In the past two months companies from all over Slovakia have had a possibility to inform the public about their CSR activities. Altogether, 71 small, medium-sized, and large companies from all over Slovakia were nominated in six categories. This year we have received the most nominations for a Responsible Big Company in the history of the awards.  As many as 10 companies have been nominated in the category.

“Corporate social responsibility is an integral part of a healthy society. To a great extent it is companies which help Slovakia deal with the future of education, a bad situation in health care, or strive for a transparent environment for businesses and promote discussion about Slovakia’s long-term vision. Therefore, they deserve society-wide recognition, which the Via Bona Award entails,” says Lenka Surotchak, the director of the Pontis Foundation, adding, “Our ambition is to help companies inspire each other and raise the profile of the best companies and projects in the CSR area.”

The Pontis Foundation will present a Social Innovations Award for the first time this year. This special award will be conferred on a project which will present a new form of cooperation between the private, state, and non-profit sectors, create a social and economic added value, and contribute to a common good.

In the coming weeks independent committees will shortlist projects for the second round. This will be followed by presentations in front of a jury composed of the representatives of business, media, state administration, non-governmental organizations, and educational institutions. Who is going to receive the Public’s Choice Award will be decided by a public vote on the website of the SME daily. 

A presentation of the awards will take place in Stará Tržnica on 4 April 2017. The gala evening will be broadcast live by Dvojka, a TV channel of Slovakia’s public broadcaster RTVS.

Which companies will be contending to get the Via Bona Slovakia Award:

Responsible Big Company

(10 nominations)

• Bratislavská vodárenská spoločnosť, a.s.
• BRING TRUCKING, a.s.
• DM Drogerie Markt, s.r.o.
• Kia Motors Slovakia
• Lidl Slovenská republika, v.o.s.
• Mondi SCP, a.s.
• Slovenská sporiteľňa
• SLOVNAFT, a.s.
• Tesco Stores SR, a.s.
• Západoslovenská energetika, a.s.

Responsible Small/Medium-Sized Company

(13 nominations)

• LIGHTECH, s.r.o.
• LEDeco Solution, s.r.o.
• CARSEN
• HSH, s.r.o.
• ECOPLANET SLOVAKIA, s.r.o.
• STAFFINO
• DLA Piper Weiss-Tessbach Rechtsanwälte GmbH, o.z.
• Visibility, s.r.o.
• SMART LOGISTICS, s.r.o.
• LYRA CHOCOLATE, s.r.o.
• PURE JUNK DESIGN, s.r.o.
• Nutricia, s.r.o.
• Ošetrovateľské centrum, s.r.o.

Green Company

(9 nominations)

• 2brothers, s.r.o. and its project Green Bicycle. It is a bicycle-sharing scheme, which responds to several issues of today’s world.
• Adoptuj Úľ and its project Adopt a Beehive, which aims to support local beekeepers, who often quit beekeeping for a shortage of funds at the beginning.
• BRAIN:IT, s.r.o. and its project Sensoneo – Smart Waste Monitoring. This simple solution provides a non-stop monitoring of containers.
• BROTHER INDUSTRIES (SLOVAKIA), s.r.o. and its project Plant a Tree – Make a Home annually contribute to tree planting in the High Tatras.
• CILA and its project Fashion Revolution Day. The project encouraged the public to think about from what and in what conditions our clothes are made.
• Odvoz a likvidácia odpadu, a.s. and its project Olomania. It is a unique educational project which, by involving the youngest generation, speaks to all inhabitants of the capital city.
• OZ Gaštanový koník and its project Green Way, which taught 20 families how to provide for themselves by growing vegetables, berries, and herbs.
• PURE JUNK DESIGN, s.r.o. and its project PURE JUNK DESIGN, which focuses on waste recycling and reuse for the production of interesting and functional objects.
• Stredoslovenská vodárenská prevádzková spoločnosť, a.s. and its project Včelojemy. It concerns beekeeping in the surroundings of water towers.

Great Employer

(5 nominations)

• Grand Hotel Bellevue and its project The System of Non-Financial Employment Benefits.
• IBM ISC, s.r.o. and its project Colour Spectrum of Life in a Big Blue Company – Inclusive Life@IBM, which supports diversity and equality of opportunities at workplace.
• IKEA Bratislava, s.r.o.  and its project IKEA Talent Week – a special event aimed at the development of its employees’ personalities and talents.
• Soitron, s.r.o. and its project SOITRONx – an internal conference inspired by the TEDx format. Its aim was to provide space for the employees and their inspiring stories.
• Volkswagen Slovakia and its project Employment Benefits.

Good Partner for the Community

(25 nominations)          

