EBBF encourages you to make a positive difference in your work environment.
Below we share a sampling of the international awards EBBF members have won during the course of their careers. Examples that you can show to "ethical disbelievers" in your office of how a values-based approach creates success while enhancing the well-being and prosperity of others.
Fash Mahjoor's Phenomenex wins Wall Street Journal's - top 15 best small company to work for in the USA
There are some 25 million small businesses (under $200 Million and 500 employees) in the United States, and thousands were considered for the 2008 Top 15 Small Workplaces award. Of the thousands of qualified companies, over 780 were nominated, and of these, 35 were finalists. Of the finalists, Phenomenex was selected at the top of the 15 most innovative and progressive small workplaces.
As Fash mentions in a congratulatory letter to the staff that made that success possible "We have built a very solid corporate culture of fun, hard work, honesty, high standards, decency, camaraderie and respect among our employees, our partners, and our communities around the world. Visitors to Phenomenex are constantly amazed at the energy of our staff, at the pride we take in our company, and at the high standards we hold ourselves to." and then adds "the strength and unique nature of our organization is the fact that we are able to leverage our success to better support our customers and employees going beyond their workplace wellbeing and then actively working to then strengthen our communities, and assist those in need around the world".
So a new vision of business that is able to increase its productivity, motivation and ultimate financial results by giving its employees a sense that they really are following a vision similar to EBBF's "enhancing the wellbeing and prosperity of humankind".
In fact Fash continues "as part of our mission we are all dedicated to promoting the well-being of our customers, our employees, and humanity. No matter how much we grow, we must never forget our duty in these areas. Indeed, we shall strive to be EVEN BETTER and to have FAR greater impact in the future in all areas of our business".
You can find more information on Phenomenex, searching it on the Wall Street Journal's awards article.
EBBF member Dr Shahram Firoozman finalist in the Private Dentistry Awards 2008. And you can read in this "patient's report" on how Dr Firoozman applies his values of sincerely caring for the customer allowing the transformation of a usually traumatic into a pleasant experience.
An independent panel of judges including previous winners and members of the Private Dentistry editorial board will select the winners. David Houston, who has been a principal dentist for over 10 years, will chair this panel for the seventh year running.
The judging panel have studied all entries and compiled a shortlist for each category and The Practice of the Year Award.
The three major qualities to qualify are, the highest standard of care to patients,a dental team something special to be singled out for praise, having completely a clinically perfect and visually stunning smile makeover. We have been nominated as finalists in the BEST NEW PRACTICE category Awards 2008.
The Private Dentistry Awards have received a phenomenal response in recent years and continues to do so year on year. To win you really have to be the best.
Christel Scholten and her team lead their bank to Sustainable Bank of the Year award in Brazil
Brazilian bank Banco Real was named as the overall most Sustainable Bank of the Year at the third annual Financial Times Sustainable Banking Awards in London, as well as being named as the top Sustainable Emerging Markets Bank.
Christel Scholten leads the sustainability efforts at her Bank in Brazil and this is what she commented upon receiving the prize "We were really happy with the award as it will give us more visibility on all that we are doing. The project I mentioned to you earlier (Real Space for Sustainability Practices) is doing really well - we have run a number of course for our clients and suppliers on how to integrate sustainability into their business."
The company was recognised for its broad commitment to sustainability in financing. In addition to using microcredit loans, the company runs consulting services to guide customers in using their finances to achieve sustainability goals.
Judges said that the bank went well beyond the established sustainability practices encapsulated in measures such as the Equator Principles and applied sustainability practices across every aspect of its business.
You can read here a longer interview that Christel had given to EBBF about her motivations and her job.
Ernst & Young 2006 Entrepreneur of the Year (Luxembourg)
The second edition of the Entrepreneur of the Year award has been won by Abbas Rafii, Chief Executive of Ireco SA. With this distinction, the jury has honoured a dynamic and determined entrepreneur as well as an outstanding company, which has produced and distributed grilled pistachio nuts throughout Europe for more than 30 years.
Organised by Ernst & Young, the Entrepreneur of the Year awards is held every two years. The other sponsors of the 2006 edition were Fortis Banque Luxembourg, BIP Investment Partners, RTL and d’Wort.
