The Olam Livelihood Charter won the 2013 Guardian Sustainable Business Awards’ – Society Category and was shortlisted for the integrated sustainable cashew growers’ programme – Supply Chain Category.

The Guardian’s internationally prestigious awards programme is highly respected among key sustainability opinion leaders and recognises companies that combine innovation and effectiveness to make a positive impact through their corporate sustainability initiatives. More information is available on The Guardian’s Sustainable Business Best Practice Exchange: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/olam-agri-business-rural-communities

Olam received the Rainforest Alliance ‘Sustainable Standard-Setter’ Award for its pioneering work with small-scale cocoa and coffee farmers across the world.

The annual award programme acknowledges businesses that demonstrate outstanding leadership in helping to safeguard the environment and support local communities. Olam was the first company to introduce Rainforest Alliance Certified™ cocoa to Nigeria, Togo, Indonesia and Uganda. This means that Olam now offers the widest Rainforest Alliance Certified™ cocoa origins for its customers.

Olam is proud to have been named as the recipient of the Leadership in Sustainable Investment in Africa Award at the Africa Investor Investment and Business Leader Awards in Tokyo in 2012. The awards seek to reward exceptional business practices, economic achievements and investments across the investment spectrum in Africa. Olam was given the accolade for the long-standing responsible commitment that takes when investing in rural communities in Africa, highlighted in the Olam Livelihood Charter.

Olam Gabon gained Special Commendation at the 5th Africa Business Awards in London in 2012. Olam Gabon was ranked amongst a healthy number of strong businesses dedicated to the success of business on the continent. Olam’s special commendation came in the Investor of the Year category, highlighting Gabon’s work investing in local economies.

Olam were honoured to be announced the International Corporation of the Year winner at the recent Africa CEO Forum in Geneva. This award is given in recognition for outstanding economic growth as a result of its activities in Africa in recent times. The field was competitive with nine other multinationals nominated for the quality of their growth strategy in Africa and their involvement in creating value and jobs there.

Olam has won the Corporate Policy & Innovation award in the Beyond Business Awards. This award recognises companies dedicated to creating shared value and highlight companies that have moved beyond the experimental to fundamentally change the way they operate their business. These inaugural awards were tightly contested amongst the large companies section and Olam was recognised amongst some significant global names.

Olam won the 2012 Asian Human Capital Award, at the Singapore Human Capital Summit in Sentosa, Singapore on 19 September 2012. The first of its kind in Asia, the Asian Human Capital Award honours innovative and impactful people practices adopted by Asia-based organisations. Jointly sponsored by the Singapore Ministry of Manpower, INSEAD, CNBC Asia and Human Capital Leadership Institute, the Award showcases useful case studies and generates practical insights to address human capital challenges in the region.

Olam’s Group Managing Director and CEO Sunny Verghese was awarded the Brendan Wood TopGun CEO Designation for Singapore CEOs. The Brendan Wood TopGun CEO Designation for Singapore CEOs applies to CEOs who are best in class as rated by shareholders. Amongst the 11 criteria used by the 2000-member shareholder Panel, leadership is a core component. Boards, CFO, and Senior Management, are each rated separately for their respective contributions in the eyes of shareholders. However, the CEO is held accountable to the highest standards of leadership, namely the culture of performance and accountability throughout the company. Although Boards of Directors are perceived to be the co-architects of strategy, the central figure in most cases is the CEO who is also responsible for the execution of the strategy of the corporation. Shareholders are tough on CEOs and their accolades are hard to obtain. Each shareholder on the Brendan Wood Panel is asked not just to rate the CEO’s performance but also to nominate the CEO as a TopGun if his or her leadership warrants it. So far, the TopGun CEO Designation has been awarded to no more than 10% of the major corporate leaders in the world.

Olam is awarded the “Most Transparent Company Award 2012″ as runner-up in the Food & Beverages category by the Securities Investors Association (Singapore) at its annual SIAS Investors’ Choice Awards 2012. SIAS appointed Singapore Management University, Sim Kee Boon Institute to conduct a research findings using Singapore Corporate Governance Index, a balanced weighted index which covers five aspects in accordance with OECD principles as stage 1 selection process. Companies were then short-listed in their respective industry classification benchmark sub-sector followed by a stage 2 nomination from financial journalists, analysts, fund managers and retail investors represented by SIAS. The selection committee was comprised of senior financial journalists, brokers, fund managers and SIAS.

