The Award Process

1. Anyone can nominate a company in this geographic area by clicking here.
2. Please note that nonprofit companies and financial service companies are not eligible to participate. A financial service company is defined as one that earns more than 25% of its revenues from providing financial services or from the sale of financial products. (Examples include CPA, brokerage and insurance firms, banks.)
3. The Society will send a letter of recognition to the nominated company which identifies the person who nominated the company.
4. The nominated company will also receive an official PBEA Entry Form and detailed instructions for submitting their entry for consideration.
5. On a first-come, first-served basis, the PBEA committee will assign a student team from a local university to complete the nominated company's entry with direction and support from that company's officers.
6. These student teams are a resource for the nominated company. You must request a student team via email as soon as possible after being nominated. Send an email request to StudentTeamRequest@PiedmontEthics.com. The award committee is providing a valuable learning experience for these students. We have a limited number of teams and the committee asks that, should you use a team, you follow through and submit an entry.
7. Students will provide the entry to the company for editing and approval before submission to the judging committee.
8. The nominated company will be required to submit the information required, as detailed in the entry form, by the entry deadline.
9. The Society will notify nominators and all companies who submit an entry of the decision of the panel of judges.
10. Winners will be recognized at an Awards Ceremony and qualified entries may be forwarded for consideration to the national competition.

Judging

Entries are evaluated by an independent panel of judges composed of individuals with expertise in business ethics who are drawn from the business, academic, public service or media sectors.
Entries are evaluated on the following criteria:

• A clear demonstration of the company’s executive commitment to ethics as demonstrated by speeches or other correspondence and communications from the CEO and other senior officers to employees and/or customers. The company’s story as it relates to a culture of strong business ethics is a key criterion.
• A corporate code of ethics, credo, code of conduct, mission statement or philosophy which demonstrates the company’s requirement for honesty, integrity and compliance with the law in all business dealings. An ethics policy or corporate philosophy that is unique and deserving of recognition is a key criterion.
• Clear communication of the company’s ethical standards, corporate culture and its expectations of employees in company publications, employee handbooks, training courses and other materials. An indication of how employees are measured for ethical business conduct, and how their compensation is tied to ethical conduct.
• A clear indication that employees throughout the organization understand and accept the company’s ethical standards as indicated by survey results or internal audits.
• A means for employees, customers and other parties to bring ethical problems or conflicts to the attention of management and a mechanism for resolution that ensures fair and consistent treatment of the parties involved. Specific examples of how this mechanism is used by employees and other company constituents and information on outcomes of ethical problems or conflicts is a key criterion.
• A narrative description of business ethics in action as demonstrated by the company's response to a specific challenge affecting its operations or its industry, or by evidence of how ethical decision-making is a part of the company's everyday operations, philosophy and culture. Time and again, this one criteria has proven to be the most important; everyone remembers stories.
• A consistently high quality of products and services, business and production practices, including demonstrated awareness of environmental impact, if appropriate.
• A corporate commitment to providing a work environment that is safe, free from harassment or inappropriate discriminatory behavior of any kind, and that fosters growth and opportunity.
• A community commitment that is demonstrated by involvement in local, regional and/or national issues, corporate philanthropy, support of civic and charitable endeavors through foundation grants, and/or contributions or gifts of time and materials.

An entrant missing any of the above criteria does not necessarily preclude them from consideration for the local award. However, it might hinder their chances in the national competition.

Resources

Below you will find links to files that will help you complete your entry.

•  PBEA Entry Form (PDF)
•  Small Company Winning Entry Example (PDF)
•  Large Company Winning Entry Example (PDF)