Coca-Cola Hungary won the Effekt 2030 Award in two categories this year

The Effekteam Association has awarded Coca-Cola Hungary’s activities both in the Green Balance and Outstanding Supporter categories. This year’s Effect 2030 Awards were presented at the conference titled “Community.Effect.Future - The 4 Faces of Corporate Responsibility”. This year, companies were able to apply not only in the general categories, but also in the COVID-19 Solutions for Community subcategories created in response to the pandemic.

With the Effekt 2030 Award, the Effekteam Association recognizes companies’ exemplary, innovative, and effective environmental and social investment programs. This year, the coronavirus pandemic created a special situation, which is why they introduced the COVID-19 category. The jury submitted a total of 19 entries to the finals.

In the Green Balance category, the jury found Coca-Cola Hungary's Zero Waste Tisza River program the best. In this category, they recognize proposals that contribute to reducing the effects of climate change, the sustainable use of natural resources, and the protection of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The aim of the Zero Waste Tisza River program is the continuous protection, collection and recycling of accumulated waste, cleaning up an increasing Hungarian section of the river this way.

The Effekt 2030 Award in the Opportunity-Creating Business category was given to the Vodafone Hungary Foundation for its Life Saving Program. It is extremely important for Vodafone Hungary to support initiatives using technology for public good.

In the Economy of the Future category, dm Kft. took home the award, with its Start small! entry.

The winner of Everyone's Society category is the Vodafone Hungary Foundation. The organization's Digital School Program has been operating for five years, and its main goal is to improve the digital knowledge and competencies of disadvantaged young people.

The following are the results of the four COVID-19 Solutions for Community subcategories:

The title of Outstanding Supporter was awarded to Coca-Cola Hungary by the jury for its entry called Coca-Cola Hungary’s support during the COVID-19 pandemic. The category’s award was given to measures that companies took in response to the pandemic, improving the well-being of local communities or certain society groups. For almost three months starting from April 2020, the soft drink manufacturer donated all its advertising space (social media channels, online and TV commercials) to the Hungarian Red Cross under the ‘Ad for Aid’ initiative, and also took over the content creation process.

The Hungarian Red Cross won a 65 million forints grant from the global Coca-Cola Foundation to support people who got into a difficult situation due to the virus. Several employees of the company helped the Red Cross outside of their working hours. In addition, 70,000 bottles of beverages were donated to charities and healthcare facilities. Coca-Cola Hungary provided a support worth of almost 165 million forints during the pandemic.

The Most Exemplary Employer was Telenor Hungary with its #We are here for each other / Telenor corporate care during quarantine program. The company has developed a network for mental health support, organized food delivery to colleagues and their families, and trained nearly 700 colleagues on how to work remotely and maintain mental balance.

In the Most Responsible Partner category, the jury did not award a first prize. They recognized K&H Bank and Insurance Zrt.’s entry as a special award, titled K&H's social role during COVID-19.

The jury included:

• Réka Matolay  PhD Associate Professor, Budapest Corvinus University,
• Bálint Nagy Chief Editor, Pénzcentrum.hu, Agrárszektor, HelloVidék,
• Éda Glória Pogány Business Sustainability Director, Syngenta, Eastern Europe,
• Krisztina Schubauer Marketing and Communication Director, Hiventures,
• Gyula Szabó Chairman of the Board, Ökoszolgálat Magyarország.

This is not the only award the company has received with its environmental strategy: they have won the awards of the International PR Association, the Communitas Awards, the Stevie Award, and the HDLF Business World for the Environment.