Dolefil bags SEA Social Empowerment Award

Dole Phillipines, Inc. (Dolefil) once again added a feather to its cap by winning in the Asia Responsible Entreneurship Awards (AREA) 2014 – Southeast Asia, one of the region’s most prestigious organizations that bestows recognition to companies with exceptional corporate social responsiblility programs.

According to Enterprises Asia which handles the awards, in its website, “The Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Awards program (AREA) recognizes and honors asian businesses for championing sustainable and responsible entrepreneurship in the following categories: Green Leadership, Investment in People, Health Promotion, Social Empowerment, SME CSR and Responsible Business Leadership.”

The Awards Ceremony was held on June 21, 2014 at the Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore and during the program, Dolefil was heralded as among the Top 9 companies (from out of 43 nominated) for their solid Social Empowerment Programs.  The Polomolok-based company which just celebrated its 50th year in 2013 underwent rigid nomination, assesment and audit processes since February 2014.

According to Dato William Ng, President of Entreprises Asia, “This is a very exciting year for AREA. We received more than 163 entries across six major categories from companies all over Southeast Asia.“’

“We now see the urgency to institutionalize responsible entrepreneurship as a mean to protect our market, shareholder’s value and the sustainability of our businesses. We hope to encourage more organizations to inculcate responsible entrepreneurship in their organizations,” he added.

For his part, Dolefil VP and Managing Director Simon Denye remarked, “This is a compelling proof that Dolefil distinctly cares for its stakeholders, especially the communities where we operate in. But more than the honor of being recognized by award-giving bodies, we do our CSR because it is our passion.”

The AREA Southeast Asia 2014 – Social Empowerment Award joins the roster of awards presented to Dolefil for its strong social responsibility and sustainability initiatives, including the “Grand Kapatid Award” given by the Employers Confederation of the Philippines in 2011, the Philippines Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Hall of Fame Award for Outstanding Community Projects and the American Chamber of Commerce CSR Excellence Awards in 2013.

About Dolefil
Dole Philippines Inc. operates a fully integrated plantation and industrial facility in Polomolok, South Cotabato for the production of fresh and processed pineapple and other fruit products, approximately 95% of which is exported to markets in America, Europe and Asia.