Governance, in its etymology, represents practices that govern or direct a group of people, an organisation or a country; thus, it entails the decision-making process and the implementation therein. The term governance can apply to corporate, international, national, local governance, or to the interactions between alternative sectors of society. Good governance has become the buzzword of this decade. Traditionally, it has been used to refer to public sector organisations and institutions, however, it now also covers private businesses as well as the social sector. Ideally, good governance is participatory, conspicuous and liable. Good governance at all levels is essential to economic progress, political constancy, and security.
As part of its social responsibility initiatives and to further promote good governance practices world over, Cambridge IFA is spearheading a global initiative to promote best practices in governance and sustainability. One of the initiatives undertaken is the Global Good Governance Awards or 3G Awards, which is organised annually. The 3G Awards celebrates individuals, governments, public and private institutions and NGOs that demonstrate making governance and sustainability a strategic priority of their organisations. As a premier awards programme, 3G Awards highlight excellence in good governance and commitment to social welfare in 3 major streams: Government & Politics, Corporate Sector and Social Sector & Philanthropy. The 3G Awards promote good governance and commitment to social welfare by:
- Recognising leadership efforts of individuals, governments, corporations and NGOs in practicing good governance principles in their functioning;
- Recognising implementation of innovative practices, programmes and projects that promote the cause of good governance, transparency, sustainability, and social responsibility; and
- Enthusing governments, corporates and NGOs in focusing on good governance and social responsibility practices.
Since its debut in 2016, over 150 awards have been presented to exceptional individuals and institutions drawn from more than 25 countries in different continents. These include public sector individuals and organisations, businesses from the airlines industry, tourism, financial services, manufacturing, education and energy; and social sector organisations serving different causes in health, women empowerment and children welfare. The inaugural 3G Awards ceremony was held in the historical city of Istanbul, Turkey in 2016, followed by Dubai in 2017 and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2018. The 3G Awards 2019 ceremony was hosted by the Ministry of Tourism Indonesia and was attended by more than 200 guests and participating organisations from over 18 countries. Guests of honours included the Prime Minister of Djibouti, His Excellency Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed, Mr. Christophe Bahuet, Country Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Indonesia and Professor Humayon Dar, Founder of the 3G Awards and Chairman of Cambridge IFA.
In her welcoming address, Dr. Sofiza Azmi, CEO of Cambridge IFA said that there is no “one-size-fits-all” meaning to good governance but pointed out that one key theme that stands out amongst the various definitions of good governance is ‘sustainability’. “The interrelationship between good governance and sustainability is central to long-term success be it public sector programmes, corporate profitability or social sector programmes. In essence, good governance and sustainability is about better-managing assets and resources with the objective of making them more inclusive, transparent and participatory,” she explained. However, she cautioned that the integration of good governance and sustainability is still a far cry but emphasised that the need for good governance and sustainability is now being increasingly felt in every sector of social and economic activity across the world. She further said that “It has compelled many governments, corporations, NGOs and non-profit organisations to recognise and attach tremendous importance to good governance in discharging their day-to-day activities.”
This year, the 3G Awards Committee reviewed over 200 nominations from both organisations and individuals from the public sector, corporate sector, and social sector and philanthropy. The award nominees went through a rigorous process of selection, and winners are selected based on the 3G score card developed by Cambridge IFA, which consists of 5 pillars: Transparency, Social Responsibility, Sustainability, Impact and Innovation.
This year the award winners came from about 15 countries. The top 3G Leadership Award in Government & Politics 2019 was bestowed to the President of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh. The Award was received by the Djibouti Prime Minister, His Excellency Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed. The Government of Djibouti under the leadership of President Ismail Omar Guelleh has succeeded in attracting an increasing amount of foreign direct investments, thanks to the ease of doing business in the country. It is due to the efforts of the President and his government that Djibouti has been successfully playing the role of a bridge between the Middle East and the wider African region, especially in the neighbouring troubled areas of Somalia and South Sudan. As a result of the role of the government, the approach of the central bank, and the personal patronage of the President; Djibouti stands tall amongst the African nations in promoting good practices in business and finance.
Out of the 35 awards presented during a glittering awards ceremony, Indonesia bagged 7; including the 3G Excellence in Sustainable Tourism – Leadership Role, a new award category introduced this year. His Excellency Arief Yahya, the Minister of Tourism Indonesia, was named as the recipient of this award in recognition of the bold and innovative steps taken under his able leadership to develop and promote sustainable tourism as well as ecotourism in Indonesia. The 3G Awards Committee applauded the vision and steadfast commitment His Excellency Arief Yahya has made in developing actionable standards for sustainable destination development and management. Under his strong leadership, the Sustainable Tourism Destination Standard for Indonesia has achieved ‘GSTC-Recognized’ status, which affirms the country’s commitment to promote sustainable tourism products and services, thus positioning Indonesia as a regional hub for sustainable tourism practices.
