Fujitsu scoops Responsible Business of the Year 2015 at BITC awards

Global technology giant Fujitsu picked up the most prestigious award at this year’s Business in the Community’s Responsible Business Awards winning the title of overall Responsible Business of the Year 2015.

Taking over the mantle from National Grid, the firm was recognised for embedding responsible business practice into its business strategy and for its multi billion pound investment into technology as a force for good to address global challenges such as tackling pollution and congestion in cities; advancing agriculture to feed more people globally; and monitoring health problems to assist the elderly to live well for longer.

The firm also challenges industry norms - half of all its budget holders are women and it recruits twice as many female graduates as the technology industry average; apprentices are paid 50% higher than national minimum wage, and it has pioneered datacentres powered by 100% renewable energy.

Duncan Tait, Head of EMEIA region for Fujitsu commented: “Projecting forward 20 years, world population growth, energy issues, air pollution, food and water shortages and an ageing population will impact every government and business. Solving these issues responsibly will be a fundamental driver of a business’s ability to grow and become financially sustainable. The collective actions of business leaders today will shape the future of our planet. It is our duty to convince the leaders of tomorrow to build shared value creation into their business models. This should be the only accepted norm as it is the only way companies can truly be sustainable.”

Other 2015 Responsible Business Award winners include:
• Veolia - winner of the Sustainable Products and Services Award for turning waste into a revenue stream worth £158.5 million. Through innovative ideas such as turning food waste into fuel powering 600,000 homes, Veolia generates 21 times more energy than it consumes and saves more carbon than it emits.

• South African insurance firm AllLife – wins the Unilever Global Development Award for pioneering life insurance for people with HIV which is widening their access to other financial products, reducing stigma around the disease and improving health.

• Durham based construction firm Esh Group - winner of the School Partnership Award for bringing over 65 businesses together to provide free structured career advice, work experience and apprenticeships to almost 7,000 young people in the North of England across 49 schools in 23 local authorities.

• Lloyds Banking Group - winner of the Experian Building Stronger Communities Award (in recognition of Sir John Peace) for making its banks more accessible to people with dementia and launching the first ever Dementia Friendly Financial Services Charter to help banks and insurers understand and respond to the needs of dementia customers.

• Pharmaceutical firm GSK won the International Disaster Relief Award for its role in the global response to the Ebola crisis, including cash and product donations worth £1.2 million and the unprecedented speed in which it developed the ebola vaccine now available to over 30,000 people in Liberia.

• London based small business Matrix APA – winner of The Santander Responsible Small Business Award addressing challenges within international supplier factories such as long working hours, low retention, substandard health and safety practices.

Commenting Stephen Howard, Chief Executive, Business in the Community said: “Every year, the Responsible Business Awards provide a tantalising glimpse of the potential of business as a force for good in society. From the largest global multinational to the smallest local firm, these inspirational winners prove that every business can and should play its part to build a fairer society for us all. I congratulate them all, for the practical action they have taken to address some of the world’s most pressing issues, and for proving that making a difference and being a successful business are not mutually exclusive.”

The Responsible Business Gala at the Royal Albert Hall was the culmination of the 2015 Responsible Business Awards, run by The Prince of Wales’s business charity Business in the Community to celebrate innovative ways that businesses in the UK and abroad are making a sustained difference and transforming communities. Over 1,200 senior guests, from SME owners to the CEOs of global brands attended the Annual Responsible Business Gala which was supported by the 2014 Responsible Business of the Year, National Grid. The event was hosted by TV presenter Claudia Winkleman, with entertainment from Adam Hills.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of HRH The Prince of Wales’s presidency of Business in the Community.

The Prince addressed guests via a recorded video message on the night saying: “The Responsible Business Awards are always such a personal highlight for me each year because they provide an important opportunity to celebrate businesses at its best and to showcase practical examples of how it is helping to build a more harmonious society and a more sustainable future.”

Prime Minister David Cameron also spoke via video message commending winners for “showing that business can be the greatest forces for social progress in the world”. He also acknowledged the role of the Prince of Wales as President of Business in the Community saying: “I want to pay tribute to HRH the Prince of Wales as he marks his 30th year as president of Business in the Community for all that he’s done to promote responsible business in Britain and around the wold and on behalf of the whole country, I want to say thank you to all of you, for what you are doing to show that responsible business is good business and something we should all be very proud of.”

A full list of winners is available here.