integrated volunteering opportunities for employees, partners, and customers at its annual user conference of more than 25,000 attendees, to helping the homeless learn to use salesforce.com to become more employable, there is an altruistic spirit amongst the salesforce.com community, spearheaded by the Foundation’s work to “to do good while doing well.”
   
According to Susanne DiBianca, executive director and co-founder of the Salesforce.com Foundation, 2010 was a marquee year for the salesforce.com Foundation.  As a result of salesforce.com’s business success, the Foundation was able to significantly increase its impact on the nonprofit community as well as be recognized for having the CSR program of the year.

American Red Cross
The 1/1/1 integrated model is what makes the Salesforce.com Foundation unique, and nowhere can this be seen more clearly than with the Foundation’s work with the American Red Cross, the U.S.A.'s leading disaster recovery organization. Through Salesforce.com’s product, time, and grants, the Foundation is helping the American Red Cross to respond to the magnitude of need created by disasters around the world. 

There are more than 60 American Red Cross Chapters across the U.S.A. using donated and discounted Salesforce licenses to run their organizations, from tracking thousands of volunteers and partners handling tens of thousands of public inquiries in the event of a disaster, to fundraising, and health and safety operations.

A large number of Salesforce.com employees dedicate their time and expertise to the American Red Cross as well as raise money through partnering with the organization. For example, the corporate award winner's employees raised $200,000 to help the Japan earthquake and tsunami victims, and raised $250,000 for the Haiti earthquake.  As a result, Marc Benioff received the Humanitarian Award from the Red Cross Bay Area Chapter March 9, 2011.
       
A New Phase
The company award winning foundation has recently embarked on a new phase to achieve not just sustainability, but also growth through its CSR awards winning approach. The company made the strategic decision to adopt a social enterprise model in an effort to scale its 1/1/1 model. The Foundation is essentially set up as a Salesforce.com reseller so it can now provide steep discounts to nonprofits, nongovernmental organizations, and higher education institutions beyond the initial 10 free license donations.

Organizations that purchase discounted licenses from the corporate awards winner not only receive affordable technology to efficiently manage data and relationships, but also contribute to the growth and success of all nonprofits using Salesforce.com. The revenue from these discounted services goes right back into the Foundation to fund grants, product development, and employee volunteer programs. As a result, everyone is working together to create lasting, worldwide social change.

About Suzanne DiBianca:
Suzanne DiBianca is executive director and co-founder of the Salesforce.com Foundation.  She directs all Foundation activities and serves as the liaison to community, business and government organizations. Previously, DiBianca was a principal at CSC Consulting Group in the Strategic Services Division, where she worked with Fortune 500 companies to improve organizational performance and enhance leadership capabilities. She also served as the program and marketing director for Partners for Democratic Change, a non-profit organization that provides skills for effective conflict management and alternative dispute resolution to NGOs and government officials abroad. DiBianca serves on a number of boards and advisory councils, including the World Affairs Council's Global Philanthropy Forum, the Entrepreneurs Foundation, the Business Advisory Council to SFUSD and Goodwill Industries.

About Salesforce.com:
With 100,000+ customers, Salesforce.com is the enterprise cloud computing company that is leading the shift to the social enterprise. Social enterprises leverage social, mobile, and open cloud technologies to put customers at the heart of their business. Salesforce.com has headquarters in San Francisco, with offices in Europe and Asia.  For more information call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE.

Artitudes Design Inc., of Issaquah, Washington, USA received a Stevie Award for Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year in The 2011 American Business Awards. The same program also won in the 2010 Stevie Awards for Women in Business. (Entries are now being accepted for the 2012 ABAs - get your entry kit.)

As the CEO and Creative Principal of Artitudes Design Inc., Andrea Heuston
strongly believes in creating and cultivating a culture of giving back to the community. Because art programs have been consistently cut from the curriculum, teachers and schools look to the community to fill this growing gap. Heuston has responded by providing arts education to local elementary schools through the company’s Artitudes in Action: Art Docent Campaign.  We asked Heuston about her crusading efforts to keep art in the classroom.

