How 3 businesses became ‘good eggs’ and each won an empty cardboard box

After considerable scrutiny of 85 businesses and then shortlisted by community panelists throughout New Zealand, three companies were honoured as a Good Business Egg at an event held at The Warehouse corporate offices in Auckland.

The awards aim to showcase the best of excellent community investment by businesses throughout New Zealand and guests from both business and community sectors awaited the final results to be called out from the selection.

When Dr Ang Jury of the Women’s Refuge announced the Health and Wellbeing Good Business Egg, James Walker of Countdown danced through the aisles to collect the award and said “We have a responsibility to be active in our communities and we’re really happy to be recognised and really stoked.”

KPMG won the Education and Skills category and Mat Scott of the Father and Child Trust presented beautiful carved feathers of recycled rimu. Representing KPMG Justine Todd said “It’s a great privilege to receive this award and being CSR manager is the best job to have in the corporate world as you get to work with incredible smart people doing amazing things in their communities.”

Trevor Easton of OUTLine, the service that provides nationwide specialists in the gender and sexuality area, with counselling and diversity workshops announced Contact Energy as the winner in the community empowerment category. Craig Griffiths picking up the award said “ We are very lucky to be working in the Corporate Social Responsibility area making a difference for people who might be struggling in the community.”

Following the successful BACS Living Award of 2015, when an egg of the endangered native Kokako was presented to each of the three winning businesses; Deloitte, Fonterra and The Warehouse they were able to gift a name for each of the newly hatched birds and keep track of their adopted birds through Forest and Bird.

This year the BACS Living Award for 2016 was kept under-wraps as the winners were not told what the award would be. The only clue provided was that it was as special, unique and in need of care as the Kokako.

Each perplexed winner was presented with an empty brown cardboard box, with the explanation that this humble award was only given to those that were recognised as being responsible and trustworthy.

“For heavens sake” said Julie Donvin-Irons, Founder of BACS, “There are enough perspex awards gathering dust on shelves in offices, how about something that really awards responsibility? The space inside the box is exciting, it will grow its own award. The space represents what can be shared with the Women’s Refuge. The challenge for the winners is to fill each box in an innovative way over the next year, and of course the boxes are recyclable and refillable.”

Minister Nicky Wagner, Minister of Disability Issues as guest speaker spoke of how disabled people want the opportunity to work and to make a positive contribution to the workforce.

The traditional ending of the BACS Good Business Egg event is a Cadbury Crème Egg Scramble thrown at the audience by the winners and presenters as adults recall their childhood days of Kiwi lolly scrambles.

BACS Good Business Egg Award Winners 2016

Health and Wellbeing

Winner: Countdown.

Runners up: Fonterra, CQHotels Wellington.

Presented by: The Women’s Refuge.

Education and Skills

Winner: KPMG.

Runners up: ANZ, Genesis Energy.

Presented by: Father and Child Trust.

Community Empowerment:

Winner: Contact Energy.

Runners up: The Warehouse, New Zealand Rugby.

Presented by: OUTLine New Zealand.

ENDS

© Scoop Media