Despite the pandemic: The SDG Business Pioneers Award in BiH grows in 2021

April 20, 2021

The deadline for the applications for the SDG Business Pioneers Award in BiH for 2021 has passed.

The number of private sector companies that applied for the SDG Business Pioneers Award in BIH increased in 2021!

The main aim the SDG Business Pioneers Award in BiH is to recognize and highlight efforts of private sector companies towards achieving the SDGs in BIH. The Award also aims to motivate new actors in the sector to create decent jobs, improve their business models while reducing their ecological footprint through adherence to SDGs.

The SDG Business Pioneers Award in BiH was organized for the first time in 2019 with participation of 44 companies, from all parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, that submitted 55 applications. In 2020, 71 companies nominated 106 applications.

Despite the pandemic, 75 companies sent in 105 applications for the SDG Business Pioneers Award in BiH in 2021!

In 2021, the Award recognized the category of micro sized companies and offered clearer focus on companies that create and retain decent jobs and actively work on decarbonization of their businesses.

Also, this year we have a great ally in the process.  The Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina agreed to be the official partner in the Award, thus further strengthening the Award and localizing its effects.

Working constantly on improvements, this year we are introducing a category of SDG Local Government’s Action Pioneer Award that will recognize the support action provided by local communities to private sector.  The focus of the Award in 2021 will be on the measures brought by the local government units to support the private sector during the pandemic but we plan to widen the focus in the coming years to other areas of sustainable development.

In 2020, we started providing blueprint templates for Annual Sustainability Reports to the finalist companies.  This year, we continue with this service and expand it even more by providing customized training for each finalist company to prepare their first Annual Sustainability Report!

As in previous years, all finalists and winners of the Award are authorized to use e-logo “SDG Business Pioneer Award 2021 Winner/Finalist” in their web and business communication.

The activity is organized in the framework of the “SDG Roll-Out Support and Private Sector Engagement” project, implemented by the UNDP and financed by Sweden.

Businesses that are adopting sustainable strategies and practices are improving their competitiveness and have better medium and long-term economic results. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) serve as guidelines for businesses to assess and manage social, economic and environmental risks, while at the same time improving their reputation, image and strategic position in the world’s markets. It is estimated that by achieving the SDGs, the market opportunities for businesses are around 12 trillion USD.