The Ghana Edition of the West African Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Excellence Awards 2015 has been launched in Accra.

The CSR Excellence Awards seeks to identify, verify, evaluate and reward socially-responsible activities of companies in the country and across the sub-region, as they contribute to national and sub-regional growth, sustainability and prosperity.

The awards initiative, evolving from the Ghana CSR Diary and awards series, was launched to climax this year’s CSR and Community Development Conference, a statement by the West African CSR Excellence Awards, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said on Thursday.

“We encourage all socially-responsible companies in Ghana to start submitting their entries for possible consideration for an Award,” the statement said.

The Awards is open to small, medium and large companies in Ghana and all stakeholders in the CSR and Community Development spectrum, the statement said.

The Awards is supported by the Association of Ghana Industries, Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Westkomm, Ghana CSR Diary and other local and international partners.

The statement said: “Processes and criteria for the Awards are transparent and consistent with international standards.

“CSR is becoming a big business issue as companies in Ghana and around the world are trying to weave sustainability and responsible ethics and practices around their business agenda.”

It quoted the Lead Project Manager for the Awards, Kojo Williams, as saying, “The West African CSR Excellence Awards is the initiative of the West African Centre for CSR Conferences and Awards.

Though, it was initiated in 2011, Mr Williams said this year’s edition was an evolution into a sub-regional spectrum.

It would, therefore, be organised in countries across the sub-region.

The initiative is expected to bring major stakeholders from academia, regulatory agencies, corporate Ghana, business associations, media and local and international NGOs together.

The statement said last year, more than 45 local and international media organisations attended the Awards ceremony where socially-responsible companies, such as MTN, Nestle Ghana, Stanbic Bank, Huawei Technologies, Olam Ghana, Liberty Capital, McDan Shipping, Latex Foam and a few others were awarded.