World Environment Center Updates Gold Medal Criteria to Reflect Advances in Corporate Sustainability
June 23, 2015 /3BL Media/ - The World Environment Center (WEC) announced today updated criteria for its Gold Medal for International Corporate Achievement in Sustainable Development to reflect advances in corporate sustainability. The new criteria raise the bar for companies seeking to demonstrate success in sustainability leadership and address the following issues: 1) corporate sustainability commitment in governance, strategy, operations and products; 2) industry innovation; and 3) international sustainability leadership. Companies applying for the Award for 2016 will use these updated criteria and will need to present results achieved.
WEC’s Gold Medal Award, first instituted in 1985, is the longest standing and most prestigious independent sustainability honor in the world. This annual award results from a competition among global companies to demonstrate their leadership, commitment and demonstration of results to the practice of sustainable development. Companies submit applications to an independent Gold Medal Jury that consists of sustainability experts from academia, non-profit organizations and former business executives. The criteria were last updated in 2005.
Given the rapid changes in corporate sustainability during this time, the Gold Medal Jury conducted an assessment of sustainability trends as well as a review of other leading awards. The Jury also sought input from other global sustainability experts to update the criteria.
In describing the rationale for the updated criteria, Katherine Sierra, Chair of the Gold Medal Jury and Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution, noted that “recent years have seen tremendous advances in the ways that leading companies are integrating sustainability more fully into their strategies and operations, and increasingly working to effect change at the national, regional and global levels. By updating the award criteria, the Jury is reflecting the expectation that corporations seeking to be recognized as sustainability leaders invest in meeting emerging global challenges and opportunities.”
Further information on the full criteria can be found on the Gold Medal Application page and in the Gold Medal Frequently Asked Questions.
About the World Environment Center
The World Environment Center, headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices and operations in emerging and developed markets, is unique in its direct application of sustainable development strategies and practices to the business operations of global companies. WEC creates sustainable business solutions through individual projects in emerging markets; convenes leadership roundtables to shape strategic thinking across a range of sustainability topics with a specific focus on the preparation of business leaders to implement sustainability; and honors industry excellence through its annual Gold Medal Award. An independent non-profit organization, WEC conducts no advocacy activities. For more information, please visit www.wec.org.
