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Sarawak Energy Bags Global CSR Award
State-Owned Utility Wins Gold for Literacy and Education at Global CSR Summit and Awards
YOGYAKARTA, 23rd March 2015, MONDAY: Sarawak Energy’s determined effort to empower the Penans in Murum through its literacy and education programmes has received international recognition.
The state-owned utility company recently bagged the coveted “Excellence in Provision of Literacy and Education Award (Gold)” at the 7th Annual Global CSR Summit and Awards 2015.
Professor Dr. Ir. Tahlim Sudaryanto, Assistant Minister for International Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Republic of Indonesia presented the award to Sarawak Energy Chief of Corporate Services, Aisah Eden, who was representing Chief Executive Officer Datuk Torstein Dale Sjotveit at the award ceremony held at Sheraton Mustika Yogyakarta.
Also present at the awards were Sarawak Energy Senior Manager II for CSR, Jiwari Abdullah and Social Investment Manager, Joanne Tan（陈楚燕）.
In the award submission, the company put forward its flagship Murum Penan Literacy Programme, which has provided basic reading, writing and numeracy skills for the Penan community resettled by the Murum Hydropower Electric Project (HEP).
Aisah said winning the accolade was a testament of Sarawak Energy’s commitment towards providing literacy and education through its corporate social responsible initiatives to benefit the communities in Sarawak, especially in areas affected by its projects.
“Some 350 participants have completed Stage II of the literacy programme, and can already read and write simple sentences with confidence. We are now in Stage III of the programme, where the participants are taught simple accounting and home economy,” she said.
She also highlighted on another initiative, the construction of two primary schools at the resettlement areas in Murum, which was also included in the award’s submission. Following the national education curriculum, the schools were already up and running since 2013, and have received strong support from the parents and students there.
Aisah said, Sarawak Energy has the responsibility to work with the community and contribute towards a sustainable socio-economic development in the state.
“We are honoured to have participated amongst other esteemed organisations for the award, and I am proud to receive this award on behalf of Sarawak Energy. This award is certainly a testament to the efforts that our team has put in, and this recognition will motivate us to want to do more.
Over 200 industry professionals from multinational and leading corporations in Asia attended the event.
Out of 200 entries received from all over the world, a final selection of 36 companies was awarded top honours in seven award categories.
Aside from the Excellence in Provision of Literacy and Education Award, other award categories were Best Environmental Excellence Award, Best Community Programme Award, Empowerment of Women Award, Best Workplace Practices, CSR Leadership Award and Product Excellence Award.
Other winning companies this year include Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Petronas, Bank Indonesia, Standard Chartered Bank Indonesia, Levi Strauss Indonesia, L’Oreal Indonesia, DHL Express Philippines, Samsung Asia, Dubai Customs, and Proctor & Gamble.
Tagged as “Asia’s Most Prestigious Recognition Awards Programme for Corporate Social Responsibility”, the programme recognises and honours organisations for outstanding, innovative and world class products and services, as well as projects and programmes.
The Global CSR Summit and Awards has been a leading voice of change in promoting corporate social consciousness since its inception in 2009.
Themed “Creating Inclusive Market Innovations”, this year’s event focused on what it means to have a fully inclusiveness model and how to achieve large scale social and business impact.
Earlier in 2014, Sarawak Energy won the CSR Excellence Award in the Sin Chew Business Excellence Award for its CSR initiatives including literacy and education, as well as culture and heritage preservation, amongst others.
