The Co-Founder of the Centre for CSR, West Africa, John Kojo Williams has expressed optimism about the disposition of Ghanaian-owned companies to corporate social responsibility and sustainability.

Speaking at the 10^th Ghana CSR Excellence Awards, GHACEA, organized by the Centre for CSR, West Africa, Mr. Williams said “It is gratifying to know that our advocacy effort for the past ten years and more is beginning to yield encouraging results. In the past, majority of CSR activities and projects in Ghana were implemented by multinationals. This year, we had a total of 17 Ghanaian-owned small and medium-scale businesses submitting their CSR activities as entries for the GHACEA.

"Though, some of them could not complete the process of submission, vetting and evaluation, it is an improvement on what was obtainable in the past. Ghanaian-owned companies such as Vicbens Engineering and Amanex, managed to scale through and deservedly won some categories.”

On Friday, some of Ghana’s most socially-responsible brands, projects and people were recognized and awarded at the 10^th edition of the Ghana Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Excellence Awards, GHACEA.

The event, held at the Marriot Hotel in Accra, was organized by the Centre for CSR West Africa.

The GHACEA, which is the country's biggest and longest-running CSR Awards Scheme hosted senior business managers, CEOs, leaders of business associations, country directors of international development partners, representatives of government ministries and agencies and more than 30 leading media organisations.

Companies, projects and individuals that won at the 10^th GHACEA are: CSR Award for Community Development (Lumiere Group), CSR Award for Health (Vodafone), CSR Award for Education (Blue Skies), CSR Greening and Environmental Protection (Ghana Garden and Flower Show by Stratcomm Africa), CSR Award for SDG Partnership (World Vision), CSR Award for Youth and Disability Inclusion (RYTHM Foundation), and CSR SME of the Year (AMANEX).

Other awardees included CSR Savings and Loans Company of the Year (ASA Savings and Loans), CSR Consultancy of the Year (Blay & Associates), CSR Engineering Company of the Year (VICBENS Engineering), CSR Hospitality Company of the Year (Coconut Grove Beach Resort) and CSR Telecom of the Year (Vodafone).

The rest were CSR Bank of the Year (Fidelity Bank), CSR Manufacturing Company of the Year (Coca Cola), CSR Aviation Company of the Year (DELTA), CSR NGO of the Year (World Vision), CSR Project/Initiative of the Year (Vivo Energy Ghana), CSR Practitioner of the Year (Shirley Kum, CSR Manager of Vivo Energy Ghana), CSR CEO  of the Year (Julian Opuni, CEO, Fidelity Bank) and CSR Company of the Year (Vivo Energy Ghana).

Currently, GHACEA is regarded as one of the most stringent awards schemes in the West Africa sub-region.

GHACEA Jury’s stringent criteria for measuring impact and evaluating entries include considering the number of CSR projects initiated or completed within the period under review, total reach or cumulative number of people impacted, suitability of project to beneficiary and community, satisfactory and positive feedback from beneficiaries, project outcome measurement versus baseline data, estimated project cost in relation to size of company or turnover, independent verification of project and alignment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The Greater Accra Regional Chairman for the Association of Ghana Industries, AGI, Mr. Tsornam Akpeloo advocated that government should consider legislating that companies should convert and invest some percentage of their business taxation into social responsibility activities.

The Regional Chairman for the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industries, GNCCI, Mr. Kabutey Caesar called on other companies in Ghana to take inspiration from 10^th GHACEA winners: “We encourage other companies to emulate the commendable corporate citizenship of these exemplary GHACEA winners and begin to do more for people and planet.”

The Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA Ghana, Ms. Suzuki Momoko recounted how JICA has supported the GHACEA and the Centre for CSR, West Africa since 2011 and how the concept of social responsibility is entrenched in the Japanese business culture. She encouraged companies to do more for society.

The Director of Petroleum Upstream, Mr. James Yamoah, who sat in for the Deputy Minister for Energy and Petroleum, Herbert Krapa explained the efforts government is making at making energy more efficient, accessible, affordable and sustainable in Ghana.

He called on the business community, especially energy companies, to continue to support government’s clean and sustainable energy agenda.

In July this year, the Centre organized the annual National CSR and Sustainability Conference at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra. Leading socially-responsible organisations, companies and individuals attended.

About the Centre for CSR, West Africa

The Centre for CSR West Africa is a leading advocacy organization, working towards the advancement of corporate social responsibility and sustainability practices in the West African subregion. The Centre provides guidance, training, and consultancy services to organizations, enabling them to develop, enact, adopt and implement responsible business practices that contribute to their social license, bottom-line, societal development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

About the Ghana CSR Excellence Awards, GHACEA

The Ghana CSR Excellence Awards, GHACEA, is Ghana’s biggest and longest-running CSR Awards Scheme (since 2011). Regarded as one of the most stringent Awards schemes in the subregion, (with a 13-member jury that is drawn from academia, regulatory agencies, government, civil society, international aid agencies, media and business associations), only socially-responsible companies which have verifiable evidences of the impact of their CSR and sustainability interventions on their beneficiaries and society, have managed to win the coveted Award. The GHACEA is supported by leading business associations, international development organization and the media.