Why is art such an important subject for young children?
Every child learns differently. Art has been proven to help develop problem solving and critical thinking skills as well as cognitive and creative skills. Our main goal is to educate children in a variety of mediums such as painting, drawing, sculpture, and movement so we can reach those with different strengths and abilities. We need to give children as many tools as possible to make them as successful as possible. With school budget deficits, art is one of the first subjects to be cut.  We all need to step up and help wherever public school systems need the support.

How can non-design companies help support projects such as the Artitudes Art Docent Campaign?
There are several ways that people can help support our cause in their own communities. Volunteering at local schools as an art docent is a great way to give back. Most schools have art docent programs, but not many have enough parent volunteers and supplies to sustain the programs. If you are unable to volunteer, consider helping spread the word, or donate supplies to schools in your area.

What are Artitudes Design’s plans for the future of the Art Docent Campaign?
Our plan is to remain small, but to reach more students each school year. We would like to raise awareness in our community, and to people everywhere.  We would love to see more volunteers donating their time so the task isn't left only to small programs like ours. Awareness is one of our main goals. We hope that if more people are made aware of the need for art education it will encourage more people to get involved in their local schools.

About the Art Docent Campaign
Since 2007, graphic design firm Artitudes has partnered with Seattle-area schools, working with them to select classes with the greatest need for art instruction. The company’s employees then volunteer their time as art docents, allowing them to give something back to the community about which they are passionate: Art.

These aren’t your typical art docents, however. Team members create sample art projects, write lesson plans, purchase supplies or use recycled materials, coordinate with an elementary school, and then teach the lesson to the class. If classes are focusing on a specific topic, such as the Lewis & Clark expedition, the docents will tailor their lesson plans to that subject. Recently, a fifth grade class was learning about impressionism, so the docents created a project based on Monet’s landscapes. The lesson included tearing magazines into pieces and creating an impressionistic landscape on paper.

Artitudes focuses on using recycled materials in its instruction. This helps
keep out-of-pocket costs low, is environmentally conscious, and allows students
to recreate the projects in their own time for very little cost. Every child
has a unique learning style and creative strength, therefore the company works
with different tools and mediums, including painting, drawing, and
sculpture.

A Growing Challenge
The biggest challenge that Artitudes foresees is keeping up with the growing
demand for arts education in schools. Washington State has a budget shortfall of over $2 billion, and school funding is already being impacted. Artitudes believes it is now even more critical to grow the art docent program to reach more students; but that this can only be achieved through continued media outreach, donations of time and money, and the creation of a non-profit organization dedicated to championing basic arts education.

Art instruction is an essential tool in the development of a child.  It is a
critical building block in developing cognitive and creative skills.  The Artitudes Art Docent Campaign is just one program that will keep art inspiration alive so that the children of today become the artists and graphic designers of tomorrow. 

About Andrea Heuston
Andrea Heuston, CEO & Creative Principal of Artitudes Design, has over 20 years of experience in the graphic design industry. She established Artitudes in 1995. Heuston strongly believes in giving back to the community and focuses on advocating for the prevention of child abuse and on promoting arts education. She serves as a Board of Director with the non-profit organization Olive Crest, is a member of Entrepreneurs’ Organization, and serves on the Executive Committee of NW Next Leaders Council.

About Artitudes Design
Artitudes Design Inc. is a full service graphic design firm that specializes in executive communications within the high tech, retail, and non-profit verticals through customized presentations, marketing, motion graphics, and branding solutions. Founded in 1995, Artitudes currently employs 15 people. For more information go to www.artitudesdesign.com.

How is your organization engaging with your local community?

Mercedes-Benz South Africa of East London, Eastern Cape received the Stevie Award for Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year in the Middle East and Africa in The 2010 International Business Awards. (The final entry deadline for this year's IBAs is June 8 - see the entry kit online.)  Here's the story of Mercedes-Benz's efforts to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in South Africa.

In 2007, Sub-Saharan Africa was home to 22 of the 33 million people living with HIV/AIDS. South Africa is the country with the largest number of HIV-infected people in the world (5,7 million plus) with more than 90% of infections affecting the economically active. These statistics were having an adverse impact on South Africa’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which employ significant numbers and contribute about 40% to the GDP.

