PR News gave center stage to the winners and honorable mentions of its 2015 CSR Awards at a standing-room-only luncheon at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on March 12, 2015. The event honored brands and agencies that made notable strides and demonstrated an understanding of the power of corporate social responsibility, the smartest CSR communications initiatives and the people behind them. Also honored were this year’s CSR A-List and the latest inductees into PR News' CSR Hall of Fame.
The keynote address at the luncheon was delivered by Dave Daigle, associate director of communications for the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Daigle discussed challenges of getting important messages heard—even when the subject is an epidemic as terrifying as Ebola—as well as the important role the private sector plays in nonprofit efforts.
(See profiles of all the CSR Award winners; also see the Nonprofit PR Award winners and honorable mentions, which were celebrated at the March 12 luncheon).
CSR HALL OF FAME
The Allstate Foundation’s Purple Purse
Entering its fourth year, The Allstate Foundation’s Purple Purse campaign was challenged to educate more victims on the resources available to help them break free and stay free from violence.
Office Depot Foundation’s National Backpack Program
By the end of this year, the 14th of its award-winning National BackPack Program, Office Depot and the Office Depot Foundation will have donated more than 3.3 million backpacks and sackpacks to deserving children around the globe.
Time Warner Cable’s Connect a Million Minds
Time Warner Cable’s Connect a Million Minds initiative to connect students to after-school STEM activities has reached all the way to the White House and has become a brand identifier for Time Warner Cable.
CSR A-LIST
APCO Worldwide — The company’s Sustainable Growth + Corporate Responsibility team, represented in over 30 global offices, helped clients navigate new markets, anticipate and serve evolving consumer expectations and demands, engage partners and critics and pursue the promise of untapped human capital.
Cone Communications — In 2014, Cone introduced the Social Return Assessment diagnostic tool that enabled a company to assess the return from its social impact investment. Designed to uncover gaps and opportunities in order to maximize the results of existing CSR programs, the tool focuses on the three core areas that drive a successful social responsibility campaign — awareness, engagement and impact.
Edelman - Business + Social Purpose — Over the past year, Edelman has worked with clients on multiple cutting-edge, creative and impactful purpose-driven initiatives. From Chipotle’s Scarecrow and Unilever’s Project Sunlight, to groundbreaking announcements such as GAP’s commitment to raise the minimum wage of its employees, Edelman is dedicated to helping clients crystalize and activate their purpose.
FleishmanHillard — FleishmanHillard’s CSR practice helps companies seize the opportunities that flow from being a socially engaged and sustainable business. From digital and social media, to public affairs and issues management, the firm draws upon their full range of capabilities to build and communicate authentic and transparent programs.
G&S Business Communications — Through its sustainability consulting practice Gibbs & Soell counsels organizations toward taking a strategic approach to corporate social responsibility. Focusing on martial issues that represent a business’ unique connections to the environment and society, the firm helps clients define sustainability so it is meaningful to their business and connected to their brands.
RF|Binder Partners - Making an Impact Where it Matters — 2014 proved to be a catalyzing year for RF Binder’s CSR programs, furthering their record of exemplary work for the CSR clients they serve. Among the major success stories of the year are their work with companies like Capital One, CVS Health and Baskin Robbins.
VOX Global — VOX helps leading companies such as AT&T, Bank of America, Hershey’s and Union Pacific navigate the process of developing and executing CSR initiatives. Their counsel and collaboration has helped clients earn top corporate reputation awards such as the #1 Best Corporate Citizen Award from CR Magazine, one of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies and The Civic 50’s Most Community Minded Companies.
Weber Shandwick — The firm is committed to supporting the communities in which it operates through pro-bono community outreach programs around the world. The “Weber Shandwick Impact Project,” launched in 2013 is an initiative to encourage the company’s offices across the globe to engage in pro-bono work and make a positive community impact within three key issue areas vital to a more sustainable future: environment and sustainability, education and technology.
2015 CSR AWARD WINNERS AND HONORABLE MENTIONS
Annual Report
Winner: Medtronic Inc. - 2014 Integrated Performance Report
Honorable Mentions:
- iHeartMedia - Impact Report
- International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. - Lasting - Change
- Kimco Realty - Kimco Publishes Inaugural Corporate Responsibility Report
Blog
Winner: AT&T Inc. - For Good Stories, There is No Place Like Home: People | Planet | Possibilities
Honorable Mention:
- AECOM Impact blog
Cause Branding Campaign
Co-Winner: Food Lion Feeds- Launching Our 500 Million Meal Commitment
Co-Winner: Weber Shandwick - Pass the Red Cup for World Hunger Relief
Honorable Mentions:
- Activate - Tu Amigo Pepe (Your friend Pepe)
- Covidien Communications - World Stroke Day Take 2...Tell 2 Campaign 2014
- Imprenta Communications Group, Inc. - DIR: Wage Theft
- Kenneth Cole - Look Good, For Good
- MWW - Men's Wearhouse 2014 National Suit Drive
- Nebo Agency - Nebo Launches Choose ATL Campaign and Inspires 45 Million
- Siemens, The Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Stand Up To - Linking hope to need: The Baton Pass connects the hope for cancer survivorship with the need for research dollars
- The Zeno Group -The Allstate Foundation’s #GetThereSafe
- The Zeno Group – The Allstate Foundation’s Purple Purse
Community Affairs
Winner: Time Warner Cable - Bridging the digital divide in local communities: Learning Labs
Honorable Mentions:
- Diageo North America - Learning Skills for Life
- JetBlue Airways - Restoring Play for Kids in Underserved areas - a partnership with KaBOOM!
