CSR MarketPlace 2013
CSR MarketPlace 2013: few won, but everybody had the best of it
This year the CSR MarketPlace organized by KÖVET Association differed at least in one aspect from those of 2009 and 2011: companies and their civil partners were competing for the European CSR Award, too. The European CSR Award was established by the European Commission and was announced this year for the first time. Those companies were allowed to run for this award which have completed innovative, effective and important projects in partnership with non-business partners.
33 business enterprises and 28 civil organisations - at 44 stands - displayed and shared their good CSR practices and exemplary CSR solutions with each other, and the visitors. Companies applied with 64 CSR measures for the MarketPlace. Most popular topics were: civil-business collaboration, stakeholder engagement, equal opportunity - cases of family friendly solutions, and volunteering programs. There were also applications of innovation, product development and responsible supply chain management.
The event was opened by Piroska Szalai, main patroness of the CSR MarketPlace 2013,
Ministerial Commissioner responsible for the improvement of women's employment
prospects.
„It is good that there are empathetic and susceptible companies and also
professional civil organizations, which know the operational logic of the
companies, and as such, they can provide services to the companies that make
cooperation deep and effective. This is the way how the innovative, viable and
progressive models of a new economy can be built"- underlined Piroska Szalai in
her opening speech.
Professor Sándor Kerekes, director of the Institute for Environmental Science at the Budapest Corvinus University, appreciated the exhibition, where "Truly responsible enterprises can learn from each other, and also those who just starting to explore this dimension of the corporate culture can learn. Moreover those ones may also learn that are working as truly responsible companies but they do not know about it."
The European CSR Award scheme was organized by CSR Europe and Business in the Community. Gillian McKee, Deputy Managing Director of Business in the Community Northern Ireland, commended the preparedness of the Hungarian contestants, and the originality of their CSR solutions.
Gergely Tóth, Secretary General of KÖVET, said that the current model of capitalism has wrecked, and in the new model the responsible operation of the companies will certainly get more emphasis.
One of the goals of CSR MarketPlace was to make an opportunity for companies and civil organizations to meet; later on these meetings might lead as well to cooperations. This function was strengthened this year by the so-called civil-corporate speed dating. During this programme civil organizations had the chance to introduce themselves to the companies, to speak about their goals, and show their competences that can be of interest for the companies. These brief introductions may later be followed by deeper discussions, and hopefully they will be. In these two speed dating turns of 30 minutes each, 16 civil organizations could meet with 15 companies.
For the European CSR Award, announced for the first time ever, 18 large companies and 6 SMEs (and their civil partners) have applied. According to the prior selection of the jury 4 large companies and 3 SMEs had been shortlisted. E.ON, Nokia, Telenor and Provident were on the shortlist of the large companies; to the shortlist of SMEs IFUA Nonprofit Partner, Hill and Knowlton and László Czinki László individual entrepreneur had been selected. In the final they presented their projects during 2 public jury session. Companies and their civil partners could explicate their projects in 5 minutes. After their presentations jury members could pose questions to the the contestants in 10 minutes, and shared their opinion with the audience. Both jury sessions were very popular among the visitors and during the large company preview the workshop room had been totally filled up. In both sections was keen struggle. It was very hard to the jury to choose the winners from the different but equally imposing programmes.
At the end of the professional programmes there was a round table discussion about the business-non-business collaboration as the central topic of the CSR MarketPlace 2013. The moderator of the discussion was Gyöngyvér Kiss, one of the founders of Civil Licit sustainability auction and the managing director of Prominart Communication. The participants were: Gillian McKee, Deputy Managing Director of Business in the Community Northern Ireland, Katalin Urbán, CSR and communication expert of Grundfos Magyarország Gyártó Kft., István Lőrinczi, owner and managing director of Outdoor Mission Kft., and Zsuzsanna Győri PhD, CSR expert of KÖVET Association, and one of the hosts of CSR MarketPlace 2013. Participants of the discussion have agreed on the positive impacts of the long-term partnership between business and non-business actors. It helps organizations to get closer to each other, to mitigate the mistrusts among them, and to know each other's competences, which can be useful for both sides.
"The 28 CSR solutions completed in a close business-non-business collaboration, and exhibited at the CSR MarketPlace 2013 are good examples for the broad palette of the various opportunities of cooperation between the business and non-business sector. Cooperation means not only mere sponsorship, it is much more than that: the non-business organization provides services to the business entity, and the company supports it with money or special knowledge as well. So they can learn from each others' culture, and work up deeper, more effective and long-term partnerships" - said Zsuzsanna Győri.
There were 7 awards presented this year at the CSR MarketPlace:
- Truly Responsible Enterprise of 2013 Award - Skanska Magyarország Ingatlan Kft.
- Best CSR Solution of 2013 Award - the "I drink responsibly and I am for it." programme of Dreher Sörgyárak Zrt.
- Small Company Special Award - Bio-Drog- Berta Kft.
- Environmentally Conscious Management Special Award - STKH Sopron és Térsége Környezetvédelmi és Hulladékgazdálkodási Kft.
- Public Choice Award - NOKIA Komárom Kft.
- European CSR Award (large companies category) - E.ON Hungária Zrt.
- European CSR Award (SME category)- László Czinki PhD. individual entrepreneur.
The jury considered the NET program of E.ON Hungária Zrt. as the best for the European CSR Award in the large company category. That is why E.ON can represent Hungary at the European round of responsible companies on 25th June in Brussels. The aim of E.ON's NET programme is to support families having difficulties with overhead expenses. As a result of NET these families have the opportunity to get out of the debt trap situation, maintain the established balance, and reach the effective family finance managing. In the opinion of the jury the NET programme is exemplary in the industry; it is based on cooperation, it is systemic and smart consciousness forming act which can be adapted by other companies as well.
In the category of SMEs László Czinki individual entrepreneur will represent Hungary. The aim of "Taking responsibility for the good of future generations" programme is to contribute to the basic kindergarten education with environmentally conscious upbringing. Furthermore, the programme gives a hand in the development of educational methods, in the initiation of pedagogical, infrastructural and financial condition at the Attila Kindergarten Nagykanizsa. In this way they make an example to follow by other kindergartens and educational institutions too. In the opinion of the jury this project is outstanding in individual commitment, toughness, cooperation and social utility.
Although not everybody could get an Award at the CSR MarketPlace, but everybody won included the audience because could take part in a high-toned, reasoned, useful, motivating and civil-corporate cooperation subservient programs.
You can check here the photos of the Hungarian CSR MarketPlace 2013.