Boots Ireland take home the Outstanding Achievement in Corporate Social Responsibility Award 2019
Boots Ireland representatives on stage to receive the Outstanding Achievement in Corporate Social Responsibility at the CSR Awards 2019
Boots Ireland was awarded the Outstanding Achievement in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Award at Chambers Ireland’s CSR Awards 2019, at the Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road in Dublin last night (19 September 2019). By demonstrating commitment to CSR in its company values and consistently meeting key judging criteria across all aspects of CSR, Boots Ireland received the Outstanding Achievement Award.
Speaking at the Awards ceremony, Ian Talbot, Chief Executive of Chambers Ireland said,
“Congratulations to Boots Ireland and the winners of the fourteen excellence in CSR award categories, whom we recognise for their achievements. Our CSR Awards reveal how the benchmark of quality among projects implemented by businesses across Ireland continues to be driven upwards.
The programmes and activities developed by businesses of all sizes continues to evolve every year and have become ever more proactive at addressing current sustainability challenges.
Tonight’s winning projects have also demonstrated engagement with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which have been recognised through a new set of criteria in this year’s judging process.”
This sixteenth annual Awards ceremony was run in association with the Department of Rural and Community Development, partnered with Business in the Community Ireland and kindly sponsored by BAM Ireland.
The Environmental Protection Agency sponsored the Excellence in Environment Award and One4all sponsored the Excellence in Workplace Award. Each winner was presented with a specially commissioned trophy designed by Waterford Crystal.
Seán Canney T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development, said,
“This unique competition offers the business and community a chance to promote their efforts in Corporate Social Responsibility and gain recognition. Ireland has a strong tradition of community involvement and there are many local businesses nationwide who have been involved in many community events for generations. The Corporate Social Responsibility principles align closely with the objectives of my own Department’s mission to build and support vibrant and inclusive communities.”
Commenting on the Awards, BAM Ireland Chief Executive Theo Cullinane said,
“CSR and sustainability are now absolutely central to corporate life in Ireland as stakeholders, including shareholders and customers, look to businesses to provide leadership and inspiration to improve the world we live in. BAM is proud to be the main sponsor of these awards over the last eight years as the corporate social responsibility agenda has become so important for Irish businesses. CSR is at the heart of everything we do at BAM and it gives us great pleasure to see the breadth of inspiring projects all over the country that are showcased through the awards”.
Presenting the Excellence in Environment Award, Environmental Protection Agency spokesperson, Dr Shane Colgan said,
“The Environmental Protection Agency is pleased to be associated once more with the CSR awards which highlight the dedicated people in businesses across Ireland who apply their skills and their time to enhance the environment and to improve the sustainability of their communities.”
Sponsor of the Excellence in Workplace category, One4all Gift Cards CEO Michael Dawson said,
“I’d like to congratulate everyone at this year’s awards for representing the very best of Irish corporate social responsibility and sustainability. It is more important than ever for businesses to invest in Ireland’s future, and it is truly impressive to see so many fantastic projects from businesses around the country. We’re delighted to take part and recognise this great work.”
Tomás Sercovich, CEO, Business in the Community Ireland said,
“The CSR Awards showcase best practice on how CSR is managed and implemented. In order to respond to the major sustainability challenges of our time, the climate emergency and the growing inequality in our society, sustainability must be at the core of business models and decision-making. There is a growing expectation on business to lead on the transition to a low carbon economy and an inclusive society.”
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For further information please contact Gabriel Doran, Communications & Media Executive on 01 400 4331, 086 608 1605 or email gabriel.doran@chambers.ie
The full list of winners is below.
LIC – Large Indigenous Company
MNC– Multinational Company
The CSR Awards 2019 category winners are:
Excellence in CSR Communication
European Recycling Platform Ireland for their project Batteries for Barretstown
ERP Ireland worked with The Reputations Agency to create a communications strategy to increase the number of batteries recycled through its collection points. ERP Ireland devised a campaign to promote ‘Batteries for Barretstown’ that increased battery collections by 45%, surpassing the collection rate required for European member states and reaching a collection rate of 64%.
Excellence in Community – Partnership with Charity – LIC
Gala Retail for their project Gala Retails’ Platinum Sponsorship of Special Olympics Ireland
Gala retail entered its fifth partnership year with Special Olympics Ireland in 2019, supporting 8,000 Irish athletes in Special Olympics clubs, helping them to train, compete and grow. For many athletes, Gala Retail helped them to realise their dream of representing Ireland at the Special Olympics World Summer Games.
