42 Companies, Corporate Volunteer Teams and Social Enterprises Recognised at "The 9th Hong Kong Outstanding Corporate Citizenship Awards"

(Hong Kong, 14 December 2018) Forty-two companies, SMEs, corporate volunteer teams and social enterprises with outstanding achievements in implementing and promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR) were recognised at "The 9th Hong Kong Outstanding Corporate Citizenship Awards Presentation Ceremony" today at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (annex).

The awards presentation ceremony is a highlight of "The 9th Hong Kong Corporate Citizenship Program" (www.hkcorporatecitizenship.com) organised by the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), co-organised by the Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education (CPCE), and sponsored by the Bank of China (Hong Kong) (BOCHK). Mr Law Chi-kwong, Secretory for Labour and Welfare of the HKSAR Government, was the Guest-of-Honour at the ceremony.

Addressing the ceremony, Mr Willy Lin, Chairman of HKPC, said, "Today, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become part of the business philosophy. In this social media-fuelled era, every single move of the organisation can become the talk of the city. Hence, various sectors of the community must regularly assimilate new technology knowledge for upgrading and restructuring just to maintain competitiveness, achieve continuous innovation and enhance business efficiency."

This year, the Awards features four categories, namely 'Enterprise', 'SME', 'Volunteer Team' and 'Social Enterprise and NGO'; each with gold, silver, bronze and merit awards. Winners of the Gold Award are: 'Enterprise' and 'Volunteer Team' - The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited; 'SME' - Meiriki Japan Company Limited; and 'Social Enterprise and NGO' - MentalCare Connect Company Limited.

At the ceremony, 307 companies received the "Corporate Citizenship Logo" for their notable CSR performance and volunteer work, among which 64 companies that have participated in the Program for at least five consecutive years were granted the "Corporate Citizenship 5+ Logo". To promote the sharing of CSR experience, HKPC has consolidated and analysed data provided by the participating companies to compile a benchmarking report for the reference of others in setting their continuous improvement goals. Meanwhile, prizes were presented to winners of an Instagram Photo Competition and a Tote Bag Design Competition, both of which aimed to enhance the public and youth understanding on various aspects of CSR.

BOCHK has been supporting the Hong Kong Corporate Citizenship Programme organized by the HKPC for nine consecutive years, encouraging enterprises to promote social responsibility, while incorporating the philosophy of corporate citizenship into their business strategies and management practices. Apart from promoting CSR implementation in Hong Kong through this program, with the funding support of the Home Affairs Bureau, HKPC launched the "Social Enterprise Executive Development (SEED) Experiential Programme" in 2017 to facilitate a project-based collaboration between corporate companies and social enterprises. It aims to improve the difficulties of social enterprises on operations and management, while offering an opportunity to management talents of corporate companies on new business development.

Other officiating guests included Ms Melissa Kaye Pang, Chairman of CPCE; Ms Phoebe Tse, General Manager of Commercial Financing Department of BOCHK, and Mr Mohamed D. Butt, Executive Director of HKPC.

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Address by Mr Law Chi-kwong, Secretary for Labour and Welfare of the HKSAR Government, at "The 9th Hong Kong Outstanding Corporate Citizenship Awards Presentation Ceremony"

Group photo of officiating guests of "The 9th Hong Kong Outstanding Corporate Citizenship Awards Presentation Ceremony" with winners