Olam is the only Singapore firm in 2012 Forbes Asia Fabulous 50, an annual list of 50 big-cap and profitable firms in the region. The company was chosen from a list of 1,295 with at least US$3 billion in annual revenue or market capitalisation and analysed base on revenue, earnings, return on capital, share price movements and outlook.

Olam was second runner-up for Best Annual Report at the Singapore Corporate Awards 2012 for companies with S$1 billion and above in market capitalisation. The Annual Report Award (ARA) has three objectives:

1) To encourage excellent financial reporting presentation and a wider scope of disclosures beyond the minimum regulatory requirements that are in tandem with the needs of investors and other stakeholders such as employees, creditors and the general public;

2) To create awareness of the role of both mandatory accounting standards and voluntary practices issued by the Accounting Standards Council and The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore; and
3) The ARA was introduced to increase awareness through the encouragement of social responsibility reporting that business enterprises and organisations are responsible to the community both as employers and corporate citizens.

Olam received the Medium Cap Corporate of the Year award at the annual Asiamoney Awards 2012 for the second consecutive year. In Asiamoney’s Dec/Jan 2012 issue, Olam is said to have been long regarded as a strong corporate and analysts believe that Olam’s effective execution of its strategy has been the main driver of their success.

Released on 16 December 2011 the Resources Governance Index (RGI) measures corporate governance performance based on indicators of ethical culture and transparency and also enables comparison between the top Singapore Exchange (SGX) companies in the area of corporate governance performance. Olam International stood out for its good corporate governance practices. The Index was launched at a breakfast event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce, with corporate governance experts sharing their views on the findings. The independent RGI ranks the top 30 SGX mainboard-listed companies based on market capitalisation for their performance in corporate governance. Rankings are based on three main areas: Compliance (25%), Capacity (38%) and Commitment (32%), as well as a 5% “Plus Mark” for transparency and openness.

Olam was awarded the Commonwealth Bank Business Alliance Award 2011 by the Australian Chamber of Commerce. The Commonwealth Bank Business Alliance Award is awarded to the Singapore company which, in the opinion of the judging panel and the President of AustCham, has demonstrated a significant commitment to Australian trade and investment.

Olam was named the winner in the “Commerce” category for the “Most Transparent Company Award 2011″. Olam was judged the winner by nominations received from financial journalists, analysts, fund managers and retail investors represented by the Securities Investors Association (Singapore) or SIAS.

Olam bagged the Gold Award for Best Managed Boards at the Singapore Corporate Awards 2011 for companies with S$1 billion and above in market capitalisation. The award is based on a judging panel’s assessment of the key areas, namely, board and executive succession planning, selection and development programme, board and executive performance review process, board and executive remuneration programme, financial governance, risk management process, committee effectiveness and board leadership. In addition, Group Managing Director & CEO Sunny Verghese was named the Best Chief Executive Officer for companies with market capitalisation of S$1 billion and above. This award recognises CEOs who have led an organisation to scale new heights in its respective industry segment, while also achieving excellence in corporate governance.

Olam was awarded the Grass Roots Asia Pacific Award for Best Reward and Recognition Strategies at the Singapore HRM Awards 2011. The criteria for the award includes alignment of rewards to retention and performance, incentive based programme initiatives, recognition strategies and the level of recognition support within organizational culture. The HRM Awards are widely considered throughout industry as the pre-eminent awards for human resource (HR) and follows extensive research to identify top employers, HR professionals and HR practices.

Olam has been awarded the Medium Cap Corporate of the Year 2010, Singapore by Asiamoney in its annual Asia’s best-managed companies 2010 awards. In Asiamoney’s Dec/Jan 2011 issue, Olam is said to have been long regarded as a well-managed corporate, but it particularly demonstrated it during the past year.

