ACCP and Rocket Social Impact Announce 2024 Purpose Award Winners
Awards Recognize Excellence in the Corporate Social Impact Field
WASHINGTON, September 24, 2024 /3BL/ - Today, the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals (ACCP) and partner Rocket Social Impact announced the 2024 recipients of its annual Purpose Awards for exceptional leadership in corporate social impact. These prestigious awards honor CSR and ESG professionals who drive transformative change, making a powerful impact both within their organizations and in the communities they serve.
This year’s recipients are:
- Aaron Harris, Global CTO, Sage - Champion for Change
- Justina Nixon-Saintil, VP and Chief Impact Officer, IBM - Trailblazer
- Florida Power & Light Company - Corporate Social Impact Team of the Year
- Brandon Ruffin, Senior Program Manager – Global Social Impact, CDW - Rising Star
"We are thrilled to honor this year's Purpose Awards recipients, who exemplify the very best in corporate social impact leadership," said Carolyn Berkowitz, President and CEO of ACCP. "These leaders are driving transformative change within their organizations and significantly impacting the communities they serve. Their ability to seamlessly integrate business objectives with social good is truly inspiring and sets a powerful example for others to follow."
“As corporate social impact work – including ESG and DEI – continue to face scrutiny, it’s critical we recognize social impact professionals who stand out in achieving significant impact within their company, communities, and globally,” said Rich Maiore, CEO & Founder of Rocket Social Impact.
The Champion for Change Award recognizes a C-suite executive who provides leadership that advances social and business impact in communities where the company operates and throughout the world. Aaron Harris’s role as CTO of Sage and extensive tech career has driven his passion for and advocacy of – the tech industry’s responsibility to shape a future tech talent pool that is diverse across gender, ethnicity, social background, and age. Aaron actively addresses the challenge of bridging the tech talent gap by spearheading Sage’s partnership with Teens in AI and AI4Good hackathons, initiatives that inspired 1,600 teens across 46 countries to explore a future in tech and AI. Aaron is the executive sponsor of Sage’s Pathways Programme, which places career returners, changers, and starters from underrepresented groups into careers in Sage, and was the first sponsor of a co-developed generative AI program at Morehouse College. He is also an Ambassador for Sage’s LGBTQ+ inclusion work in its C-suite.
The Trailblazer Award honors a senior CSR practitioner whose leadership, strategy, and partnerships have resulted in significant business and societal impacts. As Chief Impact Officer at IBM, Justina Nixon-Saintil drives initiatives that focus on career readiness and environmental sustainability, enabling IBM and its employees to transform their altruism into reality for communities and the planet. Under her leadership, the company has engaged over 11.5 million learners in IBM education courses and with free IBM training content. Justina also spearheads the IBM Sustainability Accelerator. This pro bono social impact program applies IBM’s technology and consulting expertise to scale projects that support communities vulnerable to environmental threats, including climate change. Thus far, the program has supported 15 projects to scale solutions for sustainable agriculture, clean energy access, and water management across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
The Corporate Social Impact Team of the Year Award recognizes a team of CSR or Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) practitioners whose collaborative and innovative approach generated significant business results for the company and impact in the community. Florida Power & Light Company‘s (FPL) External Affairs and Economic Development team identified a largely underserved and highly vulnerable community – senior citizens across Florida – for an impactful initiative ahead of the 2023 hurricane season. FPL partnered with the Florida Council on Aging and worked with vendors and food insecurity organizations across the state to provide hurricane preparedness meal kits to seniors, containing three days of shelf-stable foods, water, and snacks, and a comprehensive storm preparedness guide in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. More than 50 volunteers and 21 partner agencies came together to distribute more than 15,000 hurricane meal kits to nearly 5,500 seniors across 25 counties. They raised awareness of the issue through media placements, resulting in over 900 million impressions.
Finally, the Rising Star Award is given to an emerging professional in corporate citizenship whose work creates meaningful impact, often requiring influence well beyond the level of their position. Brandon Ruffin, Senior Program Manager, Global Social Impact at CDW, significantly increased coworker volunteer participation rates in North America and global volunteer hours last year by implementing new strategies that required buy-in and collaboration from a wide range of internal leaders and external partners. Brandon began his career at CDW as a sales intern and transitioned into the Social Impact role after serving as an Account Manager within the company’s K-12 education team because of a desire to advance digital equity. Today, he helps facilitate numerous nonprofit partnerships, oversees CDW coworker volunteerism and matching gifts contributions, and supports the company’s coworker-led Business Resource Groups.
Separate committees of judges, comprised of past Purpose Award recipients and current CSR and ESG industry leaders, chose this year's Purpose Award winners.
The Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals (ACCP) is the preeminent membership organization advancing the practice of corporate social impact. ACCP increases the effectiveness of CSR & ESG professionals and their companies by sharing knowledge, fostering solutions, and cultivating inclusive and supportive peer communities. ACCP amplifies the voices of its practitioner network to elevate strategies that work, provide innovative solutions, and expand impact. www.accp.org
Rocket Social Impact is a leading CSR & ESG consultancy, advising established and emerging companies on their social impact strategy, implementation, and communication. Climb aboard. Go beyond. www.rocketsocialimpact.com
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