The approach adopted by the Award Organising Committee (AOC) is to assess a company’s overall commitment to reducing the environmental impact of its own operations or activities. This method is consistent with the principles of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)’s Business Charter for Sustainable Development, and in line with the environmental management systems standards (particularly the ISO 14000 series). This approach enables the Organising Committee to compare the commitment of each applicant company against the award criteria.
To ensure that the award operates to the highest standard possible, the AOC established a Technical Committee (TC) responsible for developing and operating the award methodology. The TC is supported by experts comprising individuals with extensive experience and expertise in environmental management systems and environmental auditing. These individuals are drawn from some of Malaysia’s leading companies with expertise in environmental management. Ultimately, decisions on the winning companies are given by the AOC, taking into account the findings and recommendations of the TC and expert panel.
- HOW THE AWARD ASSESSMENT IS CARRIED OUT
For the successful implementation of the Prime Minister’s Hibiscus Award, it is important for assessment procedures to be simple, clear, efficient and reflective of current trends in environmental management practices.
The assessment is carried out in two stages:
Stage 1
Submission of a written questionnaire by the participating company.
The responses are evaluated against a set of criteria drawn up by the TC.
Stage 2
Site visit to verify Stage 1 submission and the company’s environmental performance and commitment.
Participants short – listed for Stage II are required to provide additional facility information if necessary (e.g. site layout, history and etc) for the site visit. A team of not less than two members will assess each site.
The duration of each site visit would not exceed two days. At the end of the assessment, the assessors would debrief the participant on the site assessment, in accordance to the guidelines provided to the assessment team.
- STAGE 1 - ASSESSMENT OF SUBMISSION
The Stage I Questionnaire requires the company to provide information in fifteen broad areas. These areas are based on some key principles issued by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)’s Business Charter for Sustainable Development and are:
The above cover a broad range of environmental issues that companies should be addressing. Each heading is provided a numerical score, which allows the TC to carry out the initial screening of applications and to select the companies that will proceed to Stage II.
A company does not have to score highly in every section. The Questionnaire has been designed to be flexible so that weaknesses in some areas can be counterbalanced with strengths in other areas.
- STAGE 2 - SITE ASSESSMENT OF SHORTLISTED PARTICIPANTS
The TC will assign members of the expert panel into small teams to visit the sites of each of those companies that meet the selection requirements of the Stage I Assessment. The site visits will be limited to at the most two days per site. The teams will consist of two or three assessors who will assess the accuracy of the written submission (provided at Stage I) by walking through the site and interviewing relevant personnel at random.
A confidential assessment report for each site visited will then be produced based on this site assessment. The report is an internal Hibiscus Award document and will not be made available to the company or any third party.
The Award will be run to the highest possible professional standard. All submissions to the award organisers and any additional information provided by applicant companies are treated in the strictest confidence and will not be seen by any third party. The site management will be debriefed on the site assessment at the end of the site visit. All decisions will be taken by the AOC, after considering the findings and recommendations of the TC and assessors.