- Nerium International - Individually Taking Responsibility, Collectively Changing the World
- REVOLT TV + Boys & Girls Club - #HelloHarlemNYC Youth Initiative
- SAIC - Corporate Citizenship
Corporate-Community Partnership
Winner: Neustar - My Digital Life
Honorable Mentions:
- CLEARLINK - Bringing SEO to Non-Profits
- The Conroy Martinez Group - Miami Seaquarium Flipper's 50th/Flip it Forward
- Covance Inc. - Covance-CARE Nepal Saving Mothers and Infants Lives (SMILE) in Nepal
- Discovery Education - Belk Service Learning Challenge
- Kenneth Cole - Look Good, For Good
- MUFG Union Bank, N.A. - Union Bank and LAUSD Collaborate to Enhance Financial Education
- Nexus Treatment - Nexus Bridging Program
- Siemens, The Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Stand Up To - Linking hope to need: The Baton Pass connects the hope for cancer survivorship with the need for research dollars
Corporation with less than 25,000 employees
Winner: TD Ameritrade
Honorable Mentions:
- International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.
- NCCI
- Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore
Corporation with more than 25,000 employees
Winner: Oracle
Honorable Mention:
- MetLife
CSR on a Shoestring
Winner: Nebo Agency - Nebo Launches Choose ATL Passion Project to Tell City's Untold Story
Honorable Mentions:
- The Conroy Martinez Group - Infinity Auto Insurance's Bilingual Literacy Program: Read Conmigo
- Humana - Healthy People, Healthy Planet, Healthy Performance
- Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services - The Big Dance of Data Defense
- SAIC - Give A Meal Team Challenge
CSR Professional of the Year
Winner: Jan Jones Blackhurst - Caesars Entertainment
Honorable Mentions
- Christopher Ian Bennett - Guitar Center
- Adam Harrell - Nebo Agency
- Bob Langert - McDonald's Corporation
- Ryan McCarty - TCC
- Angela Peluso - Verizon Foundation
- Ylann Schemm - Elsevier
- Tessie Topol - Time Warner Cable
Diversity Communications
Winner: Imprenta Communications Group, LLC - DIR: Wage Theft
Honorable Mentions:
- HMA Associates Inc. - National Influenza Vaccination Disparities Partnership
- MGM Resorts International - Women's Leadership Conference
Employee Relations
Co-Winner: Humana - Rethink Paper
Co-Winner: International Finance Corporation - The IFC Waste Challenge: Our Footprint Commitment In Action
Honorable Mentions:
- AT&T and DonorsChoose.org
- CLEARLINK - Engaging Employees With Philanthropy
- CVS Health and RF|Binder - CVS Health Celebrates the Spirit of Volunteerism on Giving Tuesday
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals International Co. - Living Through Giving
- Time Warner Cable - Employee Green Team Playbook
Event: CSR / Green Focus
Winner: Hughes General Contractors, Inc., VCBO Architecture and Davis School District - Odyssey Elementary Open House
Honorable Mentions:
- Covenant Health - East Tennessee Health Forum on Ebola
- Dask - Earthquake Resistant Building Design Competition
- International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. - Global Hand Washing Day
- KPMG LLP - KPMG's Reading Relay
- RBC - 2014 RBC Blue Water Day
- REVOLT TV + Boys & Girls Club - #HelloHarlemNYC Youth Initiative
- Triomphant Communications - Culinary Battles: Supreme Asian Chef
- Weber Shandwick on behalf of Clean the World - Build on the Hill: Hygiene Kit Build
Media Relations
Winner: Cigna Foundation - World of Difference Grant: Improving Healthcare for Underserved Immigrant Latino and Caribbean Communities
Honorable Mentions:
- Holland & Knight LLP - "The FDA Fiddles While America Burns: American Sunscreen Innovation Marred by Bureaucracy While Melanoma Rates Increase"
- KPMG LLP - KPMG's Reading Relay
- Levi Strauss & Co. - Unveiling Dockers Wellthread and Talking About Dirty Jeans
- North Strategic - Jumpstart Charities Red Ball Campaign 2014
- The UPS Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and MSI - UPS Road Code: Teen Safe Driving Program
- Weber Shandwick and PEDIGREE Brand - PEDIGREE See what good food can do
- The Zeno Group – The Allstate Foundation Purple Purse
Nonprofit/Corporate Partnership
Co-Winner: CVS Health & the American Lung Association Make Lung Cancer in Women a Public Health Priority
Co-Winner: Time Warner Cable - Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Partnership
