Business Desk : dhakamirror.com
It was an evening to rejoice and remember for Grameenphone at the Bangladesh Sustainability Excellence Awards 2023, as the organization’s sincere efforts with flagship initiatives GP Accelerator and GP Academy received due recognition.
Renowned media house The Daily Star, along with CSR Window, honored the winners at the Bangladesh Sustainability Excellence Awards 2023 through a grand ceremony at a hotel in Dhaka on December 2, 2023. Grameenphone received the award in the category of Sustainability Excellence Initiative in Financial Inclusion.
Yasir Azman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Grameenphone and Farhana Islam, Head of Social Impact of Grameenphone received this prestigious award on behalf of the organization. Other officials from Grameenphone were also present in the event, including Mohammad Sajjad Hasib, Chief Marketing Officer, Hossain Sadat, Head of Public and Regulatory Affairs, and Sharfuddin Ahmed Chowdhury, Head of Communications.
Grameenphone is focused on harnessing the power of millions of youths by enabling them with future industry skills and entrepreneurship support through the learning platform GP Academy and GP Accelerator. GP Academy is an industry led upskilling platform that allows youth nationwide to enroll and prepare aptly for the future in a rapidly transforming world. Similarly, GP Accelerator has been supporting promising entrepreneurs to nurture their golden business ideas with necessary training, market exposure and corporate alliance, so that the best of the nation’s ideas can yield maximum productivity and contribute to the economy. Both of the initiatives fuel the future of the nation and society to sustain, thrive and excel.
At the event, Grameenphone’s Head of Social Impact Farhana Islam shared important insights during the panel discussion regarding ‘ESG Reporting and its Impact on Business Sustainability. She highlighted Grameenphone’s sustainability initiatives, mentioning how the leading digital services provider has been effectively facilitating the communities socially and digitally through programs like online safety campaign, digital inclusion of marginal communities, and the recent Digital Future Baseline Survey Report, besides many more. She also discussed Grameenphone’s environment conservation target of reducing 50 percent of its CO2 emissions by 2030, considering their 2019 baseline.
“It feels wonderful to share the stage with all the winners, as we celebrate excellence in sustainability, to build synergy in the development of communities, people and the planet”, said Grameenphone CEO Yasir Azman. “We as a nation are progressing towards our SDG commitments; at this point our sustainability efforts from the private sector alongside the public sector, need to ramp up and work in alliance for the long-term prosperity of the people and the planet. At Grameenphone, we carry the spirit of sustainability through empowering societies and conservation of the environment because we believe that it is our responsibility to protect, sustain and innovate not only for today but for the generations to come.” he added.
It is notable that Grameenphone has recently made it into Bloomberg’s sustainability list for 2023, securing the top score among all the seven listed Bangladeshi companies. Grameenphone was also included among the 5 organizations under the “Star DEI Team of the Year” category at the inaugural FICCI DEI Awards 2023, which reflected the organization’s dedication to ensuring diversity, equitability, and inclusiveness at the workplace.
