Helping schools, promoting music and turning trash into crafts are among projects the Costa Rican-American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) recognized businesses for yesterday during a corporate social responsibility awards ceremony.
The chamber chose Dole as the winner of this year’s Contribution to the Community Award in the Large Company category. Dole’s social, environmental and education projects include donating supplies to schools, awarding scholarships, helping families get their own homes and planting more than one million trees.
In the Small Company category, Eco Global S.A. took home the honor for its innovative Ule Kira project, which helps women’s groups turn laminated wrappers used for chips, granola bars and other packaged foods into wallets, purses and other marketable crafts.
Also in the Large Company category, Procter and Gamble Costa Rica was recognized for its “Eliminating Barriers” project to equip schools for disabled students, and Intel won for its education initiatives including donating computers to schools and providing them to youth at the Intel Computer Clubhouse.
Honorable mentions went to Pfizer S.A., the Costa Rican-North American Cultural Center and Desarrollos Hoteleros Guanacaste, owner of Paradisus Playa Conchal resort on the northwestern Pacific coast.
The chamber gave this year’s Alberto Martén Chavarría Award for media coverage of corporate social responsibility to the weekly El Financiero.
President Oscar Arias addressed a room full of business leaders and the press following the awards ceremony, praising the 13 companies that entered this year’s contest.
“You all have demonstrated to the country that social influence is more than a food basket every Christmas,” he said.
“Together, let’s make this country an international symbol of corporate social responsibility. I propose that we take the solidarity of businesses and workers to the next level, so that it becomes an integral part of our national being.”
