BBA 2021 Nominees: Responsible Business

Written by BCCJ
October 27, 2021

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Written by BCCJ
October 27, 2021

By the conclusion of the British Business Awards 2021 (#BBA2021) nomination period, we had received 38 eligible nominations across 6 categories.

The following 7 companies are now in the running to lift the BBA Responsible Business trophy.

Open to any eligible company that has driven exceptionally effective responsible business (social / environmental) programmes or initiatives in Japan over the past 12 months. Nominees should not be NPOs.

BBA 2021 Responsible Business

(In alphabetical order)

AstraZeneca

Astrazeneca declared “Ambition Zero Carbon” to have zero carbon emissions from operations and ensure the company’s entire value chain is carbon negative by 2030, bringing forward decarbonisation plans by more than a decade. Astrazeneca’s nonprofit COVID-19 vaccine, co-developed with Oxford University, is produced in Japan contributing to local and international communities.

BARCLAYS

Building on the momentum from the company’s COVID-19 Community Aid Package launched last year in response to the pandemic, Barclays in Japan has continued to help vulnerable communities through a recovery phase while ensuring the company’s regular employability programme continues to support the disadvantaged.

British Airways

British Airways are an industry leader in tackling climate change, having taken a progressive approach to managing growth in carbon emissions for more than 20 years. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, BA continues to put sustainability at the heart of its business, and recently launched the BA Better World programme which focuses on people, planet and responsible business.

Calon Wen

After the rules changed for Japanese JAS Mark organic certification for animal-based products last year, Calon Wen is the only European dairy product to have risen to the challenge of certifying under the new standards, flying the flag for sustainable farming and organic products in Japan.

Global Perspectives

In consultation with corporate leadership in Japan, Global Perspectives pivoted into a sustainability consultancy, resulting in two food industry giants setting ambitious goals that will have a tangible impact on food waste, supply chains, greenhouse emissions, and biodiversity. GP is now positioned as global influencers, connectors and network-builders in responsible business.

imageMILL

The company’s Northern Irish founder and team have, despite the challenges presented by Covid19, worked across a number of sectors to promote environmental awareness. Among various client outcomes, the company has delivered “zero waste shoots” as well as “sustainable cocktail competitions” and is a proud member of 1% for the planet.

Jennifer Shinkai

Facilitator and Executive Coach, Jennifer Shinkai, created a flagship programme during Covid, Make March Matter, to support SDG 8 “Decent Work and Economic Growth”. The mental and financial strains on SMEs have been severe, but the supportive and caring nature of this free, online and sustainable community of 365 owners has led to both friendships and business opportunities over the last 20 months.

Judging

The decision on a winning BBA 2021 entry is the result of the combined score of 6 separate judges, who independently score assigned submissions using the same scoring matrix.

To ensure transparency, each judge independently returns his or her score sheet to the BCCJ office by 3 November 2021 and the results are tabulated confidentially. The scores from each judge are then totalled for each nominee, and the nomination with the highest accumulative score is declared the category winner.

In the event of two nominees receiving the same final score, all judges will be asked to review their scores for these companies/individuals, and the submission with the highest score from this second round of judging will be declared the winner.

The final results remain confidential until the BBA ceremony – held on the evening of November 5, 2021 online. To book your space at the Awards, please register via the bookings page HERE

Judges

We are delighted to reveal the names of our BBA 2021 judges – a truly great lineup of accomplished leaders who are actively engaged in bolstering UK-Japan relations! This esteemed panel of judges will put into practice their expertise and specialist experience to decide which companies and individuals should receive a prestigious BBA trophy.

Noel Thatcher MBE | British Paralympian
Carolyn Davidson | British Consul-General, Osaka
Miwa Seki, Kathy Matsui, Yumiko Murakami | MPower Partners
Hideo Tomita | Managing Director, Refinitiv Japan K.K.
Liza Aono | Presenter, Cool Japan TV
Adrian Gillespie | Chief Executive, Scottish Enterprise