After having been nominated for the prestigious national prize late last year, on 21 January 2009, Bata Industrials was presented with the Silver PRIMA Ondernemen (Business) Award during the New Year’s meeting of the NRK (Dutch Rubber and Plastics Federation) in Putten, the Netherlands.

An abbreviation for “PRijs Innovatief MAatschappelijk verantwoord Ondernemen” (Award for Innovative Corporate Social Responsibility), the PRIMA award recognises businesses active in the rubber and plastics industry which stand out for their sustainability and innovation when it comes to their business strategy, products and organisation. Criteria which Bata Industrials satisfies in spades, according to a judges’ report singing the company’s praises: “Bata Nederland has created a particularly distinct profile for itself in the ‘people’ category. It connects the aspect of ‘profit’ to this as well. In other words, it earns money on the theme of sustainability. Bata Nederland places quality above time, and makes room for the social aspects involved in doing business. Bata displays inspirational and modern leadership qualities that encourage people to take responsibility (social innovation). It also has a long history of social activities. At the same time, Bata has also made a conscious choice to continue the development and production of its products in the Netherlands, due in part to social aspects. These aspects also play a role in determining purchasing policy. In purchasing materials, it is extremely aware of the quality and social aspects involved”.

    The winners from left to right: Kras Recycling (bronze), Synbra Group
    (gold) and Harm Daems, Bata Industrials (silver).

Reward
General Director Harm Daems of Bata Industrials is extremely honoured to have won this prize: "As a market leader in the field of professional and safety shoes in the Benelux, we are very proud of this distinction. Whether it involves our strategy, our method of management, our products, the personnel policy or the total organisation, we are always looking for ways to increase our corporate social responsibility. The fact that Bata Industrials has won this award confirms that we are on the right track.”

Conclusion
The presentation of the Gold, Silver and Bronze PRIMA Ondernemen Awards was the final element in an extensive qualifying round, and thorough analysis of each of the 27 companies originally selected. These analyses were then evaluated by the regional panels of judges, ‘North’ and ‘South’. Ultimately, each judge chose four or five companies which were then subjected to an in-depth interview. On the basis of these interviews, the national panel chose the three prize winners. In addition to Bata Industrials, the other winners were the Synbra Group from Etten-Leur (gold) and Kras Recycling from Volendam (bronze).