Dow Chemical, Intel, KPMG and Atlas Copco Recognized at Seventh Annual AmCham Shanghai CSR Awards Ceremony

SHANGHAI, March 7, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham Shanghai) announced the winners of the 2012 CSR Awards today at the Seventh Annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Awards Ceremony at the Portman Ritz-Carlton Shanghai.

Along with presenting the CSR Leadership Award to Dow Chemical, AmCham Shanghai also recognized collaborative CSR programs created through partnerships between companies and non-profit organizations.   Also honored were outstanding individuals dedicated to advancing social responsibility in the workplace and to building ties between an enterprise and the community that it serves.

This year the Chamber was pleased to introduce two new award categories; the CSR Innovation Award, which recognizes the company that best addresses complex social and environmental issues in new and unique ways, and the Corporate Community Involvement Award, which recognizes outstanding corporate volunteer programs.

The AmCham Shanghai 2012 CSR Award Winners are:

• CSR Leadership Award: Dow Chemical (China) Company Limited
• CSR Innovation Award: Intel China Ltd.
• Corporate Community Involvement Award: KPMG (China) Limited
• Partnership Award: Atlas Copco (China) Investment Co., Ltd - Plan China
• CSR Practitioner Award: Lydia Hua, Senior Communications Manager, Johnson & Johnson Medical (China) Ltd.

The 2012 winners were selected from a strong field of more than 60 nominees who offered best practices across the range of CSR focus areas. The award winners this year were selected according to a rigorous evaluation framework developed with reference to the ISO 26000, the guidance on social responsibility released by the International Organization for Standardization.

AmCham Shanghai Chair Kenneth Jarrett congratulated the award winners and noted, "By recognizing these outstanding programs and individuals, AmCham Shanghai aims to not only acknowledge their efforts but also to provide models for other organizations as they plan their own CSR programs. We hope these award-winning programs honored today will inspire other companies to find innovative ways to carry out CSR activities and increase awareness of the power of CSR partnership and community involvement."

Peter Sykes, president of Dow Chemical Greater China said, "We are very proud to receive this prestigious award and we sincerely thank AmCham Shanghai for its recognition of Dow.  We stand firmly behind our social responsibilities across Greater China which has grown to become Dow's second largest international market. As we move forward we seek to do so in a way that benefits everyone – including helping to improve the environmental, health and safety performance of Chinese industries, teaching sustainability courses in primary schools, building homes for the homeless and responding quickly to provide aid to people in disaster-stricken areas."

Eric Fiedler, Chair of the CSR Awards judging panel and a past AmCham Shanghai Chair, noted, "The judging panel was very impressed with the quality and depth of the CSR programs being implemented in China.  The whole concept of corporate responsibility is spreading and maturing, as evidenced by the innovative programs that we evaluated for the awards."

To encourage broad participation and a diverse list of nominees, AmCham Shanghai calls for nominations not only from AmCham Shanghai member companies, but also from non-member companies and non-profit organizations with excellent CSR programs and initiatives.

More than 100 people attended today's awards ceremony including government officials, CSR practitioners and scholars from the public, private and non-profit sectors as well as company representatives.

About AmCham Shanghai

The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, known as the "Voice of American Business" in China, is the largest and fastest growing American Chamber in the Asia-Pacific region.  Founded in 1915, AmCham Shanghai was the third American Chamber established outside the United States.  As a non-profit, non-partisan business organization, AmCham Shanghai is committed to the principles of free trade, open markets, private enterprise and the unrestricted flow of information.

Visit www.amcham-shanghai.org for more information about AmCham Shanghai.

AmCham Shanghai CSR Awards

For seven years running, the AmCham Shanghai CSR Awards has honored the best corporate citizens in China, recognizing companies for their outstanding and innovative CSR programs and initiatives. By drawing attention to these organizations, AmCham Shanghai aims to encourage CSR development and provide models for other organizations to emulate.

SOURCE AmCham-China