6 firms, 3 individuals awarded by The Daily Star and CSR Window Bangladesh

Six companies and three young humanitarians were felicitated today at the 3rd Bangladesh Sustainability Excellence Awards for their sustainable and socially impactful initiatives.

The Daily Star and the CSR Window Bangladesh honoured the firms to encourage corporates and individuals to take on projects that serve society and the environment.

Unilever Bangladesh's Plastic Circularity for a Sustainable Bangladesh project won the award in the environment category, while Bata Shoe Company's (Bangladesh) Bata Children's' program bagged the top award in the education segment.

Cement maker LafargeHolcim's initiative Integrated Support in Chhatak Community took home the accolade in the Community Engagement, while Ashulia Women and Children Hospital, a project of Shanta Holdings, won the award in the healthcare category.

The Bangladesh Sustainability Excellence Awards in Financial Inclusion went to Grameenphone for its GP Accelerator and GP Academy, while Banglalink Digital Communication won the award in the Disaster Response category.

Three young changemakers were also awarded as the Young Humanitarian of the Year: Arifur Rahman Shihab, founder of Valo Kajer Hotel; Lamia Tanzim Tanha, founder and chief executive officer of TransEnd; and Arian Arif, founder of Mojar School.

Syed Manzur Elahi, chairman of Apex Group, handed over the awards to the winners at a ceremony held at Le Méridien Dhaka, the hospitality partner for the event.

"Sustainability is part of SDGs and this is very important," Elahi added.

The word sustainability should be compared with the word survival, said Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of The Daily Star.

"When we talk about sustainability, we actually talk about our survival. Sustainability is saving lives. We are talking about the sustainability of the planet," he said, while calling for leaving a better world behind for future generations.

He highlighted the cases of air and water pollution.

"Most of the big cities around the world were built on the banks of the rivers. In the case of Dhaka, it is built on the bank of a river but the water of the river is polluted."

He also requested corporates to examine how they can make their products and the markets sustainable.

While he appreciated the initiatives by corporates to appoint sustainability officers, he wanted to know if the officials were empowered enough.

Shehzad Munim, managing director and CEO of British American Tobacco Bangladesh, presented a keynote while there was a panel discussion at the event.

"ESG [Environmental, social, and corporate governance] commitments are driving consumer purchases and employee engagement. Companies in Bangladesh are pursuing ambitious ESG targets."

An effective and inclusive committee and incentive for ESG adopters are needed to drive the sustainability agenda forward, Munim added.

The government should incentivise sustainability issues, said Shamima Akhter, director of Unilever Bangladesh's corporate affairs, partnerships and communications.