Voice Of Children

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented Procter & Gamble with 13th Annual Secretary of State Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) on January 18, 2012 for the company’s exceptional corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts in Pakistan and Nigeria at a ceremony held in Washington DC.
Hillary Clinton paid rich tributes to the services rendered by P&G around the world. “When companies act responsibly, they can make vital contributions that matter to everyone. From spurring economic growth and promoting good governance in the rule of law, to providing humanitarian relief after natural disasters,” said Secretary Clinton at the US State Department ceremony that was attended by Congressional staff, the Diplomatic Corps and leaders from business, NGO and academic communities. “P&G stepped up when it mattered most, just as they have stepped up every single day in every single place. They have saved lives.” P&G Pakistan was nominated for the ACE award for its corporate and brand ‘Live, Learn and Thrive’ programmes, in response to the floods in 2010 where P&G partnered with NGOs to assist in flood-hit areas. The consumer products company’s humanitarian efforts consisted of providing clean drinking water, food, hygiene products, medicines, clean clothes, etc. to over 1.9 million flood affectees. P&G’s efforts in the development of human resources, support for orphanages, partnerships to establish a network of schools and focus on sustainability with respect to their production plants were also recognised.  The US Consul General in Karachi, William Martin and P&G Pakistan Country Manager Faisal Sabzwari joined the ceremony in Washington from Karachi via digital video conferencing.  Bob McDonald, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Procter & Gamble Company accepted the award at the ceremony. Speaking on the occasion, he said: “P&G’s purpose as a company is to touch and improve lives, now and for generations to come.  Our purpose guides and inspires everything we do. For 175 years, our purpose has focused us on finding ways to make people’s everyday lives a little better. We improve lives with our brands, with our business growth, with our employee programmes and with our social responsibility efforts.  When we improve lives, we grow our business and by growing our business we are able to improve even more lives. It is a virtuous cycle and entirely congruent with our growth strategy to improve more lives, in more parts of the world…more completely.  Receiving the ACE is a great recognition of the efforts we are making in Nigeria and Pakistan and around the world, and it motivates us to continue our work to improve lives every day.”
Commenting on the award, US Consul General William Martin said that this was the first time that a firm based in Pakistan had received this prestigious award.  He said this recognition is likely to help boost foreign investments in Pakistan as international organisations are bound to take notice of the quality work being conducted in the country. He stated that this award signified the interest American investors have in Pakistan.
P&G Pakistan Country Manager, Faisal Sabzwari was very excited about P&G Pakistan receiving the award. “This year, P&G turns 20 years old in Pakistan and there is a lot to celebrate.  With the help of our partners, we have invested in the community where our brand and corporate CSR programmes have touched and improved the lives of over 21 million Pakistanis to date,” he said.
The Secretary of State Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) was established by the State Department in 1999. The prestigious award recognises the significant role US businesses play around the world in advancing good corporate governance and democratic principles. It also recognises the efforts of US. companies in improving living standards through their corporate social responsibility activities.  Chiefs of Mission worldwide nominate US companies and the winners are chosen by the Principals’ Award Selection Committee. The Committee, chaired by the Under Secretary for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs, includes a representative of the Secretary, the Under Secretaries of State and various Assistant Secretaries. It also includes senior officials from the US Agency for International Development, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, MCC, and the Department of Commerce. Winners are recognised with a handsome, copyrighted award statue unveiled at a formal ceremony hosted by the Secretary of State.
Nominations for the ACE award are based on achievements of US companies. This year 62 nominations were received for American companies operating in 38 countries. Of these, 13 companies were selected as award finalists.  P&G Pakistan and Nigeria were selected as the winners.  This is the first time in ACE history that a single company has been nominated and won the Award for two programmes. P&G was nominated by the Nigerian and Pakistani embassies. It was also first time when an American company based in Pakistan has won this prestigious award.
Both Nigeria and Pakistan are among P&G’s high potential emerging markets as both countries have growing economies with rising middle class consumer populations. These markets are an important part of the company’s purpose-inspired growth strategy.
Touching and Improving lives of more than 21 million Pakistanis:
P&G has continued to fulfil its purpose of touching and improving lives in Pakistan for over 20 years. The company has launched premium quality brands including Pampers, Always, Safeguard and others, many of which have become leading household names in their categories. In Pakistan, P&G has focused on sustainability ensuring a better life for generations to come. The CSR activities include programmes such as Pampers mobile clinics, Safeguard and Always school education programmes. Building partnerships with NGOs to provide quality education for thousands of underprivileged children through P&G-HOPE and P&G READ schools has also been a key focus. More than 500 million litres of clean drinking water has been provided to Pakistani communities in need via Children’s Safe Drinking Water Programme.  The most recent social responsibility programme is the formation of P&G Home in the SOS Children’s village in Islamabad. The company’s employees also regularly volunteer their time and effort towards various P&G community programmes in Pakistan.
P&G products are manufactured in an environmentally responsible manner so that even the company’s day to day operations help in meeting environmental sustainability goals.
Employees of P&G are also developed to become future leaders and are recognised globally for their contributions.  P&G Pakistan was recognised for its support to education and disaster relief during 2010 floods. P&G provided immediate relief by making critical items available. It also contributed through the following efforts:
* Over 350 million litres of clean drinking water - enough for 1.9 million people over three months - through Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program;
* Ariel reapplied the Tide Loads of Hope campaign and set up laundry stations at flood relief camps across the country; and
* Pampers conducted the Spread-a-Smile programme providing health checks and medicines to over 90,000 babies and mothers.
Nigeria:
In Nigeria, P&G has been supporting children in need through the P&G Live, Learn and Thrive programme. The initiatives include Always hygiene and puberty education programme, Pampers hospital programme and mobile clinics and the Pampers-UNICEF programme that provides tetanus vaccines to mothers and babies. The corporate Employee Volunteer Programme’s initiatives include Safe Water for Nigerian Children and Building futures. All these initiatives make it possible for P&G to give back to the under-developed communities.
Even after all these efforts, for P&G the purpose of improving the quality of life in the world is still unfulfilled. The organisation aims on ‘touching and improving lives’ by further improving their Corporate Social Responsibility programmes and aims to reach 5 billion consumers by 2015. (Contributer)