KLIKA receives Overall Winner Award 2023 at SDG Business Pioneers Awards

On 14 June 2023, we attended the SDG Business Pioneers Awards, a ceremony promoting the 5thgeneration of sustainable development business leaders in BiH. This year, it was held at the Youth Theater in Sarajevo and the awards are part of the project “Support for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the basis for sustainable and inclusive growth in BiH” (SDG2BiH). Financed by Sweden, it is implemented by UNDP BiH in partnership with UNICEF and UN Women as part of UN support to the BiH government in regard to the implementation of the SDG Framework in BiH.

SDG Business Pioneer awards are awarded every year with the goal to promote the efforts and commitment of private companies in regard to sustainable development in BiH. The focus in 2023 was to acknowledge companies that contribute to job creation and job retention, as well as companies that actively work on reducing the ecological footprint.

The applications were open from 1 January 2023 to the end of March 2023, and the ceremony was held last night to honor all nominee companies and celebrate the business success they achieved in 2022.

SDG Business Pioneer awards continue to grow every year. This year, a record-breaking of 114 companies applied, which represents a 34% growth compared to last year‘s 85 applicants. The 114 companies sent a total of 180 applications, applying in all categories, which represents an increase of 75% compared to 2022, when a total of 103 applications was received.

“Private company representatives who take significant actions towards creating better jobs, inclusion, developing and implementing technologies that are supporting environmental protection and climate risks mitigations, actively contribute to the implementation of SDGs. What’s even more important is that they also create opportunities for the youth to stay in BiH and build a better and more sustainable future for themselves and the generations to come” said Johanna Strömquis, Swedish Ambassador to BiH.

SDG Business Pioneer awards are awarded in the categories of “People’, “Resources and Environment” and “Overall Winner”, whereby the Overall Winner award goes to one of the companies that applies in both categories.

The awards for the category “People” are awarded to businesses that represent an inspiration to others regarding job creation and employee retention, and this year’s winners are Dekonta BH (micro companies), SEEBA (small companies), Klika (medium-sized companies) and GS Tvornica mašina (large enterprises).

The awards for the category “Resources and Environment” went to ZEOS eko-sistem and Smrčak BH (micro and small companies), whereby the winners for medium-sized and large enterprises were again Klika and GS Tvornica mašina. The Overall Winner Award for 2023 was awarded to the company that also scored the most points for adhering to the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) Standards and the implementation of SDG goals, which this year, was Klika.

“We are proud that we have built a company throughout the years based on our own set of values we foster together with our team and that we actually live by what we have been awarded for every day. Winning in all three categories is a clear indicator that Klika’s commitment to a sound and healthy work-life balance, its people and the environment is the right way, which we will hold on to in the future. We are grateful to UNDP BiH for this project and for providing a platform for not only the positive practices within Klika, but also of other companies from all around BiH, and hereby, we also want to congratulate them on their commitment, nominations and awards. Thank you for building a sustainable future with us” said Samir Eljazović, CEO of Klika.

The SDG Business Pioneers awards recognize and accentuate the efforts of private companies related to achieving SDGs in BiH, striving to motivate new entrepreneurs to create business models in accordance with SDGs.

The Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH is the official partner of the awards. The partnership’s goal is to enhance collaboration and raise awareness about the importance of sustainable businesses, circular economy, digitalization and decarbonization in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“The companies that were awarded made ethical and responsible business practices, care for the community, utilization of renewable and eco-friendly energy sources, and waste reduction a priority. The private sector in BiH gives a long-term perspective to the improvement of the life quality of BiH citizens, as we can see the efforts put into developing services and technologies that are safe for the environment and people” said Steliana Nedera, Resident Representative, UNDP BiH.

This year's SDG Business Pioneers awards focused on companies that contribute to job creation and job retention and companies that actively work on reducing the ecological footprint. A total of 31 companies made it into the final round. The GRI Standards were used as the basic methodology to evaluate the 180 received applications and the evaluation was conducted by an Independent Expert Panel led by prof. Vjekoslav Domljan.