Through the Siyakhana Project Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) has expanded its globally acknowledged best-practice workplace program to provide HIV/AIDS program support to SMEs and the broader community.

Siyakhana means “to build together” in isi-Xhosam, the local vernacular. In order to achieve the key objectives of the Siyakhana Project, MBSA successfully enlisted the partnership of the Border-Kei Chamber of Business and the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Health, and obtained financial
support from the German development agency DEG and BroadReach Health Care.

The Siyakhana Project is designed to simultaneously tackle HIV/AIDS at the workplace, in communities, and at the primary healthcare level to ensure a holistic response.

By March 2010 Siyakhana had achieved the following:

• Implementation of comprehensive HIV/AIDS policies and programs in 55 SMEs.
• 595 managers trained on HIV/AIDS in the workplace.
• 164 peer educators trained.
• 85 nurses trained on HIV/AIDS testing and treatment.
• 55 successful workplace HIV voluntary counseling and testing campaigns.
• 9,013 employees trained and counseled.
• 6,980 employees voluntarily testing for HIV.
• Establishment of, and ongoing training support to, a private physician network to manage HIV/AIDS care for SME employees and families.
• 850 HIV-positive patients referred into the treatment program with 150
  people on anti-retroviral treatment (as of March 2010).
• Capacity building services extended to 12 public-sector primary-healthcare clinics through providing a retired professional nurse and a lay counselor in each clinic, resulting in a 110% improvement in HIV testing rates.

The Siyakhana Project has a built-in monitoring system that tracks project success both quantitatively and qualitatively. Independent external evaluators regularly conduct an evaluation of project performance against operational plans and “best practice.”

Lessons Learned and Future Challenges

The foundation of the Siyakhana Project’s success has been the strong partnerships that MBSA’s HIV/AIDS program has built with the government, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, and community-based organizations.

Organized business involvement is also a key ingredient, and the project showed that SME owners and managers are keen to participate if guidance and hands-on support is provided.  Employees are eager to access testing, however confidence building is required.

While the Siyakhana Project has demonstrated how much can be achieved by forming broad-based partnerships involving both private and public sectors, its sustainability will be  an ongoing challenge requiring full commitment from all partners.

MBSA’s Promise

Managing HIV and AIDS is a core business for MBSA, and its HIV/AIDS program aims to effectively address the development challenge posed by HIV and AIDS to company employees, their families, business operations, and economic and social development. The workplace program extends universal access to quality prevention, treatment, care, and support to all its employees and their dependents.

MBSA is both a key automotive player and a social partner. It has played a significant role in industrial and corporate socio-economic transformation, and continues to do so today. This is evident in the fact that despite the recession, it maintained its corporate social investment spend in excess of R20 million per annum, and that it is a leader amongst its peers in skills development, employee health and well-being programs, and employee benefits.

About Dr. Hansgeorg Niefer
Dr. Hansgeorg Niefer, a qualified professional engineer, started his career with Daimler AG in 1986 at the Sindelfingen plant in Germany. He joined the South African operation in 2002 to head up the manufacturing activities in East London. Dr Niefer has been chairman of the local group of companies since 2005 and has recently been redeployed to head up the Daimler plant in Berlin. He notes, however, that one of his proudest achievements during his tenure in South Africa has been the group's success in the battle against HIV and AIDS, and the opportunity to provide advocacy and support programmes for SMEs, suppliers and retailers alike, as well as assisting communities impacted by HIV and AIDS.

About Mercedes-Benz South Africa
The Mercedes-Benz group of companies in South Africa was established in 1954. Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) manufactures Mercedes-Benz and Mitsubishi vehicles at its plant in East London, Eastern Cape Province. MBSA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler AG and is one of the largest automotive groups in South Africa.

With the May 11 entry deadline for the 2011 International Business Awards now just a week away, we thought we'd look back at one of last year's International Stevie Award winners.   ITT Corporation of White Plains, New York USA received a Stevie Award for Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year in Asia in the CSR awards categories of the 2010 IBAs.  Here we look at how ITT has secured safe water and sanitation for communities in Asia.

