State Department Honors 6 Companies for Corporate Excellence Award

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week presented the 2021 Award for Corporate Excellence to 6 American companies abroad and 2 alternates in the following categories: economic inclusion, health security, and climate innovation.

The winners were Purnaa, (for empowering survivors of trafficking and discrimination in Nepal), Mastercard India, (for supporting and revamping India’s first-ever Rural Women’s Chamber of Commerce), Zipline (for its work deploying delivery drones that have distributed a quarter million COVID-19 vaccine doses to remote areas of Ghana), 3M Singapore (for drastically ramping up production of N95 respirators to combat COVID-19), Australis Aquaculture (for pioneering climate-smart ocean farming in Vietnam’s marine tropics) and Patagonia (advancing initiatives in Argentina to promote nature-based climate solutions).

Alternate winner Aerosol has undertaken important research in Slovenia on measuring and combating black carbon. The Secretary also recognized alternate winner Whirlpool Slovakia for materially improving the lives of the Roma community, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"This diverse array of companies exemplifies American values and international best practices in their operations overseas." Jose Fernandez, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, told reporters during a virtual briefing organized by the State Department's Washington Press Center.

At their best, he said, American companies "can be ambassadors for our values as well as provide good jobs for our citizens and good products for the rest of the world."

"At the State Department and across the U.S. Government, we encourage and support all American businesses to operate with the highest standards. We are committed to creating the conditions for promoting fair play, the rule of law, and high standards for global commerce in line with democratic values," he added.

When asked about the procedures to select companies for the ACE Award, Fernandez told TURAN's correspondent that the nominations are first put forward by U.S. ambassadors, by chiefs of mission of U.S. embassies and consulates around the world for the work of a U.S. company in a particular country. Finalists and winners for that award are chosen by a selection committee that is composed of senior U.S. Government officials.

"...All of these are companies that are, first of all, successful companies, and they’re also companies that have tried to go beyond their portfolio. They have looked beyond their balance sheets, their profit and loss statements, to do something for the community." he explained.

A.Raufoglu

Washington D.C.