Press Release – “Business as a Force for Good” Award 2019

The second annual “Business as a Force for Good” award recognises six outstanding Canadian companies making a positive impact on the world

25 November 2019 –– The INSEAD National Alumni Association (NAA) Canada today announced the six winners of its second “Business as a Force for Good” award at a gala ceremony in Montreal.

Jointly organised by the INSEAD NAA Canada and the INSEAD Alumni Fund, the award aims to recognise Canadian businesses who have demonstrated thought-leadership with respect to “Business as a Force for Good”, have a vision, mission and strategy clearly demonstrating their commitment, have developed best practices and achieved remarkable economical results while delivering meaningful societal impact.

Sustainalytics has emerged as the overall winner of the prestigious award, among more than 20 nominated businesses. The company, based in Ontario, is a global leader in ESG and Corporate Governance research and ratings. Over the last 25 years, it has brought together leading ESG research and client servicing professionals to retain that personal touch. Today, Sustainalytics supports hundreds of the world’s foremost investors who incorporate ESG and corporate governance insights into their investment processes.

Five other companies are winners of the following category awards and recognised for their exemplary practices and results:

Large corporation: Corteva Agriscience, the only major agriscience company completely dedicated to agriculture providing farmers around the world with the most complete portfolio of solutions in the industry. The company, based in Alberta, is committed to enriching the lives of those who produce and those who consume, ensuring progress for generations to come. 

Small and medium size business: Knix, a company that defines intimates for women with functional details. But the Ontario-based company is bigger than just trying to reimagine women’s intimates, it is creating a community of women – online and offline – focused on embracing their bodies as they are.

Start-up: e-Zn, a company based in Ontario that has developed a breakthrough electrochemical technology, the Zn Reactor, for storing energy in zinc metal. This economical energy storage solution will make renewable energy such as solar and wind economic, competitive, and reliable.

Not-for-profit organisation: Decentralized Energy Canada, a national industry association based in  Alberta with the vision of driving a sustainable energy future where affordable, efficient and reliable decentralised energy technologies are deployed in community driven markets and enabled by progressive policies and legislation.   

Best corporate social responsibility programme: Deloitte, which has developed a corporate responsibility framework that measures the firm’s impact across four pillars. In its 2019 fiscal year, Deloitte positively influenced the lives of 597,896 individuals in Canada, aligned to its WorldClass objective.

The award ceremony was hosted at Power Corporation Montreal head offices, in the presence of Paul Desmarais Jr, Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Power Corporation of Canada, Ilian Mihov, Dean of INSEAD, Nida Januskis, Associate Dean of Advancement INSEAD, as well as over 120 alumni based in Canada.

INSEAD Dean Ilian Mihov congratulated the winners for their inspirational vision and achievements: “The school fully supports the INSEAD community and the development of global business leaders and organisations ready to take on challenges and harness business as a force for good. I am delighted to present the awards to these outstanding companies that show their positive impact to society while achieving business goals.  

Ilian Mihov (right), INSEAD Dean, Nida Januskis, Deputy Dean of Advancement at INSEAD and the 2019 Business as a Force for Good Award Winner, Sustainalytics (received by Gary Hawton, Director Institutional Relations).

In the decades since its founding, INSEAD has never wavered from its original vision of using business as a force for good and its mission of developing responsible leaders who transform business and society. This year, as INSEAD celebrates 60 years of excellence, the school has launched a series of celebrations reinforcing its solid foundations and its vision.   

The awards complement and exemplify INSEAD’s values based on its founding principles and demonstrate how positive societal progress can be made while fulfilling corporate goals.

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About INSEAD, The Business School for the World

As one of the world’s leading and largest graduate business schools, INSEAD brings together people, cultures and ideas to develop responsible leaders who transform business and society. Our research, teaching and partnerships reflect this global perspective and cultural diversity.

With campuses in Europe (France), Asia (Singapore) and the Middle East (Abu Dhabi), INSEAD’s business education and research spans three continents. Our 165 renowned Faculty members from 41 countries inspire more than 1,300 degree participants annually in our MBA, Global Executive MBA, Specialised Master’s degrees (Executive Master in Finance, Executive Master in Change) and PhD programmes. In addition, more than 11,000 executives participate in INSEAD Executive Education programmes each year.

INSEAD continues to conduct cutting-edge research and innovate across all our programmes. We provide business leaders with the knowledge and awareness to operate anywhere. These core values drive academic excellence and serve the global community as The Business School for the World.

More information about INSEAD can be found at www.insead.edu.

Contacts for press:

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Aileen Huang
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Cheryl Ng
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Ilan Goren
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