Among the finalists of the AXA Sustainability Award were ABN AMRO, Volvo Car Corporation, Akzo Nobel NV, Conergy AG, Diageo Ireland, Henkel KGaA, Kingfisher Plc, Shepherd Neame and Sodexho Alliance. All these companies have strong CSR programs in place.

A highly qualified jury evaluated our strategy and ranked HP very high for its long term commitment on CSR as we have had CSR programs in place for more than 50 years now!

Another important aspect for the jury was our comprehensive approach on CSR. We have programs in place in major CSR areas like social investment, environment, supply chain and privacy. And the jury sees our programs well integrated into our overall business strategy.

This is of course fabulous feedback for our work and a testament to the role of our employees in the many projects we are supporting in our region and globally. I believe it is very important to have a CSR category within the European Business Awards and to have as many other CSR awards out there as possible. This clearly helps to underline the relevance of CSR and its contribution to a company’s success.

But something else should not be underestimated either. Within the application process for an award you are asked to evaluate your programs and describe them in the best possible way. You need to think about the strengths, the way you differentiate yourself and how solutions you might consider as self-evident are probably not self-evident to the outside world and are rather seen as special.

You might as well figure out where the gaps are in your strategy and what improvement is required to come up with better solutions going forward. I can only say it is worth to go through an assessment process like this more regularly. Even if the outcome will not always be an award!

Jeannette Weisschuh, Head of Corporate Affairs, HP EMEA