HSBC awards top companies in MENA for Living Business Global Programme
Three UAE companies won the top honours in the small, mid-size and corporate business categories for showing commitment and change in their approach to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues at the second edition of the Living Business programme that aims to help businesses deliver significant enhancements to their ESG initiatives by embedding sustainable principles in their organisational framework.
The winners include Trident Trackway in the small business category, Future Architectural Glass in the mid-size category and Fine Hygienic Holding in the corporate category, who competed with businesses from Bahrain, Egypt, Oman and Qatar.
The country winners were Trident Trackway from UAE, Gulf Agency Company from Qatar, Bahrain Airport Company from Bahrain, Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre from Oman and EGAAD from Egypt.
The winners will attend a course at the Institute for Sustainability Leadership at The University of Cambridge.
This year's intake came from across MENA with more than 120 applicants and covered several strategic sectors including construction and infrastructure, retail, transport, energy and utilities, and hospitality. Applications came from Bahrain, Egypt, Oman, Qatar and the UAE who were prepared to implement a project that will have a significant ESG impact such as reducing the business’s or industry’s environmental footprint, enhancing social capital of the business by improving staff wellbeing or creating a sustainable governance framework.
Participants were given one-on-one coaching with ESG experts to help them achieve their goals. The companies presented their initiatives at the UK pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai to a panel of judges.
Daniel Howlett, HSBC’s Head of Commercial Banking in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, said: “It has been another fantastic year for our Living Business programme. We are seeing tangible changes and a shift in mindset towards environmental and ethical sustainability. The participants, coming from a wide range of industries, have all shown a real desire to make a contribution to becoming more sustainable. We congratulate them all for coming this far and addressing some of the key issues that our world faces.”
Organised by Globally, Get in the Ring and HSBC, Living Business will expand next year globally to 15 countries across 4 continents.
