Australia’s Foreign Minister, the Hon Julie Bishop MP has been named the inaugural Shared Value Champion at the 2016 Shared Value Awards presented in Sydney on Tuesday evening while IAG was named as the corporate organisation leading through shared value.
The award recognises the Minister’s commitment to the concept of shared value and her leadership in the region encouraging businesses, government and community organisations to work together to solve key social issues.
Chair of the Shared Value Project Peter Yates AM said shared value and the organisations in Australia pursuing a shared value strategy continue to benefit from the support of great leaders such as Minister Bishop and the leadership of companies such as IAG and others recognised through the awards.
“The continued adoption of shared value by organisations across Australia is in no small part due to champions such as the Hon Julie Bishop MP, and I recognise the important role each of them play in helping advance the shared value movement in our region,” Mr Yates said.
In a video message accepting the award the Minister said, “Shared value is a framework for government engagement with the private sector. It is the inspiration for the newly launched Business Partnerships Platform, one of my flagship initiatives to promote more effective partnerships with the private sector to address some of the more complex social and economic challenges in the Indo-Pacific”.
The Shared Value Awards, presented annually by the Shared Value Project and media partner AFR BOSS, recognise new or existing efforts to address complex social challenges impacting society while creating measurable economic benefits and enhancing competitiveness. They also recognise the adoption of shared value as a broader business strategy, and leaders who are championing this way of doing business.
Professor Michael Porter, who helped develop the concept of shared value, said, “The shared value movement is spreading around the world and I am extremely proud of what’s happening in Australia and New Zealand and the region”.
He added, “The Shared Value Project has played a decisive role in building this impressive community of companies, and the Shared Value Awards showcase a number of terrific organisations, and these companies are doing remarkable things that inspire all of us”.
Several organisations were recognised for their leadership in shared value including Australasian insurance company IAG in the corporate organisation category, and Good Shepherd Microfinance in the civil society organisation category. Both organisations have strong leadership commitment and involvement in shared value including Australia’s first corporate Head of Group Shared Value at IAG.
Australian bank, NAB, which recently made Fortune’s list of 50 global companies changing the world, was also recognised with a highly commended award in the corporate category for their strong leadership in the adoption of shared value.
An accessible insurance cover available to people on low incomes, Essentials by AAI from Suncorp Group, was named as the winning shared value project while an initiative to promote sustainable business opportunities for Aboriginal people, Billion Opportunities Program by Fortescue Metals received a highly commended award in the same category.
From a strong field, AIA Australia was recognised as an organisation to watch and The Kwale Cotton Project from Business for Development was named as a project to watch.
Chair of the Selection Committee, Joanne Gray said the committee received a large number of high quality applications demonstrating the growth of shared value in Australia and the region.
“I was extremely impressed with the level of maturity of shared value within Australian organisations and the applications we reviewed demonstrate that there is substantial leadership commitment for this growing area,” Ms Gray said.
With the growth of the shared value community in Australasia, and the pace of change in the movement globally, it is important to celebrate local success stories. The inaugural Shared Value Awards with media partner AFR BOSS provide a platform to promote and celebrate shared value in action.