A group of leading multinational and local enterprises won awards for showcasing excellence in social responsibility.
The 2021 Bund Forum on International Cooperation themed “Innovation Governance” presented the awards at a ceremony yesterday, honoring the companies for contributions to society.
The forum was organized by Shanghai Daily and the Waitan (Bund) Subdistrict Office under the guidance of the Information Office of Shanghai Municipality, Huangpu District Government and Shanghai United Media Group.
Through small-scale government/enterprise exchanges, keynote speeches and themed videos, it served as a platform for sharing valuable insights and experience in innovation and governance in various industries and fields, and demonstrating Shanghai’s world-leading business environment.
“Located in the core of central Shanghai, Huangpu District is home to a large number of multinational enterprises and headquarters,” said Li Zhongxing, deputy Party chief of Huangpu District. “We hope that with this event, Huangpu will become an important window to tell the story of Shanghai’s innovation governance, with more stories about Huangpu and Shanghai shared and more enterprises attracted to the Bund community.”
As a major part of the forum, case studies were collected discussing how enterprises in Shanghai can promote innovation and sustainable growth.
Since the case collection was launched in October 2021, it has attracted the attention and participation of hundreds of firms including nearly 500 multinational enterprises, among which 24 companies won the Excellence Award for Corporate Social Responsibility, 10 were honored with the Award for Innovation in Social Governance and four were awarded the title of Most Influential Brand.
The Excellence Award for Corporate Social Responsibility honors companies with innovative cases showing their dedication to corporate social responsibility, especially in the area of promoting common prosperity and green development.
The Award for Innovation in Social Governance was given to enterprises with outstanding contributions to economic upgrade and social governance through innovative practices in Shanghai’s construction of a “technological innovation center with global influence.”
The Most Influential Brand Award, meanwhile, honors brands for their efforts in driving Shanghai’s economic and social development by leveraging their outstanding performance in brand influence and value.
As the co-organizer of the forum, the Waitan (Bund) Subdistrict Office pledged to stick to promoting high-quality development, creating high-quality life, ensuring high-efficiency governance and building a more dynamic innovation ecosystem.
“This event serves as a perfect platform to promote communication and interactions among multinational enterprises,” said Ding Qining, director of the Waitan (Bund) Subdistrict Work Committee of the Communist Party of China. “The exchanges among companies from various industries and countries will lead to more innovations and hopefully provide new directions for industry development.”
“Participation in community governance has become an important part of corporate social responsibility,” said one of the judges, Zhang Yi, founding partner of 3am Consulting and also an adjunct researcher with the Center for Global Public Opinion of China at Shanghai International Studies University.
“When companies link the sustainability of their own business with the long-term goal of community governance, they will promote the construction of the entire business environment and ultimately bring a long-term positive impact to society.”
To give full play to the unique role of MNCs in Shanghai in international communications, Shanghai Daily has taken the lead in establishing a cooperation and exchange mechanism for international communications of multinational corporations in Shanghai and setting up the “MNC Communications Club.”
With more than seven years of development, the mechanism has attracted more than 400 multinational enterprises in the city to participate.
On the occasion of the forum, the MNC Communications Club inaugurated its Huangpu District branch.
On the spot, two enterprises, ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance and The Jerde Partnership, claimed responsibility for two international community governance practice projects – caring for stray dogs and cats, and regenerating public community space, respectively.