Over its 21-year history, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Citizens Awards have recognized the most innovative and impactful corporate citizenship programs raising the bar on social responsibility and spearheading the transformation to a strong, healthy and sustainable future.
We are proud to announce the 2020 finalists, highlighting how business has and continues to play a leading role in solving our greatest challenges and supporting our communities amid the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, economic distress, and call for greater inclusion and equity.
To find out who the winners are, join us on November 17-19 at our first-ever virtual awards program taking place in conjunction with the 2020 Corporate Citizenship Conference: Business Solves. You can register for both events here.
Best Corporate Steward: Large Business
DuPont Water Solutions – With a strategic intent to solve global water challenges, Dupont Water Solutions delivers products that not only foster a circular economy, but also support outcomes for reduced poverty, health and wellness, reduced energy usage and environmental benefit.
UnitedHealth Group – UnitedHealth Group (UHG) works to improve health outcomes for all people. In 2019, UHG’s employee giving program resulted in a total contribution of $50 million to over 19,000 charities worldwide.
The UPS Foundation – UPS and The UPS Foundation launched several innovations that have made a life-saving impact including a last-mile vaccine delivery service for essential childhood vaccines, expanding access to quality healthcare to millions of families and children across Africa.
Best Corporate Steward: Small and Middle-Market Business
Acronis SCS – Acronis SCS, an American cyber protection company, serves a dual social purpose: preserving U.S. national security through public sector cyber protection and reducing the high U.S. veteran underemployment rate.
Mimecast – As part of its commitment to global resilience, Mimecast built the “Resilience Together” program, to empower underserved communities through time, funds, and technological resources.
TwentyTables – Born from its founder’s experience aiding victims of a nuclear accident, TwentyTables provides a scalable solution to fighting hunger by offering meals based on the current inventory restaurants need to use.
Best Commitment to Education Program
Chicago Fire Football Club – The Club’s charitable arm developed the P.L.A.Y.S. after-school program, serving 1,000 boys and girls of which 98% are of color, 93% are from families classified as low-income, and 95% qualify for free and/or reduced lunch and live at, or below the U.S. poverty level.
Discovery Education and Girl Scouts of the USA – To sustain girls’ interest in STEM, the “Girls Get STEM: Unleash Your Inner Scientist” initiative from Girl Scouts of the USA and Discovery Education works to create a more equitable future for young girls through standards-aligned, anywhere learning materials.
Verizon – Verizon’s Innovative Learning (VIL) Programs for Young Men of Color and Rural Young Women strengthen the pathway between STEM subjects, higher education, and STEM careers.
Best Community Improvement Program
Citi Foundation – Citi Foundation and the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund created Summer Jobs Connect (SJC) in 2014 as a youth financial empowerment program that leverages the formative experience of a first job and paycheck as a natural opportunity for building long-term positive financial behaviors, skills, and confidence.
CSX – CSX created “Pride in Service” to honor its employee values of supporting military personnel, veterans, and first responders. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, CSX expanded this program to healthcare workers, supporting more than 350,000 service heroes.
T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. – Following Baltimore’s 2015 civil unrest, the T. Rowe Price Foundation (TRP) made a $1.3M multi-year grant commitment to West Baltimore to address key challenges faced by the community, including racial inequity and food insecurity.
Best Community Resilience and Disaster Response Program
Anheuser-Busch – Since April 2020, Anheuser-Busch has provided half a million eight-ounce bottles of sanitizer to emergency management agencies, food banks, and healthcare systems in 20 states and Washington, D.C.
GAF – GAF supports community resiliency through its Community Matters initiative and has donated $3.3 million in roofing products to vulnerable families in need, including those impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Florence, and Michael.
Goldman Sachs – In response to COVID-19, Goldman Sachs created a $775M Small Business Stimulus Package to deliver capital to U.S. small businesses, reaching over 15,000 small businesses employing more than 87,000 people, with 33% located in low-income communities.
Best Economic Opportunity and Empowerment Program
Accenture – Accenture’s Impact Hiring program focuses on closing the gap between formal education and career opportunities by creating work-based experiences through internships, apprenticeships, and hiring for people that provide access to innovation economy jobs.
Flagger Force Traffic Control Services, LLC – Flagger Force creates meaningful career opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals, with second chance crew members making up 13% of the company’s employee base.
The PepsiCo Foundation & CARE – The PepsiCo Foundation partnered with CARE to launch “She Feeds the World,” a program tackling gender inequality in the agriculture sector by helping women obtain land rights, farming equipment, and marketplace access while providing financial and sustainable-agriculture training.
Best Health and Wellness Program
ExxonMobil Foundation – ExxonMobil has actively engaged in both workplace and charitable initiatives in the fight against malaria, with grants supporting research and non-profit partners reaching more than $170 million, making the company one of the largest non-pharmaceutical corporate donors battling the disease.
Takeda – In partnership with Microsoft and EURORDIS-Rare Diseases Europe, Takeda established a new global commission comprised of advocates, researchers, physicians, and technologists, to accelerate diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases for children.
Walgreens – Since inception, Walgreens Get a Shot. Give a Shot. program went from an annual donation of 3 million vaccines at a value of $500,000 to 11 million vaccines at a value of $2.6 million, helping deliver millions of measles and polio vaccines to children in countries including Afghanistan, Chad, and Tanzania.
Best Sustainability Program
Advance Auto Parts – To help address landfill overcrowding, Advance Auto Parts partnered with Good360 to launch Driving Hope—a program that diverts excess products from landfills and waste facilities by donating them to automotive skills-building nonprofits and vocational programs, which help address the industry shortage of auto-repair experts.
General Motors – To reduce its carbon footprint, General Motors (GM) has committed to source 100% of its electricity needs from renewables by 2030 in the U.S. and 2040 globally—with the goal of achieving 50% by 2023.
MetLife Inc. – In 2019, MetLife achieved for the fourth consecutive year carbon neutrality across global operations, the vehicle fleet, and business travel. The company reduced energy consumption by 33% and lowered location-based emissions by 27%, both exceeding the original goal of 10% reductions by the end of this year.