About | Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards
 

WHO ARE WE

The Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA) recognizes and independently endorses your organisational efforts in creating a culture of compassion, integrity and in being socially responsible corporate citizens. The programme grows with Asian communities and reflects their collective action and self-imposed responsibility to better the world we live in.

Being awarded the AREA not only improves corporate visibility, instills credibility, and provides confidence in your project amongst your staff, local communities and fellow businesses, but also serves as a badge of excellence to spur further innovation and best-practice sharing for your organisation and the world at large.
19+

COUNTRIES & MARKETS

8

AWARD CATEGORIES

>3367

ENTRIES (SINCE 2011)

>500

WINNERS (SINCE 2011)

 

WHO ARE WE

The Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA) recognizes and independently endorses your organizational efforts in creating a culture of compassion, integrity and in being socially responsible corporate citizens. The program grows with Asian communities and reflects their collective action and self-imposed responsibility to better the world we live in.

Being awarded the AREA not only improves corporate visibility, instills credibility, and provides confidence in your project amongst your staff, local communities and fellow businesses, but also serves as a badge of excellence to spur further innovation and best-practice sharing for your organization and the world at large.
19+

COUNTRIES & MARKETS

8

AWARD CATEGORIES

>2596

ENTRIES (SINCE 2011)

>400

WINNERS (SINCE 2011)

 

METHODOLOGY

The 8 Award Categories look beyond the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in incorporating the role of government and the civil society in powering meaningful, lasting changes to the world; with the corporate community as the enabler and catalyst for this change.
 

CATEGORIES

AREA is divided into 7 categories to recognize businesses and 1 category to honor responsible business leadership. The Awards are built on 6 key pillars, namely the Environment, Fair Practices, Health, Leadership, the Community and its People. We believe these are critical aspects in our pursuit to promote Responsible Entrepreneurship.

GREEN LEADERSHIP

The recipient believes in the larger responsibility for recognizing the impact of running their business to the environment and seeks to reduce and reverse the impact. The recipient has consciously implemented programs and efforts which includes, but not limited to, the following: Energy Efficiency, Product Responsibility, Green Product Designs, Waste Reduction, Recycling and Water Conservation. Additional weightage will be given to participants that have a harm reduction and reversal program in place. The recipient should also have integrated environmental performance into its sustainable development strategy and has an annual reporting structure to track this performance.

INVESTMENT IN PEOPLE

The Award recipient has policies and program in place that show respect for their people (primarily employees, but may also include vendors, clients and business partners). They will be judged on the amount their business has invested in taking care of their employees by way of dependent care, layoffs and closing, health and wellness, employee training, fair recruitment and promotional practice, fostering lifelong learning, improving the quality of life at work and in implementing employee ownership on a sustainable basis.

HEALTH PROMOTION

The Award honors businesses that encourage and promote programs aimed at raising awareness and improving the health of their direct and indirect stakeholders. The recipient must have clear health related programs which could focus on Sustainable Development Goals in Good Health and Wellbeing and Clean Water and Sanitation such as reducing child mortality, improve maternal health or combating, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. They could also focus on other issues of social concern such as dietary health, obesity, heart disease, early screening for treatable and preventable diseases, mental health and social isolation amongst others. For participants in the Health Industry, evidence of programs beyond standard business operations must be provided.

SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT

The Award recipient promotes empowerment of communities or individuals that are socially excluded, or that suffer discrimination in work, business or involvement in community life. Such groups might include people with physical or mental disabilities, isolated minority groups, or refugees. Programs for empowerment of women, economically disadvantaged communities or other minorities would fall into this category. The recipients must have a clear “Social Empowerment Mission” and must have programs and projects in place that support this mission.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The Award recipient adheres and maintains the quality and completeness of disclosure and reporting of governance practices in annual reports of business entities in the public and private sectors. Besides, the recipient cares to safeguard integrity in financial reporting, structure board to add value, promote ethical decision making, respect the rights of shareholders, and remunerate fairly and responsibly. The recipient should not reflect just a checklist approach, but demonstrate transparency and openness, integrity, stewardship and leadership recorded in the annual reporting of corporate governance.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY LEADERSHIP

The award recognises business models which replace the ‘end- of-life’ concept with reducing, alternatively reusing, recycling and recovering materials in production/ distribution and consumption processes, with the aim to achieve sustainable development, which implies creating environmental quality, economic prosperity and social equity, to the benefit of current and future generations. The winning entry of this category should demonstrate at least one of the 3 main principles of Circular Economy:
1) Smarter product use and manufacture;
2) Extend lifespan of product and its parts; and
3) Useful application of materials Key emphasis will be on waste reduction technologies, process innovation, repurposing and material reductions.
 

CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING

The Awards commends to the business’s comprehensive sustainable reporting in disclosure, transparency, and credibility while bridging the social, environmental, and economic issues affiliated to the business. The accredited report will demonstrate a clear, focused, and accurate description of strategies, actions, impacts, and its continued sustainable developments reflecting the business’s sustainability goals. The report will be evaluated on the business’s strategic means in sustainability, stakeholder engagement, disclosure of quantifiable and financially relevant investing frameworks, and significant sustainability impacts addressing its challenges and contributions.

RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS LEADERSHIP

(BY INVITATION ONLY)
The Award recipient represents a role model in advocating and promoting all aspects of Responsible Entrepreneurship in building their business. Besides, the individual shows exemplary leadership in adverse situations, defied temptations and greed to promote responsible practices in his enterprise and the people around him. This may encompass the areas of environmental preservation, sustainability, community partnerships, education promotion, and poverty alleviation.