Today, the Business for Peace Foundation has announced the 2020 Oslo Business for Peace Award winners.
The Honourees are: Marc Benioff, (pictured) Founder, Chair and CEO of Salesforce; James Mwangi, Chairman and CEO of Equity Group Holdings and Felicitas “Joji” Bautista Pantoja, Co-Founder and CEO of Coffee for Peace.
The Oslo Business for Peace Award is given annually to business leaders, as individuals, for their outstanding businessworthy accomplishments; leaders who apply their business energy ethically and responsibly, creating stronger economic and societal value.
An independent Award Committee of Nobel Laureates in Peace and Economics has selected the three outstanding leaders to receive the Award this year. This is following a global nomination process through Business for Peace’s partners: International Chamber of Commerce, Principles for Responsible Investment, United Nations Development Program and United Nations Global Compact. Past winners include Paul Polman, Ouided Bouchamaoui, Richard Branson and Durreen Shahnaz. The 2020 winners (Honourees) will be celebrated at the Business for Peace Summit in May 2021.
Each of the 2020 Honourees transformed their businesses, industries and communities through positive change, inspiring other leaders to follow suit. Benioff established the ‘1-1-1 model,’ whereby a company contributes one percent of profits, equity, and employee hours back to the communities it serves. Mwangi enabled 96% of the unbanked population in Kenya opportunities for broader economic participation. Pantoja provided sustainable livelihoods for indigenous and migrant groups in rural areas, enabling over 880 farmers to escape poverty and build their coffee production capacity.
“In a world of various complexities such as globalization, polarization and environmental struggles, this year’s Honourees have led by using business as a tool for change. They are role models to society and their peers, have earned stakeholders’ trust, and stand out as advocates,” says Per Saxegaard, founder of the Business for Peace Foundation. “Through their business activities they have made substantial contributions towards reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Goal 8: helping to achieve sustained, sustainable and inclusive growth and decent work for all.”
“With ten years left until we need to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and at a time when the world is looking for a clear direction, the Business for Peace Honourees show real leadership and the invaluable efforts from the business community. I am proud that Oslo, for the twelfth year, is hosting the business community’s own award for ethical and sustainable business. It is an example of how to create value for both stakeholders and shareholders,” says Raymond Johansen, Governing Mayor of Oslo.