CEO Sunny Verghese has been named Best Executive in Singapore for 2010 by Asiamoney. Asiamoney’s Dec/Jan 2011 issue reported that Olam’s ability to impress investors for its ability to acquire and integrate, and its crystal clear business strategy is attributed to one man, its CEO Sunny Verghese who has been recognised to be one of the most detailed orientated executives in Asia.

Olam once again bagged the “Most Transparent Company” award for the “Commerce” category at the Securities Investors Association, Singapore (SIAS)’s the SIAS Investors’ Choice Awards 2010 on 5 October 2010. This marks Olam’s fifth consecutive win since 2006.

Olam has been conferred an award for Excellence in Innovation at the Frost & Sullivan’s annual Growth Excellence Awards programme entitled Growth, Innovation and Leadership where it recognises outstanding companies and individuals who have made significant contributions to business or society. Specifically, this Excellence in Innovation award recognises the successful business model innovation of Olam which has set the company apart from its competitors. The success of this business model has been demonstrated by the consistent organic growth it has seen across economic and commodity cycles. The business model has shown scalability with successful additions of new products and geographies. This success has resulted in the company gaining market share, higher revenues and profitability. Through the successful management and implementation of this business model, Olam has had significant industry impact and demonstrated thought leadership.

Olam is the only Singapore firm in 2010 Forbes Asia Fabulous 50, an annual list of 50 big-cap and profitable firms in the region. Olam was picked from a list of 936 companies which had at least US$3 billion in revenue or market capitalisation. Forbes also looked at the five-year record for revenue, operating earnings and return on capital, and checked the most recent results, share-price movements and outlook.

Olam was voted as the No. 1 firm in Investor Relations for the Consumer sector in the 2009 Extel Survey Awards Asian Survey by Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters Extel carried out an Asian Survey of the buy-side and sell-side communities, asking their views on the Investor Relations performance of quoted companies and Investor Relations professionals.

Olam has been awarded the Large-Cap Corporate of the Year, Singapore by Asiamoney in its annual Asia’s best-managed companies 2009 awards. The awards were determined based on surveys with fund managers and analysts. According to Asiamoney, a clear business strategy, well-communicated business goals and opportunism were some of the traits possessed by Asia’s most successful companies during 2009.

Olam has been named alongside IBM, P&G, General Mills, McKinsey and GE in the 2009 list of Global Top Companies for Leaders. Conducted by Hewitt Associates, in partnership with The RBL Group and Fortune, the Global Top Companies for Leaders is the most comprehensive study of organisational leadership in the world. Olam is the first and only Singapore company to be named in both the 2009 lists for the Global Top Companies for Leaders and the Top Companies for Leaders in the Asia Pacific region. Hewitt, The RBL Group and Fortune utilised a three-step screening process to identify the finalist companies. This included assessing survey responses, conducting in-depth interviews and analysing financial performance in relation to industry. An independent judging panel selected and ranked these companies based on criteria that included strength of leadership practices and culture, examples of leader development on a global scale, impact of leaders in communities in which they operate, business performance and company reputation.

Olam was awarded the “Most Transparent Company” award for the “Commerce” category by the Securities Investors Association, Singapore (SIAS) at the SIAS Investors’ Choice Awards 2009 in October 2009. This marks Olam’s fourth consecutive win since 2006. In 2005 when Olam was public listed, the Group was runner-up to the same award and won the “Most Transparent Company” award for the “New Issues” category. Introduced a decade ago to recognise Singapore-listed companies for their efforts in promoting good corporate governance, the awards are based on key criteria such as timeliness, substantiality and clarity of news releases, degree of media access, frequency of corporate results, availability of segmental information and communication channels. Winners are selected from nominations received from investment analysts, heads of research, fund managers and members of the mass media.

Olam is the only Singapore firm in 2009 Forbes Asia Fabulous 50, an annual list of 50 big-cap and profitable firms in the region. Only companies with revenues or market capitalisation of at least US$3 billion, and a five-year record of operating profitability and return on equity, are covered. Other criteria include long-term profitability, sales and earnings growth, stock price appreciation, projected earnings, quality of management and entrepreneurial skills

Olam was ranked third in The Asset Corporate Governance Awards 2008 in Singapore. As one of Asia’s leading financial publications, The Asset assessed corporate governance standards based on The Combined Code Principles of Good Governance and Code of Best Practice derived by the magazine’s committee on its final report and from the Cadbury and Greenbury Reports as well as the White Paper on Corporate Governance in Asia produced by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. As part of its rigorous assessment process, issuers and investors, who constitute the bulk of The Asset’s readership, are consulted in the process either through the Asset Benchmark Research or in the course of the Triple A selection.

