19/08/2024

On July 2, the awards ceremony for ‘Georgia's Responsible Business Awards - Meliora 2024’ was held at Tbilisi History Museum "Karvasla," where the best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) focused projects and companies of the year were announced. 

At the ceremony, the representatives of the diplomatic corps and international CSR experts presented awards to winning companies in various contest categories. 

The contest revealed the best CSR projects implemented by the private sector over the past year, judged by the jury comprising the distinguished international and Georgian experts from public organisations and academic circles locally and internationally. 

Of the nine categories in 'Meliora 2024,' winners were identified in the following seven:  

1. Category ‘Green Initiative’ 

• Winner large company: Tegeta Holding, project “Green Standard”
• Winner SME: Polyvim, project “Green Initiative” 

2. Category ‘Responsible Employer’ 

• Winner large company: Basisbank, project "Responsible Employer” 

3. Category ‘Supporting Communities’ 

• Winner large company: Hilton Batumi, project “Supporting Communities”
• Winner SME: Clip-art, project “Book Club” 

4. Category ‘Cross-Sector Partnership – Shared Responsibility’ 

• Winner large company: Zgapari, Partner asotiation “Life Change”, project “Professional orientation and empowerment of youth in state care” 

5. Category ‘Transparency and Report on CSR and Corporate Sustainability’ 

• Winner large company: TBC Bank, project “Sustainability Report 2022” 

6. Category ‘CSR Manager of the year’ 

• Winner: Natia Sirbiladze, Company “Exactpro” 

7. Category Responsible large company of the year 

• Winner large company: TBC Bank 

‘Contests like Meliora significantly support businesses, both in the implementation of diverse CSR projects and in strengthening their positive image and reputation. Additionally, developed corporate social responsibility practices bring us even closer to European standards of business management’ stated Eka Urushadze, Director of the Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG).

Mr. Nicholas Cendrowicz, the Head of Cooperation Section at the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia stated “The Meliora awards is a good example of the EU working with Georgian civil society and business associations to embed responsibility and sustainability into the core strategies of Georgian businesses. It demonstrates that responsible business conduct leads to long-term financial success as well as social good.”

The sponsors of ‘Meliora 2024’ also were: UN WOMEN, Moore, Element Holding, Sarajishvili

This contest was conducted with the assistance of the Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG), within the framework of the European Union (EU) and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) funded project ‘Civil Society STAR Initiative: CSOs as Sustainable, Transparent, Accountable, and Resilient Development Actors in Georgia.’

Implementing organisation: The Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG) was established 29 years ago and implements important various projects. One of these is the corporate social responsibility program. CSRDG is the first Georgian organisation to prepare and publish: Sustainable Development Report (according to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) international standard), the first Georgian-language manual on CSR for Georgian higher education institutions; created the CSR Knowledge Hub, established the CSR Stakeholders Forum, and initiated the most outstanding award in the field of CSR—'Meliora’.

About the European Union: For more than 30 years, the European Union has been in close partnership with Georgia, helping it share knowledge, experience, and expertise, foster innovation, and provide financial assistance. The partnership between the EU and Georgia is based on shared values such as peace, freedom, democracy, human rights, and inclusive economic growth.