AgroAmerica named as finalist for the 2017 Responsible Business Awards
Now in their 20th year, the Awards champion the most inspiring businesses who are making a difference by taking action to build more inclusive workplaces, stronger communities and tackling our biggest environmental challenges.
AgroAmerica has been shortlisted as a finalist for The Unilever Global Development Award: Recognising businesses that can demonstrate positive impact against one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
AgroAmerica’s programme, "Living wage: the limits of social responsibility" consists of bringing good jobs to the rural areas of Guatemala where the company operates, complemented with benefits that are greater than those required by the law. In this way AgroAmerica contributes to poverty reduction and benefits local development.
The programme benefits 11,000 employees and around 55,000 people (family members) in rural areas of the Latin American country. Fairness is a core philosophy for the company, which has more than 20 internal policies ensuring responsible business across a range of areas.The company has also donated more than half a million bananas to areas where needs are greatest.
Fernando Bolaños, AgroAmerica CEO, said: “To promote inclusive and sustainable local growth, employment and good working conditions are needed. In order for the business to be sustainable in the rural areas where we operate, we must provide benefits to our employees first, then their families and communities."
"Since AgroAmerica was founded, people have always been the core of our business and that’s when we started developing and promoting the living wage concept. We learned to redefine our social investment and to be more assertive in how we can provide not only a good job to our workers but a good way to raise their families with better opportunities to improving their quality life being. We realize that a living wage benefits not only employees but business and society.”
The winners of all ten categories, including the Responsible Business of the Year will be announced at the Responsible Business Gala Dinner at the Royal Albert Hall on 4 July, in front of 1,200 business leaders. The headline sponsors of the 2017 Responsible Business Awards are Experian, Unilever, UPS, Aviva, Barclays, Fujistu, UBS, Unipart Group.
For more information, please contact:
alex.delaney@bitc.org.uk
comunicacion@agroamerica.com
www.bitc.org.uk/awards/responsible-business-awards