Honorable Mentions:
- Caesars Entertainment - Caesars & Clean the World Save Lives One Soap at a Time
- ESPN - 2014 ESPY Day Benefiting The V Foundation for Cancer Research
- Nerium International - Individually Taking Responsibility, Collectively Changing the World
- HGTV/DIY Network – Rebuilding Together
- Türk Telekomünikasyon A.Ş. - Books on the Phone
- Viacom Says NO MORE
- Weber Shandwick - Pass the Red Cup for World Hunger Relief
- Weber Shandwick and Prudential Financial - Special Olympics 2014
- WWE and 2014 Special Olympics USA Games partnership
Pro Bono Campaign
Winner: Nebo Agency - Nebo's Choose ATL Pro Bono Initiative Rebrands City as Digital Hub
Honorable Mentions:
- REVOLT TV + Boys & Girls Club - #HelloHarlemNYC Youth Initiative
- Waggener Edstrom Communications - Women for Women International 20th Anniversary Gala
Product Design / Redesign
Winner: Toys"R"Us Introduces Reusable Tote Bag Benefiting Save the Children
Honorable Mention:
- TTNET - Engelsiz Tivibu (Accessible Tivibu)
Recycling Program
Winner: DoSomething.org - H&M's Comeback Clothes
Honorable Mentions:
- General Motors - Recycle RenCen: How GM Eliminated an Entire ZIP Code's Daily Waste
- RF|Binder on behalf of Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies - CARE TO RECYCLE
Social Good
Winner: BBDO, Universal McCann, Ketchum, Widmeyer, Huge and Cohn & Wolfe on behalf of ExxonMobil - ExxonMobil Inspires the Next Generation to “Be An Engineer”
Honorable Mentions:
- Alpha Omega-Henry Schein Cares - Holocaust Survivors Oral Health Program
- Amway Corporation - Nutrilite Power of 5 Campaign
- Huru International
- Metro - Preserving and Sustaining Local Food Production
- Nerium International - Individually Taking Responsibility, Collectively Changing the World
- TTNET - Engelsiz Tivibu (Accessible Tivibu)
Social Media Campaign
Winner: Hyundai Motor America - Hyundai Hope on Wheels
Honorable Mentions:
- Havas PR North America, Fenton Communications, FleishmanHillard, Glover Park and Weber Shandwick for the United Nations Foundation and 92nd Street Y - The World Gives with #GivingTuesday, Year Two
- Ketchum on behalf of ConAgra Foods - ConAgra Foods Hunger Free Summer
- Weber Shandwick and Honey Maid - This is Wholesome
- Weber Shandwick and PEDIGREE Brand - PEDIGREE See what good food can do
Stakeholder Engagement
Winner: Nerium International - Individually Taking Responsibility, Collectively Changing the World
Honorable Mentions:
- CVS Health Quits Tobacco for Good
- Polskie LNG S.A. - Polish gas terminal from doubt and suspicion to trust and cooperation
Sustainability/CSR Report
Winner: Medtronic Inc. - 2014 Integrated Performance Report
Honorable Mentions:
- AECOM - Managing complexity, building better lives.
- Burson-Marsteller - Hormel Foods 2013 Corporate Responsibility Report Launch
- The Coca-Cola Company Sustainability Report - 2013/2014
- CVS Health - 2013 Interactive CSR Report
- McDonald's Corporation - Our Journey Together
- Merck and Co., Inc. - Merck Responsibility 2013
- MetLife - MetLife Corp Responsibility Report: Global Impact
- Novelis - Adding More Aluminum, Creating Value
- Safeway with Waggener Edstrom Communications - The Heart of Safeway
- Weissman Center for International Business, Baruch College - The 2014 Edition of The CSR-S Monitor
Use of Social Media
Winner: CVS Health and RF|Binder - CVS Health Highlights Commitment to Better Health via Twitter
Honorable Mentions:
- Covidien Communications - World Stroke Day Take 2...Tell 2 Campaign 2014
- JetBlue Airways - 2014 Facebook Campaign: One Thing That's Green
Video Initiatives
Winner: JetBlue Airways - Increasing Access to Books: Soar with Reading and First Book
Honorable Mentions:
- Covidien Communications - World Stroke Day Take 2...Tell 2 Campaign 2014
- Ketchum on behalf of ConAgra Foods - ConAgra Foods Hunger Free Summer
- Popular Inc. - En el fondo de la música
Volunteer Program
Winner: Blue Cross & Blue Shield Rhode Island
Honorable Mentions:
- Dell Inc. - Children's Cancer Awareness Month
- Time Warner Cable - TWC Connects
Workplace Innovation
Winner: Time Warner Cable - TWC Eyes and Ears AMBER Alert Initiative
Honorable Mention:
- International Finance Corporation - The IFC Waste Challenge: Our Footprint Commitment In Action
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