This year, the award ceremony was held in a different format. The event featured fireside chats with representatives of the diplomatic corps and International organizations and discussions with the winners, focusing on the social, environmental, governance, and partnership dimensions of the SDGs. The discussion covered topics such as achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, aligning with international and European standards, highlighting the importance of European integration, and addressing the challenges facing the country.
The event opened with welcome speeches by the Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Sweden to Georgia, Head of Development Cooperation Elisabet Brandberg, and the UN Resident Coordinator to Georgia, Didier Trebucq.
In the fireside chat on governance and partnership, dedicated to Sustainable Development Goals 16 and 17, participated Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Georgia Nicholas Cendrowicz, UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia Douglas Webb, Head of European Investment Bank’s Regional Representation for the South Caucasus Maciej Czura and Country Operations Head of Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Georgia Anders Pettersson.
Fireside chat on environmental issues, dedicated to SDG 11 and SDG 12 participated Chargé d’affaires of the Embassy of Sweden to Georgia and Head of Development Cooperation Elisabet Brandberg, Ambassador of Denmark to Georgia Anne Toft Sørensen and World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus Rolande Pryce.
The third fireside chat was dedicated to social issues and SDG 4 and SDG 8 and the speakers were
Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia, Natalia Voutova, Ambassador of Japan to Georgia Ishizuka Hideki, and Chargé d’affaires of the Embassy of Spain to Georgia.
In 2024, the award received 157 applications during the first phase and 110 applications in the second phase. This year, applications were reviewed in two categories – large businesses and small to medium-sized enterprises. An independent jury comprised of both Georgian and foreign members evaluated the applications.
The winners were announced in the following nominations:
SDG4 – Quality Education
Large Business Category: Bank of Georgia – STEM School
SME Category: Design Institute – Design Foundation 6-month Program
SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth
Large Business Category: EFES Georgia – Decent Work Environment
SME Category: Transporter – Promotion of Professional Training and Employment
SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities
Large Business Category: Tegeta Holding – Tegeta X Volvo: energy-efficient complex
SME Category: Polyvim – Motion and Only Motion
SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production
Large Business Category: Efes Georgia – GO (Guarantee of Origin) Certificate
SME Category: Polyvim – Polyvim’s eco-centric solutions
SDG 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Bakhvi HPP – Ambassadors for the Transparency (#BuildRelationsTogether)
SDG 17 – Partnerships for Sustainable Development (Partnership Projects)
Large Business Category: Element Holding in partnership with Infrastructure Construction Companies Association – Preparation of the construction field for Eurocodes
SME Category: TBC Leasing in partnership with Green for Growth Fund (GGF) – Deep Greening – Scaling Initiative: Promoting solar PV systems in Georgia
SDG 17 – Partnerships for Sustainable Development (Sustainable Finance)
ProCredit Bank Georgia – Facilitating Green Investments
In keeping with tradition, this year, the winners of the “Media for Responsible Business in Georgia” competition were revealed. Ambassador of Estonia to Georgia, Marge Mardisalu-Kahar awarded the winners. Journalist Tamar Paatashvili was awarded the accolade for the top television narrative. Likewise, Sopo Goduadze was honoured with the award for the most outstanding online article.
The 2024 Local SDG Pioneers were also awarded at the event. In the large business category, the award was presented to the Public Relations and Digital Communications Manager of “Efes Georgia” Ketevan Zhvania, and in the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) and Micro-sized Companies category, to the Chief Commercial Officer of “Polyvim”, Shiva Parizad. Notably, Shiva Parizad was also recognised as a 2024 Global SDG Pioneer.
Representatives of companies participating in the competition, the diplomatic corps, international organisations, and the media attended the ceremony. The Corporate Sustainability Award ceremony was organised by the UN Global Compact Network Georgia, and funding was provided by Sweden within the project “Leadership for Sustainable Development in Georgia.”
