General Electric has been honored in Shanghai for their commitment to corporate social responsibility in China.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai held its Third Annual Corporate Social Responsibility Conference and Awards at the Portman Ritz-Carlton Hotel, where GE and other companies were recognized for their CSR commitments. With representatives from Hands-On Shanghai, Peking University's CSR Center, UNICEF China, Intel, and Corning, expert speakers from a wide range of industries shared their perspectives on effectively designing and implementing a CSR strategy in China.

GE won the Chamber's top Corporate Social Responsibility Award in part because of its innovative systems to ensure supplier standards and to support ethical conduct. The Awards Jury also noted that GE held frequent dialogues with the Chinese government regarding occupational health management, sustainable development, and other issues. Plus, volunteering is an integral part of GE's corporate culture–the company says it logged 74 volunteer projects, incorporating 3000 employees, and consuming 20,000 volunteer hours in China in 2006.

"AmCham CSR awards honor and showcase organizations that have made notable contributions to further corporate citizenship in Shanghai and in China," noted Brenda Lei Foster, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. "By drawing attention to these organizations, the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and its Corporate Social Responsibility Committee aim to acknowledge their efforts, as well as to encourage and provide models for other organizations to look to for their own CSR efforts."

Other finalists for the top award included Coca-Cola, Corning, Deloitte, Goodyear, Intel, Mary Kay, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Galanz and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank both won a top CSR Award for Non-Foreign Invested Enterprise. Ignition marketing earned the CSR Award for Small and Medium Enterprise.

"There are many benefits for companies to incorporate CSR strategies into their China business. Broadly speaking, strong CSR programs build corporate reputation for companies in the communities where they invest, in the marketplaces where they sell products and services, and among their own employees," said Murray King, chair of Amcham's Corporate Social Responsibility Committee and chief representative and director of APCO China's Shanghai office. "While sometimes hard to measure, a strong corporate reputation can improve employee recruitment and retention, ensure better relations with key stakeholders in government, local communities, clients and suppliers, and among civil society leaders in China and abroad, ensuring better business performance, and dialogue before confrontation."

The event was not purely about corporate activity, but also about the interaction among companies and non-governmental organizations in China. WWF earned its Environmental Collaboration Award for working with companies to create programs that are solution-oriented, practical, and ambitious. Cargill and SIFE China together won a Partnership Award for their combined work on student projects that create economic opportunities for impoverished groups around China. And Nu Skin won an Innovation Award for its partnerships with China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation and China Children and Teenagers Fund to donate 5.5 million meals to AIDS orphans, flood victims, and other poor children in China. Finally, Junior Achievment China was awarded an Exceptional Partner Award for building capacity for hands-on CSR activities for a wide range of companies around China.

The entries were judged by an expert jury intent on discovering how companies are best implementing sustainable business practices in China. The jury chairman was Danny Levinson, CEO of BDL Media Ltd and publisher of ChinaCSR.com. Jury participants included Thomas Gwyn, PR consultant and trainer; Zhiqiang Li, from the China Executive Leadership Academy, Pudong; Victoria Moy, CSR Partner; Yin Yin Nwe, UNICEF China; Bill Valentino, general manager of corporate communications from Bayer Group; and Jay Wang, from Purdue University in the United States.

"The evaluation process for the awards focuses on recognizing companies that have created the most effective structures to manage their CSR programs, rather than simply focusing on the achievements of these programs," says Oliver Yang, CSR and government relations manager for Amcham Shanghai. "An ideal application will describe the systems that the company has established in order to carry out its CSR strategies through concrete actions. Such as the leadership arrangements that support such programs, as well as the methodology that has shaped them. Another important consideration is the company's degree of commitment to CSR in different aspects, such as employee involvement, community response, executive support, and corporate culture."

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