Group Managing Director and CEO, Sunny Verghese, has been named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2008 Singapore and will represent Singapore at the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year award in Monte Carlo in 2009. Earlier, he was announced the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2008 under the “Commodities Supply Chain” category. The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards was first launched by Ernst & Young in the United States in 1986 to honour entrepreneurs whose ingenuity and perseverance created and sustained successful, growing business ventures. Today, the awards programme has expanded to more than 135 cities in over 50 countries, with awards presented to over 1,000 of the world’s most outstanding entrepreneurs annually. It is also recognised as one of the most prestigious international business awards in the world.

Olam received a second runner-up award for Sustainable Investment in Africa at the Africa investor (Ai) Awards 2008 held on October 27, 2008 in Durban, South Africa. Organised by the Africa investor Group, a provider of investment data, research, broadcast and published content to investors with interests in Africa, the Ai Awards are pan-African business and investment awards that recognise and reward the achievements of the private sector across wide-ranging sectors and disciplines. The awards reward exceptional business practices, economic achievements and investments across the investment spectrum in Africa, and Olam was second runner-up under the Sustainable Investment in Africa category. In addition to business success, the awards emphasise responsibility towards society and good corporate citizenship. The judging panel for the Ai Awards included representatives of the Commission for Africa, African Development Bank, UN Fund for International Partnerships, African Business Roundtable and advisors of the UN Industrial Development Organization.

Olam was awarded the “Most Transparent Company” award for the “Commerce” category by the Securities Investors Association, Singapore (SIAS) at the SIAS Investors’ Choice Awards 2008 in October 2008. This marks Olam’s third win in a row since 2006. In the year 2005 when Olam was public listed, the Group was runner-up to the same award and won the “Most Transparent Company” award for the “New Issues” category. Introduced nine years ago to recognise Singapore-listed companies for their efforts in promoting good corporate governance, the awards are based on key criteria such as timeliness, substantiality and clarity of news releases, degree of media access, frequency of corporate results, availability of segmental information and communication channels. Winners are selected from nominations received from investment analysts, heads of research, fund managers and members of the mass media.

Olam received the 2008 World Business and Development Award, in support of the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations Development Programme. The biennial World Business and Development Awards acknowledge the contribution of the private sector to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals through their core business. Olam, through its Rice extension farming and out-grower programme in Nigeria, has been focusing on increasing the overall returns to the rice farmer through enhanced productivity, improved quality and guaranteed buy-back of crop. This initiative has grown from supporting 1,000 farmers in 2005 to more than 10,000 farmers by 2008. It has helped farmers increase their yields and quadruple their earnings from the farm.

Olam was awarded the “Most Transparent Company” trophy for the Commerce category by the Securities Investors Association, Singapore (SIAS) at the SIAS Investors Choice Awards 2007 in October 2007. The awards are based on key criteria such as timeliness, substantiality and clarity of news releases, degree of media access, frequency of corporate results, availability of segmental information and communication channels. Winners are selected from nominations received from investment analysts, heads of research, fund managers and members of the mass media.

Olam International is a Stevie Award Winner of the “Best Investor Relations Program 2006″ at the fourth annual International Business Awards, the world’s only international, all-encompassing business awards programme. Our company is also a Stevie Finalist for the “Investor Relations Website” award. Hailed as “the business world’s own Oscars” by the New York Post (April 27, 2005), Stevie Awards are conferred to honour companies of all types and sizes and the people behind them, recognising outstanding performance in the work place worldwide. Recipients of the 98 International Stevie Award trophies were selected from more than 1,000 nominations received from companies and individuals in more than 30 countries.

