NagaWorld Kind Hearts ESG initiatives honoured with 4 Stevie® Awards for 2nd year running

HONG KONG, March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NagaWorld's developing non-financial Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) focus, NagaWorld Kind Hearts, has won 4 Stevie^® Awards trophies at the prestigious 17th Annual International Business Awards^® – 1 Silver Stevie^® Award and 2 Bronze Stevie^® Awards in the Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year in Asia, Australia and New Zealand category and 1 Bronze Stevie^® Award in the newly-formed Most Valuable Corporate Response to COVID-19 category. This marks the second successive year that the NagaWorld Kind Hearts CSR team and volunteers have received multiple accolades in the competition for their extensive range of initiatives contributing towards underprivileged communities and the nation building of Cambodia.

NagaWorld is a wholly owned subsidiary of NagaCorp Ltd., which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (SEHK stock code: 3918) and owns, manages and operates the only world-class integrated entertainment and leisure complex in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.

Considered the Oscars or Emmys of the corporate world, the 17th Annual International Business Awards^® give worldwide recognition to the achievements and positive contributions of organisations and working professionals over the past year. The 17th edition saw organisers receive more than 3,800 nominations from organisations in almost every industry across 63 nations.

"Winning Stevie^® Awards is a recognition of many of our efforts, hard work and commitment to develop a set of ESG initiatives for a company which has been operating for many years in Cambodia," said NagaWorld Managing Director Mr. Pern Chen. "For us, having our hard work, our nation building initiatives, our reinvestment back into local communities and being recognized internationally spur us on for our business and pave the way for us to develop a set of measurable metrics to be more accountable to our stakeholders in a developing nation on the ESG front."

"Also, this is the second year in a row that we've won these Stevie^® Awards, which will help to boost the morale of our volunteers, especially during these times of difficulty. It shows that we are on the right track. We hope to do more for this country."

The Silver Stevie^® Award was given for 'Fostering Development With NagaWorld Kind Hearts', which refers to the comprehensive range of CSR activities conducted during 2019 and which form the foundation stone for a set of developing ESG initiatives. The three Bronze Stevie^® Awards were given for 'Nation Building for Cambodia's Youth and National Sports Development', 'NagaWorld Kind Hearts – Helping Create A Sustainable, Greener Cambodia' and 'NagaWorld Battles COVID-19 With Pro-Active Preventive Measures'. Focusing on 4 key pillars – Education Enhancement, Community Engagement, Sports Development and Environmental Care – help the efforts of NagaWorld Kind Hearts programmes attaining transformative changes in the lives of over 390,000 underprivileged youths and community members to date. Some highlights from 2019 activities include:

• Providing study materials to a total of 24,124 children at 60 primary schools in 11 provinces, as well as supporting school improvements to help create better learning environments.
• Conducting fire safety awareness workshops for the benefit of 3,086 students, and donating 125 fire extinguishers to schools.
• Sponsoring 10 underprivileged students for 3 years to help them complete their high school education.
• Sponsoring year-long programmes for 6 at-risk teens – including counselling, education and vocational skills training – to help them turn their lives around for a brighter future.
• Making a series of donations to public institutions with a combined value of more than US$144,000 including personal protective equipment, testing kits and machinery, and also 100 tonnes of rice for those struggling to cope with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Contributing US$2 million to the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia to go towards their youth empowerment and sports development programmes in Kampong Speu.
• Providing football coaching training to 120 sports teachers from all 94 secondary and high schools in Kampong Speu province, helping them gain official D-Licence coaching certificates from the Football Federation of Cambodia and benefitting over 41,000 students through improved trainings. 25 selected sports teachers were given additional training in a Refresher Course to further enhance their coaching skills. An U18 Football Mini Tournament was also organised for around 600 students in Kampong Speu to showcase their increased skill levels, with promising young talents scouted for extra training.
• Rewarding SEA Games gold medallists, coaches and the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia with cash prizes totalling US$36,000 as part of an incentives programme for sporting success.
• Appointing 70 employees and 27 school principals as 'Green Ambassadors' to help spread environmental awareness and knowledge on proper waste management to 12,500 students. 530 volunteers and students also helped remove 492kg of trash from communities.
• Planting 1,000 trees at school compounds across Cambodia to help provide shade, improve air quality and reduce risks of flash floods. Workshops were also given to students on environmental awareness in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and City Hall, among others.
• Removing single-use plastic straws from operations resort-wide, which helped eliminate the use of 4 million straws over the year, and replaced take-away plastic cutlery and containers with biodegradable and recyclable alternatives.
• Collecting 449kg of used soap for Soap for Hope Project, an NGO project to train underprivileged communities on how to recycle soap, which helps improve hygiene standards and provides an alternative income source for their families.

The judging process started from July through early September and judges remarks for NagaWorld Kind Hearts included high praise such as "Impressive initiatives – shall be copied in other countries", "Well-thought execution", "A socially important programme… to enhance the potential of children" and "Very good work! Green culture and respect for the environment is our hope for the future."

Judges also commended NagaWorld's response to COVID-19, calling it "Social responsibility in the right time" and "In a crisis like this, sharing information and prevention materials may not seem like an innovation, but it is the best tool to achieve change. Congratulations!"

About NagaCorp Ltd.

NagaCorp Ltd. was listed on The Hong Kong Stock Exchange in October 2006 (SEHK stock code: 3918). Established in 1995, NagaCorp's wholly owned subsidiary NagaWorld Ltd. owns, manages and operates the only world-class integrated entertainment and leisure complex in Phnom Penh, the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia. It owns a casino license valid for 70 years, and exclusive gaming rights for a period of around 51 years (1995-2045). NagaCorp was selected for inclusion in the Hang Seng Foreign Companies Composite Index launched on 5 September 2011. On 10 September 2018, the Group was included as a constituent of the Hang Seng Composite Large Cap & MidCap Index. 

About NagaWorld Kind Hearts

Since its establishment in 1995, NagaWorld has embraced kindness of heart, contributing positively to the socioeconomic growth and development of Cambodia. NagaWorld Kind Hearts was formed in March 2014 by employees with NagaWorld's full support to promote volunteerism towards Corporate Social Responsibility programmes.