Other winners from Indonesia include PT Trakindo Utama, BTPN Syariah, Badan Wakaf Indonesia (BWI), BAZNAS (Badan Amil Zakat Nasional) and PT Bhimasena . BTPN Syariah bagged two awards: the 3G Financial Inclusion Innovation and the 3G Customer Care. The 3G Excellence is Sustainable Practices was presented to PT Trakindo Utama, the 3G Best Public Sector Programme (Financial Inclusion) Award was awarded to Badan Wakaf Indonesia (BWI) and the 3G SDGs Champion Award went to Badan Amil Zakat Nasional (BAZNAS).
This year PT Bhimasena Power Indonesia was awarded the 3G Environmental Responsibility Award 2019 (Corporate Sector) for its Central Java Coal Fired Power Plant (CJ CFPP) 2×1000 MW. This award category recognises an organisation’s efforts to incorporate the concept of environmental protection into its business operations and in imparting the best environmental responsibility practices. Its Community Empowerment Program (CEP) implementation reflects the company’s strong commitment and efforts to empower surrounding community, bringing positive impact of CJ CFPP project development in environmental, social & economic aspects. According to Mr. Yasuhiro Koide, President Director of PT Bhimasena Power Indonesia, “A high standard of social mitigation program with comprehensive CSR program are implemented through good governance program, transparent, accountable, documented and participative to empower the local community to gain and generate a variety of potential to grow as well as promoting close partnership and trust with our local community”. Last year, the company bagged the 3G Social Empowerment Award at the 3G Awards ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Although this year’s 3G Awards winners were diverse, the number of winners from the social sector was impressive as shown in Table 1. The 3G Leadership Award for Social Sector & Philanthropy 2019 was awarded to Mr. Suliman Noor Mohamed who is a well-respected South African business tycoon and philanthropist. His philanthropic donations have covered small places of worship to large educational establishments. Currently, he serves as the President of World Memon Organisation (WMO), an international body representing the ethnic Memon communities from around the world. WMO has funded, initiated or managed a wide range of philanthropic projects – schools, hospitals, community centres, orphanages, and scholarships & bursaries – in Africa, Asia, Europe and America.
Friends of Cancer Patients (FOCP) was once again awarded the 3G Service Excellence Award for three year in the row. This award recognises a non-profit organisation that has demonstrated an exceptional ability in service excellence and is dedicated to continuously striving to exceed customer expectations, deliver industry-leading standards of service and is creative and innovative around customer experience. FOCP was established to help alleviate the financial and emotional burden that cancer often imposes on cancer patients and their families and to raise awareness about the six early detectable forms of the disease; breast cancer, cervical cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, testicular cancer and colorectal cancer. Since winning this award in 2017, FOCP has continued strongly in their efforts to alleviate the sufferings of cancer patients and their families by offering financial, psychological and moral support through fund-raising activities and free treatment. It has led several community initiatives and organised forums to heighten people’s awareness about the risks of cancer.
Amana Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) bagged two awards – 3GWomen Empowerment Award 2019 and 3G Financial Inclusion Award 2019. As the first Islamic microfinance institution in Malaysia, AIM offers microcredit to poor and low-income households without the need for collateral or guarantors. AIM’s Chairman, Datuk Junaidah Kiting said: “Women empowerment is the key to strengthen their participation in decision-making. There is no better tool for national development than empowering women. When women participate in the economy, everyone benefits.”
In the corporate sector, the 3G Leadership Award for Corporate Sector 2019 was presented to Meinhardt Group, one of the most respected engineering companies in the world and the largest independent engineering consultancy in Asia. Headquartered in Singapore, Meinhardt has become synonymous with trust, innovation and engineering excellence around the world for over 60 years. Receiving the award on behalf of Meinhardt Group was Mr. Omar Shahzad, Group CEP.
The Group was also named the recipient of the 3G Creativity & Innovation Award 2019. “We are delighted that Cambridge- IFA, one of the largest financial intelligence consultancies in the Islamic world, has conferred upon us two awards that recognise our leadership in the corporate sector as well as innovation and creativity. The awards are an affirmation of Meinhardt’s hallmark traits of trust, innovation and engineering excellence, which are recognised in the Middle East and the world over,” said Mr. Omar Shahzad.
The 3G Leadership Award for Corporate Sector 2019 (Individual) was presented to Dr. R. Seetharaman (Group CEO, Doha Bank). Commenting on his win, Dr. R Seetharaman said “I am proud to receive this leadership award. Leaders globally are focused on realigning business model in accordance with structural changes in environment, building strong corporate image, sustaining growth, grooming people for global environment, leveraging technology, giving back to society and managing stakeholder expectations.” Doha Bank also received the 3G Financial Services Award for the second year in a row.
The Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation or Kahraama took home 2 awards – 3G Best Public Sector Programme (Sustainability) Award 2019 for its National Program for Conservation and Energy Efficiency (Tarsheed) and 3G Most Innovative Environmental Education Award 2019 for the Kahraama Awareness Park. Kahramaa’s President Eng. Essa Bin Hilal Al Kuwari said: “Our international recognition reflects that we are going in right direction and our technological advancement embedded with our continued efforts to adopt innovative ideas.”
Another two financial institutions that was honoured during the awards ceremony were Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) and BTPN Syariah. BIBD was the recipient of two awards – BIBD SEED Programme won the 3G Women Empowerment Award 2019 (Corporate Sector), while BIBD Connects won the 3G Best Community Development Initiative 2019. BTPN Syariah was awarded the 3G Financial Inclusion Innovation Award 2019 and 3G Customer Care Award 2019. BTPN Syariah is the only bank in Indonesia that focuses on serving productive underprivileged families – also known as the “unbankable” for having neither financial records nor legal documentation, and the Bank’s infrastructure has been built to ensure that the products and services are able to effectively serve this segment.
Bangchak Corporation, a Thai energy company , took home the 3G CSR Award for the second time in a row, and also bagged the 3G Best Green Initiative Award 2019 through its Bangchak Initiative and Innovation Center (BiiC). Another Thai-based company that was celebrated at the 4th 3G Awards ceremony was PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP), a leading Asian petroleum exploration and production company, who was named the recipient of the 3G Best CSR Campaign 2019. “A strong commitment to creating positive impact in marine biodiversity and ecosystem services is the key mission of PTTEP as a national petroleum exploration and production company. Winning the 3G Best CSR Campaign Award 2019 reflects our efforts have been acknowledged as contributing to sustainable value creation for our stakeholders and in the community we operate. PTTEP is committed to creating value for society through sharing its best practices and its model as a company with strong corporate governance.” – Mr. Phongsthorn Thavisin, President and Chief Executive Officer, PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited.
Another notable winner was Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), which bagged two awards – 3G Excellence in Corporate Governance Award 2019 and 3G Best Corporate Governance Reporting Award 2019. This win signifies the vision of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, who aims at making Dubai a global centre of excellence for governance in government departments, while facilitating the corporate sector to grow their businesses in a socially responsible manner.
Ayala Land is the largest property developer in the Philippines was named the winner of the 3G Environmental Sustainability Award 2019 for the organisation’s efforts to incorporate the concept of environmental protection into its business operations and in imparting the best environmental responsibility practices.
The 3G Education Award 2019 went to Oasis Bursary Programme, an initiative of Oasis Crescent based in South Africa. Adam Ebrahim, CEO of Oasis said: “ As a business that has been actively involved in addressing the educational needs faced by our country, Oasis has prioritised its investment in this critical area. Our backing of education has been far-reaching and the company is deeply involved in projects that span from foundational development through to post graduate learning. Benefitting from this funding are students on the Oasis Bursary Programme, who also benefit from the peer mentoring, support and practical work exposure and experience gained upon graduation.”
Another winner from South Africa was Kwantu Private Game Reserve whom received the 3G Responsible Wildlife Tourism Award 2019. Kwantu Private Game Reserve is an award-winning 5-star game reserve situated at 85km from Port Elizabeth, near the famous Garden Route of South Africa.
Over the last four years, 3G Awards have been instrumental in highlighting the good governance in the educational sector as well. The University of Education, Lahore won the 3G Capacity Building Award 2019 whilst 3G Excellence in Higher Education Award was presented to COMSATS University Islamabad, Pakistan. Malaysia is one country that has consistently bagged multiple awards in the past four years. This reflects upon the success of the country in implementing a good governance agenda, in public sector organisations, educational institutions, charitable sector and private businesses. One of the remarkable success stories is Accounting Research Institute (ARI) at the Universiti Teknologi MARA, which has over the years undertaken impressive research projects to promote transparency and good accounting practices in public and private sector organisations.
Its work on Islamic finance criminology has earned it numerous awards and accolades. This year ARI won the 3G Research Excellence Award 2019.
As for the 3G Sustainability of Performance Award, the Awards Committee decided in favour of Sunway Group, Malaysia. The Committee was highly impressed with the Group’s sustainability policy and practices as part of its business culture and core values. In tandem with its commitment towards embracing sustainability throughout all its businesses, Sunway Group has incorporated sustainable business practices into its core strategic and operational activities and achieved positive growth through #sunwayforgood sustainability and social responsibility initiatives, that is creating value for the people, while conserving the planet and making a considerable profit.
Apart from celebrations, the 3G Awards ceremonies provide ample opportunities for networking and getting connected with the leading players in the good governance regime. Leading figures from various parts of the world appreciated the opportunity to network, familiarise with the best practices in corporate social responsibility, and learn from each other.
award ceremony with their presence
with their trophies
the awards ceremony
diversity through musical creativity
celebration of diversity and ethnicity