Olam International received three prestigious honours at the Singapore Corporate Awards 2007. They are the Best Managed Boards (Silver) Award, Best Annual Report (Gold) Award for Newly-listed Firms and Best Investor Relations (Bronze) Award in the more than S$500 million market cap category. These three awards recognise companies for achieving a high distinction and setting exemplary standards and practices in corporate governance and communication to shareholders. The Singapore Corporate Awards are organised by the Business Times in collaboration with UBS and supported by the Singapore Exchange.

Group Managing Director and CEO, Sunny Verghese, was named “Outstanding Chief Executive of the Year” at the Singapore Business Awards (SBA) 2007. For this Award, leaders of organisations were judged on their performance in three key areas ‘ Managerial Skills, Financial Performance and Contributions to the Community ‘ by a distinguished panel of judges drawn from the political, business and academic fields. In its citation, the SBA recognised Sunny Verghese “for his exemplary leadership and vision in propelling Olam International from a start-up in one country with one product to a leading global supply chain manager of 14 products operating in 52 countries”.

Group Managing Director and CEO, Sunny Verghese, received the accolade of Best Executive in Singapore for 2006 awarded by the magazine Asiamoney. For the magazine’s Best Executive awards, key senior management figures in Asia-Pacific were judged on their performance over 2006 by Asiamoney, following extensive research and in-depth interviews with key analysts and investors in each country. Judging the top regional executives took into account a wide variety of factors, including overall financial and business performance, management strategy and vision, investor relations, access to management, transparency, awareness of shareholder value and operational efficiency. These awards are closely watched by top executives in the fund management industry and are widely seen as one of the highly regarded awards in the Asia Pacific region.

General Manager (Corporate Affairs), Suresh Sundararajan, was “highly commended” for the “Best Investor Relations Officer” award for a large cap company at the IR Magazine Awards South East Asia Conference and Awards 2006 in October 2006. The IR Magazine awards are internationally recognised as an accurate and valid measure of excellence in Investor Relations due to its independent survey of portfolio managers, buy-side analysts and sell-side analysts on which they are based.

Olam was awarded the “Most Transparent Company” trophy for the Commerce category by the Securities Investors Association, Singapore (SIAS) at the SIAS Investors Choice Awards 2006 in September 2006. The awards are based on key criteria such as timeliness, substantiality and clarity of news releases, degree of media access, frequency of corporate results, availability of segmental information and communication channels. Winners are selected from nominations received from investment analysts, heads of research, fund managers and members of the mass media.

Olam was awarded the “Leading Corporate HR” and the “HR Practices Awards” conferred by the Singapore Human Resources Institute in May 2006. The Singapore HR Awards serves to honour and recognise organisations that are leading the pack and provide benchmarks in enhancing people and human capital management and development practices.

In recognition for its IPO performance, Olam won the “Best Investor Relations for an IPO” award at the IR Magazine South East Asia Conference and Awards 2005 in November 2005. The IR Magazine awards are internationally recognised as an accurate and valid measure of excellence in Investor Relations due to its independent survey of portfolio managers, buy-side analysts and sell-side analysts on which they are based.

In recognition of our efforts in raising corporate governance and transparency levels, Olam was awarded winner of the “Most Transparent Company” for the “New Issues” category by the Securities Investors Association of Singapore (SIAS) at the SIAS Investors Choice Awards 2005 in October 2005. The company also received a runner-up “Most Transparent Company” award under the “Commerce” category. The awards are based on key criteria such as timeliness, substantiality and clarity of news releases, degree of media access, frequency of corporate results, availability of segmental information and communication channels. Winners are selected from nominations received from investment analysts, heads of research, fund managers and members of the mass media.

Olam was conferred the “Leading HR Practices Award in Compensation and Reward Management” at the Singapore HR Awards 2005 ceremony. The Singapore HR Awards serves to honour and recognise organisations that are leading the pack and provide benchmarks in enhancing people and human capital management and development practices.

Olam was nominated as a “Computerworld Honors 2003 Finalist” for its application and development of the Electronic Suppliers Integration Project (eSIP), a central server in Singapore that communicates on an offline and online mode, with numerous locations in Africa, Asia and South America where sustained internet connectivity is not available, thereby automating the supply chain for agricultural raw materials.