Young Australian Named Global Ethical Business Leader
10 February 2016 at 11:03 am
A corporate social responsibility strategist from Melbourne, Emerald Araiza, will be recognised as one of the 100 Most Impactful Global CSR Leaders at the World CSR Congress in Mumbai, India later this month.
Judged by a diverse panel of experts, the awards acknowledge the work of individuals who advocate for social change at both a national and global level.
Araiza will receive the honour along with with other international CSR leaders at the congress event on World CSR Day, 18 February.
When she was in her twenties Araiza founded a Not for Profit in Mexico, and has worked for charities and corporates in Latin America, seeking to create ties between the two sectors.
Her CSR programs focussed on environmental education and water have helped to improve housing conditions for marginalised communities.
The 34 year old is currently Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at a Melbourne IT and software development firm, DS PRIMA, where she is working on a shared value program.
“This program called Prime Technology for Our Community is focussed on developing technological solutions to solve societal and environmental issues,” Araiza said.
“We are working with a sports medicine centre to develop a software to monitor patients’ treatment and outcomes that will help not only the patients to engage with their treatment, but also practitioners to see how patients are doing. We hope this will improve the overall health of society.
“We are working with a clinic on a pro bono basis… and we expect to escalate the solution to other organisations.”
In May 2015, Araiza also co-founded the GoodBiz Network, an online platform for Australian CSR professionals to connect and share best practice ideas.
“There are many colleagues running amazing programs and sometimes we don’t share that with others,” she said.
“We believe there is an opportunity to prove what we do when we share what we’re doing, and we learn from each other.”
Araiza said that, more than receiving the award, she was looking forward to delivering a CSR presentation at the congress to the 1,500 attendees from over 130 countries.
“This is going to focus on mega-trends in corporate social responsibility for 2020 and beyond,” she said.
“I believe that is going to be the real contribution of my participation in the congress.”
“I will discuss shared value, the circular economy, gender equality, global diversity and inclusion, and how innovation and technology can tackle the most challenging social and environmental issues around the world.”