Abbas was born in Iran as the second son and last child of Ali Akbar Rafii who had created and owned large pistachio plantations in Rafsanjan, Iran. In 1971 Abbas Rafii established IRECO in Luxembourg with the aim of introducing pistachios into the European market, which were largely unknown to the European population at that time.
"2005 Business woman of the Year" at the Asian Women of Achievement Awards.
The ceremony, held in London, was attended by Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, the eminent British lawyer and a patron of the awards, Cherie Booth, wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Kamalesh Sharma, the High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom.
The Asian Women of Achievement Awards were established to celebrate the commitment, dedication, and determination of Asian women within commercial, professional, artistic, and humanitarian sectors.
Ms. Munsiff joined the legal department of petroleum giant Shell in 1969 and became a project lawyer in most Shell businesses. She then led groups of lawyers that provided advice to Shell's businesses globally.
In her last 18 months Jyoti was appointed by Shell to a new position of Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer during which time she implemented a global ethics and compliance programme for over 100,000 employees.
Presenting her with the award, Member of Parliament Theresa May said that Ms. Munsiff had "marked herself out in a male dominated arena, which says a lot about her strength of character and charisma."
Ms. Munsiff is also director of and honorary legal counsel to the Prince of Wales' International Business Leaders' Forum. She is president of the Commonwealth Association for Corporate Governance and also is a governor of the College of Law, a trustee of the Imperial War Museum and chair of the IMW Trading Company.
In her acceptance speech, Ms. Munsiff said she attributed her career achievements to the confidence given to her by her parents who brought her up with the Baha'i principle that men and women are equal in the sight of God.
Chris Tara-Browne's Travelers Coffee nominated for the Specialty of Europe Awards for Coffee Excellence
Chris founded in 1997 as a pizza restaurant, adapted it to meet the trend of quality coffee and changed to become Travelers Coffee House. Now employing 2,000 people, covering all aspects of the coffee trade, buying, roasting, education, training, marketing and distribution. He is also competing in the WBC for the Russian barista championship.
To give you a feel of some of the key principles that his company applies in his chain of coffee shops in Siberia:
Consumer Responsibility – Focusing consumers’ attention on the problems in the coffee producing countries (social and economic aspects of coffee production) and that their purchase at Traveler’s Coffee is a responsible one and it is a vote for supporting the whole chain of producers, brokers, and transporters who work so hard to deliver the customer’s cup of coffee.
Alternative – Positioning coffee as an alternative to alcohol to be used during spare time, thereby creating a more sober society. It is therefore that Traveler’s Coffee uses no alcoholic products whatsoever in any of its companies whether coffeehouses, sales division or even pastry productions.
Sustainable Development – Creating a real financial base for providing support of social and economical development in Russia and throughout the coffee chain. Grassroots support from the coffee producing countries to the customers that we serve daily.
2006 Nobel Prize for Peace
In the image Mr. Yunus with the 1998 board of EBBF, the day in which Yunus accepted to become honorary member of EBBF.
Back in 1998 in Stockholm, convened by the European Bahá'í Business Forum (EBBF) and the Progressio Foundation of the Netherlands as part of a parallel Business Forum held in conjunction with the UNESCO Intergovernmental Conference on Cultural Policies for Development, the Global Dialogue on Microfinance and Human Development was held 2-3 April 1998. The meeting drew together leading practitioners, specialists, donors, business people and representatives from financial institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from some 25 countries.
EBBF honorary member Muhammed Yunus and his Grameen Bank have won the Nobel Prize. The official statement describing the reason for the award was "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below".
According to the Nobel jury the other key to making peace a reality is the role of women: Yunus and the Grameen Bank have built a financial system that is 90% dedicated to women, seen as the best avenue to bring about prosperity to entire family and community.
ASA Career Award 2006
She currently lives and works in Paris.
Arouna Roshanian is working there for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in a program for foreign investment development focusing on the Middle East and Africa.
She is the winner of the 2006 Asa Career Award, the prize that the association of students of the High School of Economics and International Relations (Aseri) of the Università Cattolica in Milan gives every year.
Arona in 2003 completed a master in European Studies and Global Affairs with the thesis: Iran: Economy, industry and trade relations. Business opportunities for Italy.
