SABIC wins Public Welfare Practice Contribution Award from 2019 China Yicai CSR Ranking

SABIC, a world leading diversified chemical company, was awarded the Public Welfare Practice Contribution Award from Yicai Group in their 2019 China Yicai CSR Ranking today in Shanghai, recognizing the company’s long-term practices and outstanding contributions in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR). SABIC was the only chemical company to win the award this year.

“It is a major breakthrough for SABIC in the field of CSR to be granted the award by Yicai, one of China’s most authoritative media platforms, once again recognizing our unremitting efforts in sustainable development and CSR fulfillment in China,” said Li Lei, Vice President and Regional Head, North Asia, SABIC. “SABIC will continue to focus on our localization in China, continuously enabling China to achieve inclusive growth and sustainable development under the concept of Chemistry That MattersTM.”

Abdulrahman Al Mulhem, Senior Manager, Global CSR, SABIC praised SABIC’s CSR efforts in China and shared words of congratulation to all involved. “For many years, SABIC has been committed to actively practicing CSR and has carried out a series of signature programs globally. With a fresh bout of wind, SABIC will continue to implement CSR into practice and adhere to being a responsible corporate citizen,” he said.

Amanda Guo, Director, HR Operations, Asia, SABIC, accepted the award on behalf of the company at the ceremony held by Yicai Group. Six contribution awards: Responsibility Model, Environmental and Ecological Protection, Partnership, Innovation, Public Welfare Practice and Targeted Poverty Alleviation were given this year. The renowned enterprises shortlisted together with SABIC included SGM, Jaguar Land Rover, IBM, Samsung and Hilton.

The Yicai CSR Ranking in China was launched by Yicai Group in 2008, and has become one of China’s most professional, fair and authoritative CSR polls in business circles and among the public. As the award enters a new decade, the 2019 selection, themed Benevolent ‘Business: Empowering Good Practices’, covers benchmarks from operations, innovation ability and employee/customer care to sustainable development strategy and public welfare contribution. The shortlisted enterprises need to pass a multi-month review process including an application questionnaire, face-to-face interview and expert evaluation, and must stand out from nearly 200 contenders.

SABIC, founded in 1976, has been committed to promoting the sustainable and inclusive growth of China's economy since it entered the Chinese market in the 1980s, focusing on community development and fulfilling its corporate social responsibility. The company has carried out a series of CSR programs in China including ‘Lights of Our Future’, ‘Back to School’ and ‘Waste-Free Environments’, as well as various disaster relief and reconstruction efforts in China.

In 2014, SABIC introduced the ‘Lights of Our Future’ program to China for the first time, aiming to bring to teenagers' active and long-term attention the concept of sustainable development and stimulate their innovative thinking towards environmental protection. Since 2016, SABIC has joined hands with JA — one of the world’s largest youth-serving non-profit organizations, to promote the ‘JA-Lights of Our Future’ curriculum in middle schools in Shanghai. Then, In June 2017, with the full cooperation of Shanghai Pudong Kangqiao Town Government, SABIC and the CSR Public Interest Fund of the Shanghai Service Industries Development & Research Foundation, ‘Lights of Our Future’ led young students out of the classroom to focus on river ecosystem protection.

In May 2019, SABIC sponsored the ‘Lights of Our Future’ Sustainable Development Design Competition for the third consecutive year to continuously promote China's sustainable education development with the long-term signature CSR program. To date, the program has engaged more than 3,700 Chinese students, while more than 100 school teachers have devoted nearly 2,500 hours to supporting volunteer activities or participating directly, and more than 600 SABIC volunteers have contributed more than 8,000 hours to participating directly or developing courses and teaching materials.

SABIC's ‘Back to School’ program also ushered in a new milestone this year by sponsoring and participating in the Second Young Talents’ Chemical Innovation Challenge (Hackathon 2019) for the first time, focusing on promoting the innovation of products, processes and models in the field of plastics. In addition, SABIC launched the ‘Waste-Free Environments’ program in China this year by joining hands with government, media and volunteers, to put green and environmental concepts into the public consensus with a series of public welfare events such as environmental protection-themed fair and parent-children waste-sorting workshops as the carrier.

SABIC was awarded the Public Welfare Practice Contribution Award from Yicai Group