Successful companies large and small took home the prestigious ESG awards for 2023 in the most prominent national corporate social responsibility, sustainability and diversity competition
BBLFannounced the winners of the 2023 Responsible Business Awards, the most prominent national competition in the field of corporate social responsibility, sustainability and diversity. The official ceremony event took place on 19 March 2024 at Sofia Balkan Palace. 126 ESG entries carried out by 82 companies competed for the influential awards that were handed out for the 21st year in a row.
The prestigious prizes were handed out byBogdan Bogdanov, Minister of Economy and Industry; Ivanka Shalapatova, Minister of Labour and Social Policy; Julian Popov, Minister of the Environment and Waters; Vasil Terziev, Mayor of Sofia; Martin Gikov, Prof. Genka Petrova, Minister of Education and Science; Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth; and Rob Dixon, British Ambassador.
Thehigh-profile ceremony was attended by over 250 guests, including senior executives ofBBLF member companies and companiesthatentered part in the competition, jury members, civil and public sector officials,BBLF Board members, partners, diplomats and media.
The event was powered by golden partners: JTI, Telematic Interactive, Tavex; silver partners: Electrohold, Astellas, M3 Communications Group; bronze partners: PwC, Dundee Precious Metals Chelopech, Lidl; and partners Zagorka, Devin, Congress Engineering. Our huge thanks for their generous support!
The Annual Responsible Business Awards are a landmark initiative of the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum (BBLF) that provide a high-profile platform for responsible companies and their successful and inspiring campaigns for the benefit of people, society and nature, implemented in 2023. BBLF Chairperson Levon Hampartzoumianopened the event emphasizing the role of the responsible business in building a sustainable economy and wellbeing for all.
Lidl Bulgaria won the Investor in Society award with the initiative You and Lidl for Our Tomorrow: the Transformation.
Yettel Bulgaria took the gold in Investor in Knowledge, thecategory with the most entries this year, with its Safe Internet and Digital Skills Development programme.
Foodobox is Investor in the Environment with its eponymous mobile app, which fights food waste and has contributed to 75 tonnes less CO2 emissions in three years.
The Investor in Human Capital and Working Conditions award went to Vivacom for their Summer Internship Programme.
Yettel also grabbed the Diversity at Work award with its overall DEI policy that includes the Side by Side programme for people with different abilities, the Hub by Yettel and Second Shift youth programmes, etc. The accolade in the special category was introduced 4 years ago by the Diversity Charter in Bulgaria to reward best practices of creating diverse teams and inclusive work environments. A joint initiative of the Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD) and the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum (BBLF), the local Charter aims to promote diversity management in the workplace and a tolerant and inclusive society. The winners of the award enjoy a special bonus: they will have the chance to attend the official opening of the EU Diversity Month in late April in Brussels, and will be invited to take part in the best practice webinar on 2 April.
The Giving Friday campaign of dm Bulgaria was ranked first in the Cause-Related Marketing category.
Foodobox also won the award for Best Social Policy of SME. The company's platform enables restaurants, bakeries and supermarkets to sell their expired products at a discount to end consumers.
Paysafe Bulgaria took the special Engage award for its CSR programme supporting the local community, developed in partnership with civil society organisations and improving the lives of children, the elderly, women at risk and many others. This award is granted for overall employee commitment and involvement and the winner is determined by the British Embassy in Sofia.
See below the full list of awarded companies and projects.
BBLF has organised the prestigious competition annually since 2003 to encourage and distinguish corporate excellence in social responsibility and to promote impactful ESG campaigns. The competition mottoed Lead by Example is open to companies from all sectors of the economy across the country irrespective of BBLF membership. The initiative thus provides a broad picture of the private sector's commitment to solving a range of social challenges.
Entries are evaluated by an independent jury of respected experts from the public sector, business associations, civil organisations, academia and the media.
The event features a presentation of all entries, and resumes will later be published in the Awards archive on the BBLF website.Winners received works of art by artist Nikola Enev.
The ceremony was hosted by Evelina Pavlova, and Quarto Quartet soloists contributed to the good vibes.
If you missed the event, please have a look at the videos courtesy of Economy.bg. For pictures of the event please visit BBLF’s Facebook page.
The event was extensively covered by the media and some of the media reports are available on the following links: BTA, bTV(here and her), BNR, Investor, Manager, BGlobal, Your biznes, Invest-in-BG, NGOBG.Info, BG Predpriemach
For updates: #bblfawards2023, #responsiblebusiness.
FULL LIST OF WINNERS
INVESTOR IN THE COMMUNITY
INVESTOR IN KNOWLEDGE
INVESTOR IN THE ENVIRONMENT
INVESTOR IN HUMAN CAPITAL AND WORKING CONDITIONS
DIVERSITY AT WORK
CAUSE-RELATED MARKETING
BEST SOCIAL POLICY OF SME
ENGAGE SPECIAL AWARD
Paysafe Bulgaria // Paysafe CSR program for local community support
Media partners: Bulgarian National Radio, Bulgarian Telegraph Agency, Bloomberg TV, Economy.bg, Investor.bg, BGlobal, Manager, NGOBG.info, Tvoyat biznes, Invest-in-Bulgaria.
Entries were submitted by: AbbVie, ALTO Communications and Publishing, Astellas Pharma, BAT Bulgaria, Benefit Systems Bulgaria, BILLA Bulgaria, BIOKOM, Boehringer Ingelheim Bulgaria, Bosch Digital, Bosch Engineering Center Sofia, BTL Industries, bTV Media Group, Cargill Bulgaria, Carlsberg Bulgaria, CATRO Bulgaria, CENTIO #Cybersecurity, ClearWare, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company Bulgaria, Devin, DHL Bulgaria, dm Bulgaria, Dundee Precious Metals Chelopech, Dundee Precious Metals Krumovgrad, DXC Technology, Ecopharm, EKO Bulgaria, Electrohold, ET Blagoi Angelov – Colorado, EVN Bulgaria, FANTASTICO GROUP, Foodobox 2021, Generali Insurance, Green Gold International, Gugushev & Partners Law Office, HPE Bulgaria, HP Inc. Bulgaria, IBM Bulgaria, Interlang, Investbank, ITX Bulgaria (Inditex), JTI Bulgaria, Kamenitza, Kaufland Bulgaria, Kin + Carta, L’Oréal Bulgaria, Lidl Bulgaria, MentorMate, METRO Bulgaria, M-Gas, Mondelez Bulgaria, Nestle Bulgaria, Neterra, OMNI HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, Overgas Mrezhi, Paralax Life Sciences, Paysafe Bulgaria, Philip Morris Bulgaria, Philly Vibe/ PizzaLab, Pluxee Bulgaria, PRESTIGE-96, Questers Bulgaria, Redvertex, Saatchi & Saatchi Sofia, SAP Labs Bulgaria, Schneider Electric, Schwarz IT Bulgaria, Sensata Technologies Bulgaria, SiteGround, SoftServe, Solvay Sodi, SumUp, Tavex, Telematic Interactive Bulgaria, TELUS International, Teva Bulgaria, The Little Chief, UniCredit Bulbank, UNISPED INS, Vivacom, VODORASLO® / Algaia, Yettel, Zagorka.