"Business World Magazine Austrian Entrepreneur of the year, 2003"
The Founder and Chairman of the Imperial Group Dr. Faramarz Ettehadieh, was awarded by the Austrian magazine Business World the 2003 Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Not only does Dr. Ettehadieh win prizes, he also gives them.
Founder of the Two Wings Foundation, through this organisation he awards an annual international prize to outstanding individuals who support the main objective of the foundation: providing women in the developing world with educational programs that intend to equal gender opportunities and as a direct result the improved wellbeing of their families and of the communities where they live.
2006 European Women of Achievement Awards
Catie Thorburn was rewarded for her role as Founder and President of Generation Europe, driving forward this association that She links 28 EU and EU candidate countries by speaking directly to the youth of each country in their own language through the Generation Europe daily diaries, free of charge to 15-18 year olds, interactive media sites, books for younger children, and teaching training kits making it possible for young people in all countries to communicate from a common knowledge base.
She commented during the European Women of Achievement Awards ceremony how “Generation Europe is going from strength to strength and has just signed a framework contract for 4 years to potentially produce 5 million student diaries and teacher’s guides per year in all member states (probably including Romania and Bulgaria). We have also relaunched our - website - and are planning to hold a “Future Leaders” summit in 2007 bringing Europe/Africa/Americas to Brussels together.”
International Spirit at Work Award 2005
Fasha Mahjoor, CEO of the multinational Phenomenex and active supporter of EBBF had this to say once he received the news that Phenomenex had won the prestigious award:
" For Phenomenex, just to be a part of this "process", promoting the values of Spirit at Work, has been very satisfying and helpful in re-affirming our corporate focus on these values.
Do we shine more because we prove a spiritual focus in the workplace IS POSSIBLE and CAN CO-EXIST in a commercial enterprise? "
And in a statement he makes on his company's website he adds "Great people are willing to face any challenge, learning from both victories and mistakes as they seek solutions. By this philosophy Phenomenex strives for excellence. Creating a climate of trust allows employees to make mistakes and learn from their mistakes; we challenge what we do and demand better of ourselves. We are never afraid to take chances, to try new things. The results speak for themselves: initiative and innovation. But what really counts is the continuing devotion and morale of our people."
International Spirit at Work award - 2006
Elcoteq is an electronic chip making company, its most expensive production plant in Germany was struggling to survive. The core principles of EBBF that EBBF board member Ruediger Fox used to effect a dramatic and effective turnaround resonated with the criteria of the Award selection committee in reaching their decision to honour Elcoteq as one of the winners of this year's award.
Ruediger has now been asked to extend the values he used to other plants and divisions of his company.
June 2006 DesignFirms' - Web Award Winner
To give you an idea of the prestige of the DesignFirms award that Casper Voogt's company won, in the Arts & Entertainment category it was given to the official site of Casino Royale, the latest James Bond film.
Plethora Design has won the prestigious DesignFirms Award for its design of a new web site for New York based "Armitage Gone! Dance":
Karole Armitage’s Broadway dance company, Armitage Gone! Dance, has been breaking new ground in modern dance and ballet for nearly two decades, and has worked with David Salle, Jeff Koons, Madonna, Michael Jackson, and many others. Her work crosses artistic boundaries and promotes cross-fertilization between disciplines.
When Armitage Gone! Dance approached Plethora Design, they did not yet have a site for their company, though there was one for Karole Armitage herself. Plethora Design produced a site concept consisting of nine squares for the different content areas, and used this for the main page while unwrapping the nine-square into a row of nine squares for the content pages. The site was set up for Macromedia Contribute compatibility so that the Armitage team can update the content without any outside help.
Reference: www.designfirms.org/awards/web/archive/2006/06/. This shows all the June winners, which includes others from other categories as well.
Medal of Honour from the Ministry of Agrarian policy of Ukraine
By Resolution of the Collegium of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy in Ukraine, Gary Reusche received on the 24th of July 2006 a prestigious decoration.
He was decorated with the Insignia of Honour, the Medal of Honour of the Ukraine's Ministry of Agrarian Policy.
This award was given to reward Gary's leadership in a EU funded project aimed at supporting small and medium enterprises operating in the rural sector in Ukraine.
