Introduction

Business decisions influence employees, customers, suppliers and competitors, while business operations affect communities, government and the environment where they operate. This is more so for companies in the extractive industries.

While companies have contributed towards improved social development through providing jobs, paying taxes, building an industrial base, enhancing efficiency, earning foreign exchange and transferring technology, they have also been linked publicly to deepening disparities in wealth, poor labour conditions, pollution incidents, health and safety failings, forced displacement and other human and civil rights abuses, leading to calls from all over the world for companies to become more accountable.

In actuality, companies do not have any choice but to deliver tangible and sustainable benefits to their access, host and impacted communities. Extractive companies especially face rising expectations to do more than simply mitigate negative impacts, they are expected to be sources of economic opportunity and to be reliable and trustworthy partners and neighbours.

As extractive companies have severe negative impacts on their host communities, they are expected to deliver lasting social and economic benefits to the areas where they have their footprints.
Players across the industries’ value chain have increasingly faced calls to clean up their act and make peace with host communities. Many businesses – big and small – have taken steps to institutionalise processes that would ensure inclusive engagement with communities for equitable outcomes, but so far there is a long way yet to go.

With the Community and Human Rights (CAHR) Awards – pronounced “Car Awards” – we seek to provide a platform that would encourage businesses to take extraneous steps to correct the anomalies of engagement within communities, primarily extractive communities, by acknowledging and appreciating best performing companies.

What are the objectives of the CAHR awards?

1. Mainstream discussions on human rights, social justice and other community inclusion issues.
2. Reward individuals and corporate entities who have proven themselves worthy.
3. Encourage the entrenchment of human rights practices within corporate organisations.
4. Be the foremost and most credible community and human rights awards in Africa.

Who is eligible to be nominated for the CAHR Awards?

Organisations involved in extractive operations and Human Rights defenders

How do I nominate an individual or organisation for the CAHR Awards?

Entries can be submitted on the nomination page 

During the nomination period, nominators must visit the 2021 CAHR Awards page and input the requested details in the entry form. All mandatory fields in the online entry form must be completed for the entry to be deemed eligible for consideration. Incomplete or illegible entries will be deemed invalid.

The online entry form requires the nominator to provide an email address that is used to verify the validity of every entry received.  Multiple entries will not impact upon the selection of the final nominees for the Award.

CSR-in-Action does not charge any entry fees for submitting entries or nominations. However, as all submissions are to be made online, there may be costs associated with a nominator’s Internet service provider or mobile/other device service or data charges. The nominator should check with their service provider for details of such fees before submitting an entry.

When do I submit a nomination?

The online entry form must be submitted no later than 11:59PM (WAT) Monday, 11 June, 2021.

Nominations received outside of the slated period will be deemed ineligible. Nominations are deemed made at the time each proposal is received by CSR-in-Action via the website in its database and not at the time sent by the nominator. CSR-in-Action accepts no responsibility for any late, lost or misdirected proposal due to technical disruptions, network congestion or for any other reason.

What happens after I submit a nomination?

All nominations submitted during the nomination period will be reviewed by the judges to verify the eligibility of the entry. CSR-in-Action, in consultation with other partners, reserves the right to make the final judgment on eligibility. The decision of CSR-in-Action is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

What do the nominees need to do?

Once eligibility of the nominations has been determined, CSR-in-Action will contact all nominees that received a valid proposal.

If an individual or organisation wishes to be considered for the award, the individual or organisation will be required to submit via an nomination page.

What happens in the judging process?

Following receipt of all nominations, CSR-in-Action will make the list available to the judges for consideration. The judges may undertake reference checks or reviews at its discretion.

The judges will create a shortlist of nominees. The decision of the judges is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

The judges are under no obligation to disclose or otherwise discuss with any persons, the nature of such considerations, and decisions made by the team of judges.

When will the award nominees be announced to the public?

Upon scrutiny by the judges, the award nominees will be announced to the public via social media – @csr_in_action on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and @csr_n_action on Instagram.

How is the winner of the awards determined?

The winner of the award will be determined by sharing formula of 50% public online vote and 50% judges vote.

The winner of each award category will be the award nominee who receives the highest number of valid votes both online and from the judges. Public voting will be announced via social media.

When will the winner of the awards be announced?

The winners of the awards will be announced at the 10th Sustainability in the Extractive Industries Conference.