Business for Social Good Outstanding Awards 2019 
Three Winning Companies Honoured for Their Outstanding Models of Creating Shared Value

The second Business for Social Good Outstanding Awards, launched by the Our Hong Kong Foundation (OHKF), released the list of winners recognised for their contribution to the society. ‘Business for Social Good Outstanding Award– Excellence in Innovation’ went to Guardforce Limited, meanwhile ‘Business for Social Good Outstanding Award – Excellence in Empowerment’ and ‘Business for Social Good Outstanding Award – Excellence in Inclusiveness’ were granted to KamCha and UA Cinemas  respectively. All three corporations are iconic in creating shared value, and building a social value proposition into profit-making businesses with effective strategies.  

The Business for Social Good Outstanding Awards is an attempt to identify local examples of creating social and environmental benefits through innovative business strategies, in order to ‘Creating Shared Value’ (CSV). This year’s awardees – jointly selected by 360 business leaders, leaders of non-profit organisations, and business school students – demonstrate the proven uniqueness and credibility of their business models.

‘Business for Social Good Outstanding Award – Excellence in Innovation’ – Guardforce Limited

Cutting-edge Technology to Address the Growing Need of the Ageing Population

Guardforce specialises in cash processing, and cash and valuables in transit services. The rise of electronic payment poses questions to the sustainability of its business model. Hence, Guardforce began to explore new application of its expertise in electronic security system to explore new business opportunities. Recognising the growing need of the ageing population, Guardforce pioneered an anti-wandering system for elderly home based on facial recognition technology, safeguarding the safety of the elderly suffering from dementia. This system not only lessens the workload of the staff at elderly homes, but also brings about new markets in sectors beyond banking and corporate. Most importantly, this approach enables Guardforce to achieve a win-win formula for its clients and the society.

‘Business for Social Good Outstanding Award – Excellence in Empowerment’  – KamCha

Milk Tea Heritage through a Business Strategy of Shared Prosperity

As one of the leading suppliers of the Hong Kong-style milk tea, KamCha has organised the KamCha Competition since 2009. They have also successfully partitioned ‘Hong Kong Style Milk Tea’ to be an intangible cultural heritage of Hong Kong, raising the profile of the milk tea culture both within Hong Kong and internationally. Professional milk tea making classes are hosted by KamCha to raise the professional standard and industry status of the tea masters. Many winners of the competition as well as students of these masterclasses went on to become their customers. KamCha’s effort in promoting the eco-system of the milk tea industry has led to the growth of its own business, a testimony to the notion of shared value, shared prosperity.

‘Business for Social Good Outstanding Award – Excellence in Inclusiveness’  – UA Cinemas 

Upgraded Theaters Made Movie-watching Accessible for All

UA Cinemas is the first cinema chain in Hong Kong to introduce assistive equipment for the hearing- and visually-impaired. It gives the 170,000 people with visual impairment and 150,000 people with hearing impairment in Hong Kong the opportunity of a cinema experience. This also opens up a new market in the fiercely competitive cinema industry, attracting patrons who are visually or hearing impaired as well as the silver-hair community and their families. The company took the lead to end what used to be a ‘chicken-and-egg’ problem, incentivising movie studios to record an audio descriptive track when releasing a movie, leading the industry to adopt more inclusive practice.

Mr Bernard Chan, Vice Chairman of the OHKF, President of Asia Financial Holdings Limited, attended the event as the awarding guest. Chan, a true believer in the power between the collaborations of the Hong Kong society and local businesses, proactively advocates new social value and uncovers forward-looking enterprises in the city. ‘Every winner of the “Business for Social Good Outstanding Awards” has proved that building a social value proposition into corporate strategy will not only enhance its competitiveness and promote business growth, but will also create positive social and environmental impact. I would like to invite more businesses to connect with the community through different means, and to build a good business environment that allows us to address society’s needs while driving commercial success in a win-win situation’, he said.

Mr Stephen Wong, Deputy Executive Director and Head of the Public Policy Institute of the OHKF expressed, ‘Through the “Business for Social Good” (BSG) platform, the Foundation is dedicated to promoting social innovation and encouraging enterprises to integrate social and environmental sustainability into business development. The new initiative for Creating Shared Value helps develop a solid driving force that advocates social changes.’ 

‘Business for Social Good’ and ‘Business for Social Good Outstanding Awards’

Organised by the ‘Business for Social Good’ (BSG) platform established by the OHKF, the ‘Business for Social Good Outstanding Awards’ programme has The Hong Kong Council of Social Service, McKinsey & Company, and GLG as its strategic partners; and the support from the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund (SIE Fund). Since 2017, the Awards programme has reached out to different universities and social welfare organisations to inspire business leaders to join their rank for the advancement of our society.