• AB-COM, s r.o. Topoľčany and its project Present Joy to Your Friend, which is aimed at children from children’s homes and special primary schools in the Nitra and Trenčín regions.        
• AV Mobilita, s.r.o. and its project aimed at the development of the transport mobility of the disabled.         
• Baumit and its project of support for organizations, municipalities, active citizens who are not just dissatisfied but try to make a difference.     
• BeeSafe and its brand-new safety platform, a mobile application which, in emergencies, can call in help as quickly as possible.      
• Citibank Europe plc doing its business activities in the Slovak Republic through Citibank Europe plc, a subsidiary of a foreign bank and its project focused on supporting economic, entrepreneurial, and financial education for people between 15-19 years.
• Coca-Cola HBC Česko a Slovensko and its project Coca-Cola for the Region, which supports local communities, projects aimed at the development of culture, tourism, sports, and leisure time.
• Cukru production, s.r.o. and its project Cukru Supports, which offers free-of-charge video to start-ups, brands, and non-profit organizations.     
• Dell s.r.o. and its Dell Project Management for Non-Profit Organizations. It is a one-day training in project management for non-profit organizations.      
• DM Drogerie Markt, s.r.o. and its initiative to support volunteerism in Slovakia.         
• Dôvera, zdravotná poisťovňa and its project Dignified and Human Until the End, an internet portal www.zomieranie.sk, which lends a helping hand to anybody faced with dying or death.  
• IBM ISC, s.r.o. and its project to support local activities, associations, and public organizations, because it believes that it will help the community more if it provides help at several fronts.       
• Jem iné SK, s.r.o. and its project Food Revolution Day, whose aim is to return food education to school curricula.      
• MOTIP DUPLI SLOVAKIA, s.r.o. and its project Colourful Joy, which helped the civic association Rehamenta obtain creative aids for the disabled.
• NOSENE, s.r.o. and its project of second-hand, recycled clothing, which contributes to the support of mistreated women.   
• Octago and its project called Make Your School Move. It is an educational program which involves professional lectures and exercises with one’s body weight.          
• PCA SLOVAKIA, s.r.o. and its project Driving Licences, which helped 100 young adults from state-owned and private children’s homes to get driving licences.           
• Pivovary Topvar, a.s. and its project called “Unstoppable”, whose aim is to motivate the public to be active and help the disabled to return to their favourite sports.     
• Skanska SK, a.s. and its volunteering program “Lend a Hand”.        
• Slovak Telekom, a.s. and its project Tuning in to the World of the Deaf, which supports the hearing-impaired.           
• Squire Patton Boggs, s.r.o. and bnt attorneys-at-law, s.r.o. and their project to raise the awareness of homelessness in Slovakia.     
• STEFE Rožňava, s.r.o. and its project Joy Not Only of Warmth, which is supposed to raise the awareness of World Autism Day.         
• Stredoslovenská energetika, a. s. and its project of Christmas support for children’s homes and crisis centres from the region where the company operates.            
• Tesco Stores SR, a.s. and its program You Decide, We Help, which offers support to local organizations and their projects.     
• WebSupport and its project of FreeWeb – free web services for non-profit organizations, cultural institutions, and the third sector.           
• WEGA LH, s.r.o. and its project Liptov – A Better Place for Life”, which aims to support mainly community and cultural projects.          

Fair Market Player

(9 nominations)

• ((e)), s.r.o. and its project Reliable Partner, which promotes equal prices for customers from all over Slovakia.
• BAUDIT, spol. s r.o. and its project My Country, which supports local producers and farmers.
• METRO Cash&Carry SR, s.r.o. and its project We Don’t Count Without Customers and Suppliers, which provided marketing and communication support to the pro-customer activities of small entrepreneurs. 
• orchIDEAS, s.r.o. and its project “Dobromat.sk – Each Purchase Helps. It is a fundraising tool for non-profit organizations which links the interests of e-shops with those of non-profit organizations.
• Pivovary Topvar, a.s. and its project Responsible Approach to Alcohol Sale, which focuses on raising the awareness of the unsuitability of alcohol for selected groups.
• Union zdravotná poisťovňa, a.s. and its project The Healthy Company of the Year, a competition for companies which aims to encourage Slovak companies to take more interest in their employees’ health.
• VO SK, a.s. and its project Firemnýnákup.sk – Saving Costs, which facilitates a transparent selection of suppliers.
• ZELIREND, s.r.o.(FRESH SNACK) and its project Eating Is a Necessity, but Healthy Eating Is an Art, which focuses on healthy diet not only at schools.
• ZOOT SK and its project Joyful Collection Points, which adds value to the points of collection of goods purchased online.

Social Innovations Award

(40 nominations)

• ((e)), s.r.o.
• 2brothers, s.r.o.
• AB-COM, s r.o. Topoľčany
• Adoptuj Úľ
• AV Mobilita, s.r.o.
• BeeSafe
• BROTHER INDUSTRIES (SLOVAKIA), s.r.o.
• CARSEN
• CILA
• Citibank Europe plc, a subsidiary of a foreign bank
• Coca-Cola HBC Česko a Slovensko
• Cukru production, s.r.o.
• Dell, s.r.o.
• Dôvera, zdravotná poisťovňa
• ECOPLANET SLOVAKIA, s.r.o.
• IBM ISC, s.r.o.
• Jem iné SK, s.r.o.
• LEDeco Solution, s.r.o.
• LIGHTECH, s.r.o.
• Mondi SCP, a.s.
• NOSENE, s.r.o.
• Nutricia, s.r.o.
• Octago
• orchIDEAS, s.r.o.
• Ošetrovateľské centrum, s.r.o.
• OZ Gaštanový koník
• PCA SLOVAKIA, s.r.o.
• PURE JUNK DESIGN, s.r.o.
• PURE JUNK DESIGN, s.r.o.
• Slovak Telekom, a.s.
• Slovenská sporiteľňa
• Squire Patton Boggs, s.r.o. and bnt attorneys-at-law, s.r.o.
• Tesco Stores SR, a.s.
• Union zdravotná poisťovňa, a.s.
• Visibility, s.r.o.
• VO SK, a.s.
• Volkswagen Slovakia
• WebSupport
• ZELIREND, s.r.o. (FRESH SNACK)
• ZOOT SK