Sustaining the supply and quality of the world’s water is one of the most critical global issues facing us today. Water can be the difference between sickness and
health, the driver of economic development, and a powerful force when it comes to global security; yet, more than 883 million people live without access to
safe drinking water, and 2.5 billion live without basic sanitation.

Launched in 2008 with an initial three-year, $4 million commitment, ITT Watermark addressed this crisis by collaborating with leading nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to implement high-impact, sustainable water solutions in areas of great need.

In its first 3 years, ITT Watermark brought lifesaving water to more than 500,000 people in Asia, South America, and around the world. In September 2010, ITT committed $10.5 million to reach one million more people through ITT Watermark by 2013.

Focus on China
In China, more than 300 million people—one quarter of the total population—lack access to safe drinking water. Here, ITT Watermark focuses on three key initiatives:

• Providing safe water, sanitation, and hygiene education to schools
  

In China, many children suffer from developmental issues and chronic stomach ailments as a result of contaminated water supplies. Recognizing this, ITT partnered with China Women’s Development Foundation (CWDF) to implement a proven best practice of providing safe water, sanitation, and hygiene education in schools. Since 2009, CWDF and 100 local ITT employees have planned, designed, and installed solar-powered safe water pumps, hand washing stations, and latrines for more than 8,000 students and teachers at fifteen schools in the Hebei, Jiangsu, and Yunnan provinces.  ITT employee volunteers enhanced these efforts by teaching the students in these schools about hygiene education. Additionally, ITT employees supported the initiative by conducting local fundraising efforts.

• Proactively securing safe water supplies for people in times of emergency

Building on lessons learned during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, during which ITT deployed financial contributions, water treatment systems, and engineers with UNICEF, ITT Watermark has worked to increase the emergency-response capacity throughout China. Together with Mercy Corps, an international NGO, ITT hosted a disaster risk-reduction training course for NGO staff and ITT employees in 2009, providing education on topics including disaster risk-reduction basics, vulnerability and capacities assessments, and community emergency planning.

• Supporting innovation and action around the preservation of local water resources  

Water pollution and insufficient conservation in recent decades have intensified China's water-access issues and have left 90 percent of Chinese cities with heavily polluted water supplies. To address local water needs, ITT and China’s State Environment Protection Administration sponsor the national Stockholm Junior Water Prize Competition, which encourages local Chinese students to develop water projects and advance water innovation at a local, country and international level.

ITT China employees also take action through local service projects, such as garbage-collection efforts at Dameisha Beach in Shenzhen and tree-planting days in both Shenzhen and Shanghai.

In total, ITT Watermark has improved the lives of more than 200,000 people in China and 500,000 people around the world and continues to create an enduring and positive impact in the communities it serves.

Beyond Water: Minimizing Environmental Impact Worldwide
In addition to its commitment to corporate social responsibility programs such as Watermark, ITT Corporation recently announced that it has made significant steps to minimize its global environmental footprint. By reducing its consumption of natural resources and generation of waste and emissions, ITT is advancing its long-held commitment to sustainability. The company is constantly striving to safeguard the planet's climate, communities, and resources, and has been recognized externally for its significant progress. Over the past five years alone, ITT's global operations have:

• Cut back overall energy consumption intensity by 31 percent.
• Decreased intensity of electricity consumption by 33 percent.
• Reduced generation of hazardous waste by 46 percent.
• Eased water use by more than 27 percent for production processes and employees.
• Lowered the concentration of greenhouse gas intensity by 51 percent, including a 46 percent drop from 2007 to 2009.

"The recent metrics demonstrate that at ITT, sustainable behavior is a key part of our organizational fabric," said Steve Loranger, ITT's chairman, president, and chief executive officer. "We recognize the impact our company and our products have on the environment, and we are committed to using technologies to reduce our ecological footprint and protect our planet."

About ITT
ITT Corporation is a high-technology engineering and manufacturing company operating on all seven continents in three vital markets: water and fluids management, global defense and security, and motion and flow control. With a heritage of innovation, ITT partners with its customers to deliver extraordinary solutions that create more livable environments, provide protection and safety, and connect our world. Headquartered in White Plains, New York, the company reported 2010 revenue of $11 billion.