AWARDS FOR BUSINESS EXCELLENCE 1998

Eskom, South Africa
Eskom, South Africa's electricity generating company with over 37,000 employees, made HIV/AIDS a strategic priority in the company in 1993. Their award was made in recognition of the comprehensive and high profile response the company makes to HIV and AIDS, starting from a thorough appraisal of the current and future impact of HIV and AIDS on the company.

In addition to its workplace programs, Eskom is an active member of South Africa's Workplace Forum, hosting it with the government and Wits University. The company helped to develop South Africa's national guidelines and strategy for HIV/AIDS and the workplace. Eskom's Chief Executive is a member of South Africa's Business Council on HIV/AIDS. Aware of the immense costs of HIV and AIDS to their company and their country, Eskom committed to funding a vaccine feasibility study, predicted to cost R25 million over its first five years.

Fundação Odebrecht, Brazil
Odebrecht's award recognised the work they have done that targets young people. Through the Odebrecht Foundation they have been active in developing and funding sex education and AIDS materials for schools. The Odebrecht Group has its own programme of HIV/AIDS training for employees. Through its foundation it has focused its community response on young people. Young people were involved in the development of new materials on sex education and the promotion of safer sex. This work was done in conjunction with government agencies, schools and local authorities. The resulting materials approach sexual health generally with emphasis on safe behaviour and avoiding the risks of HIV transmission; they[and] have been used widely.

Palla, Koblinger& Partner, Austria
Palla, Koblinger & Partner is an advertising agency that enjoyed and benefited from working with AIDS Hilfe Wien on a "social advertising" campaign for no fee. For this Viennese AIDS service organisation the company developed a poster, newspaper and magazine campaign. Agency partner Max Palla sums it up: "HIV positive people face feelings of fear, rejection and helplessness in our society. Those fears and the lack of public understanding were the key point requirements for our advertising campaign. Overcoming irrational fears - love, friendship and closeness is not infectious. The successful integration of HIV positive people in everyday life is important."

The resulting slogan, Menschlichkeit ist ansteckend ("Humanity is infectious") was accompanied by five different statements, including "Living with someone who's HIV positive is not" and "Playing with HIV positive children is not". The campaign elicited a great public reaction and received two industry awards. The use of this message has carried through into sponsorship and fund raising from the sale of merchandise bearing the campaign images.

Get Paper Industry, Nepal
Following its own initial response to HIV and AIDS, [added comma] Get Paper established a much needed specialist health education organisation, General Welfare Pratisthan (GWP) in 1993 to carry out HIV prevention work and raise further funds. The programme has a long and successful history: in the eighteen months prior to their award 17,000 people were contacted through individual outreach, another 28,000 males and 15,000 females were reached through 109 community events, and 18,000 condoms were distributed.
In 1993 GWP established their first AIDS information booth for truck and bus drivers, their helpers and other passengers at the important exit point from Katmandu Valley. Work has involved sex workers, migrant workers, house wives and the police as well as transport labour. The campaign now covers 12% of the country. Other companies are joining the efforts to educate workers and more of the country's NGOs are addressing HIV/AIDS issues. The organisation has again been successful in attracting funds from USAID/AIDSCAP (funding until February 2000) but the company continues to put 25% of its profit into GWP's social programme.

The Regent Hotel Bangkok, Thailand
The Regent Hotel has 650 full-time staff with an average age of 24 years. The company response is typified by thorough and varied activity. The work is longstanding but has also been developed in interesting ways. The focus is on hotel employees with some community outreach and lots of modelling of good practice to other businesses: the hotel's General Manager at the time of the award, William Black, worked hard to influence others in the Thai business world and the international hotel industry. The Regent also helped develop and promote an AIDS Workplace Manual for the industry with the Paris-based International Hotel and Restaurant Association.