The Arabia CSR Awards eighth cycle concluded recently. In a glittering award ceremony, 20 public and private organisations were acknowledged for their role in creating positive societal impact.

The Arabia CSR Awards is supported by the United Nations Global Compact and United Nations Environment Programme. It was held under the auspices of the League of Arab States for the second consecutive year. Among sponsors of the award are: Ma’aaden (Exclusive Strategic Sponsor), Petrochemical Industries Company (Platinum Sponsor), ENOC, NATPET and Gulf Petrochemical Industrial Company (Gold Sponsors), Diamond Developers (Industry Sponsor), RasGas (publications Sponsor) and Canon Middle East (Imaging Sponsor). Emirates Environmental Group is the Environmental Partner, DNV-GL its assurance provider, myclimate and MBC Group its Strategic Media Partner. Other Media Partners are Arabian Business, News Services Group Middle East ME Newswire, Gulf News, Omnicom Media Group, 7DAYS, Eye of Riyadh and Blu Lowe Kuwait. Two regional entities came on board this year, Hawkamah and Terous.

The awards are known for their stringent criteria, which are benchmarked against the UN Global Compact Ten Principles, the GRI principles of sustainability reporting and the EFQM Excellence Model. Applications were received in the following categories: Public Sector, Large Sized Enterprise, Medium Sized Business, Small Sized Business, Energy, Financial Services, New Business, Partnerships and Collaborations, and Social Enterprise. The awards were opened to application in three languages - Arabic, English and French. This year a total of 92 applications out of 131 were considered eligible for the jury evaluation, out of which there were 38 shortlisted organisations. The finalists of the 2015 Arabia CSR Awards were:

Public Sector:

Winner: Emirates Transport (UAE), First Runner up: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority – DEWA (UAE), Second Runners up - Tie: Al Ain Distribution Co. (UAE) and Dubai Customs

Large Sized Enterprise:

Winner: Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (Bahrain), First Runners up – Tie: Medcare Hospital (UAE) and Al Futtaim Carillion (UAE), Second Runner up: Farnek (UAE)

Medium Sized Enterprise:

Winner: Petrochemical Industries Company (Kuwait), First Runner up - Al Jazeera International Catering (UAE), Second Runner up – ABB Qatar (Qatar)

Small Sized Category:

Winner: Road Safety UAE

Energy:

Winners - Tie: Masdar (UAE) and Gulf Grilling International (Qatar)

Financial Services:

Winner: BMCE Bank (Morocco)

Best New Business:

Winner: Green Design (UAE)

Partnerships and Collaborations:

Winner: Emirates NBD (UAE), First Runner up: Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (Bahrain), Second Runner up: DLA Piper (UAE)

Social Enterprise:

Winner: Green Design