Excellence in Community – Partnership with Charity – MNC
Boots Ireland for their project Boots Ireland and the Irish Cancer Society
Boots and the Irish Cancer Society are working in partnership with a vision that every person in Ireland will have access to the best possible cancer services. The project aim is to support people living with cancer in Ireland and to promote cancer prevention through the role of Boots Irish Cancer Society Information Pharmacist, while raising funds for the Night Nursing Service. Boots colleagues have raised €1.6 million to date.
Excellence in Environment – LIC – sponsored by EPA
Hotel Doolin for their project Green Team Work
Hotel Doolin is the only carbon-neutral hotel in Ireland (confirmed by Green Hospitality). The hotel opened the Eco-Barn in March 2018. It is an A rated, 100% sound-proof building with a sustainable heating and cooling system. Results for 2018 show that the hotel has reduced its Landfill per guest by 21% in the last 2 years.
Excellence in Environment – MNC – sponsored by EPA
Astellas Ireland for their project Astellas Leading light for life – Striving for Sustainability
The ‘Astellas Leading light for Life – Striving for Sustainability’ project is an integrated project aimed at providing a better future for everyone, through responsible management of all activities associated with the manufacture of lifesaving innovative pharmaceutical products.
Excellence in Community – Volunteering – LIC
KPMG for their project KPMG’s Bold Girls initiative
To address the lack of female role models in literature and to celebrate the centenary of women’s suffrage in Ireland, KPMG worked with Children’s Books Ireland (CBI) to develop a BOLD GIRLS workshop which consists of one class per week over a four-week period.
Excellence in Community – Volunteering – MNC
Intel Ireland for their project Intel Involved Volunteers Making a Difference
The involvement of Intel Ireland employees volunteering in their local communities has made a huge impact on local organisations, clubs and schools. Intel Ireland employees have increasingly found opportunities to donate the skills that they have honed at Intel—providing legal, human resources, marketing, finance, and IT expertise to schools, non-profits, and NGOs.
Excellence in Community – Community Programme – LIC
SSE Ireland for their project Galway Wind Park Community Fund
SSE Renewables and Greencoat Renewables through Galway Wind Park have set an industry benchmark for best in‐class large scale project delivery. As Ireland’s largest wind farm, it is making the most significant contribution of any renewable development on the island towards greening national energy and decarbonising power generation.
Excellence in Community – Community Programme – MNC
Tesco Ireland for their project Tesco Community Fund in 2018
Launched in July 2014, the Tesco Community Fund has donated €3.7 million to 13,000 community causes to date. 2018 saw the fund achieve the all-important ‘one colleague, one project’ milestone, meaning that for every one of Tesco Ireland’s 13,000 colleagues, 13,000 local projects have been donated to.
Excellence in Workplace – LIC – sponsored by One4all
Arthur Cox for their project The Arthur Cox Work Experience for All Programme
For the past eight years Arthur Cox has run a work experience programme aimed specifically at students from less privileged communities and backgrounds. The goal is to encourage students to continue in education and to help them explore the possibilities that exist for them.
Excellence in Workplace – MNC – sponsored by One4all
VMware International for their project The Cork Giving Network’s Mental Health Month
The VMware Cork Giving Network’s Mental Health Month has promoted and encouraged positive well-being. With the daily themes focusing on positivity and self-assessment, VMware Cork has encouraged employees to become more and more aware of not just the feelings of people they’re surrounded by but their own feelings too.
Excellence in Marketplace
A&L Goodbody for their project ALGs collaborative project with the Irish Refugee Council’s Independent Law Centre
In 2013, A&L Goodbody began a collaborative project with the Irish Refugee Council (IRC) Independent Law Centre to develop a unique pro bono service for people claiming refugee status in Ireland. Since the beginning of this collaboration, 118 ALG lawyers have delivered 5,432 hours working on 42 cases for clients referred by the IRC.
Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion
Dublin Bus for their project Workplace Gender Transition Policy and Guidelines
As part of its commitment to support diversity and inclusion among its workforce, Dublin Bus launched one of the most comprehensive and advanced Workplace Gender Transition Policy and Guidelines in the country. This is part of the overall Dublin Bus Diversity and Inclusion Strategy which sets out Dublin Bus’s commitment to promoting equality, accommodating diversity, and ensuring non-discrimination for Dublin Bus employees and customers.
Excellence in CSR by an SME
Easytrip for their project Easytrip support Blood Bikes
Easytrip has been supporting Blood Bikes throughout Ireland since April 2017 by supplying ‘toll tags’ free of charge and covering toll charges for each of the charity vehicles. This initiative has allowed Blood Bikes to deliver lifesaving and time critical medical supplies for patients in need in hospitals, medical centres, neo-natal units and hospices across Ireland.
Outstanding Achievement in CSR
Boots Ireland