Corporate Social Responsibility
ASAP's Alliance Excellence Award for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) honors alliances create significant, measurable benefits for society.
This award recognizes partnerships leveraging alliance management to achieve societal goals, such as sustainability or health, through nonprofit collaborations or for-profit initiatives with a not-for-profit purpose.
Past Recipients
2024 - COOP Centraal in Amsterdam
Partners:Energie Coöperatie Zuiderlicht, Energiek Velsen, Gemeente Amsterdam, Provincie Noord Holland, Vrije Universiteit van Amsterdam, Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Nova College, Univé Noord-Holland, and Rabobank Metropool Regio Amsterdam
COOP Centraal is a pioneering alliance that brings together nine organizations, spanning government, education, energy cooperatives, and business, to drive sustainable energy and community empowerment in Amsterdam. Founded in 2023, the alliance’s mission is to democratize energy ownership and foster sustainability by actively engaging young adults in local cooperative initiatives.
In its first year, COOP Centraal launched a €225,000 impact fund to support 20 local projects, placed young professionals in energy cooperatives, and inspired academic research on youth inclusion in sustainability. Through challenge-based learning, co-creation workshops, and open innovation, the alliance has connected over 200 people with energy cooperatives, created new jobs for young adults, and built a network of youth ambassadors.
COOP Centraal’s governance is uniquely inclusive, with equal representation from all partner types and a commitment to transparency and equality. Simple rules, such as equal participation regardless of financial contribution and always including young colleagues, ensure every voice is heard and youth perspectives are integrated.
The alliance openly shares its progress and lessons through its website, LinkedIn, and public presentations, inspiring others to adopt similar practices. Its impact is seen in increased youth engagement, new educational programs, and expanded cooperative networks, as well as its ability to change mindsets and foster collaborative innovation.
2023 - Our Race to Health Equity Enduring Alliances Playbook
Janssen Pharmaceuticals earned the 2023 ASAP Alliance Excellence Award for Corporate Social Responsibility for its innovative approach to advancing racial health equity through alliance management. The Enduring Alliances Playbook, launched in 2023, empowers employees across the organization to integrate health equity principles into external partnerships.
This actionable resource provides:
- Best practices and operational guidance for engaging partners with a health equity focus
- A behavior-change framework to drive progress at all organizational levels
- Clear, measurable goals and metrics for tracking engagement and impact
The Playbook focuses on four key partner categories, academic institutions, professional associations, advisors, scientific and clinical collaborators, and suppliers, ensuring relevance across Janssen’s global network. By promoting accountability and celebrating success stories, Janssen fosters a culture of inclusion and shared responsibility.
The program demonstrated measurable progress, including increased engagement with diverse partners and advancement toward long-term health equity objectives. Its openness, through public commitments, shared stories, and educational forums, underscores Janssen’s leadership in addressing systemic health disparities.
By combining alliance best practices with a clear societal mission, Janssen created a scalable, repeatable model that inspires others.
2022 - COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Chain Alliance
Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Merck Sharp & Dohme
2021 - COVID-19 Response Initiatives
In the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic, PTC demonstrated exceptional corporate social responsibility by leveraging its technology and expertise to address urgent societal needs. One of the most impactful efforts was participation in a major ventilator production initiative, where PTC provided augmented reality solutions to accelerate training and assembly processes. This enabled workers to quickly learn complex ventilator assembly steps in real-world settings, dramatically increasing production speed and efficiency.
The initiative helped scale output from just 50 ventilators per week to 1,500 per week, with 1,000 ventilators completed in only 2.4 days by the end of the project. In total, more than 13,000 ventilators were produced, saving lives during the pandemic’s peak.
Beyond ventilator production, PTC offered its augmented reality collaboration software free of charge to help businesses maintain continuity while complying with stay-at-home orders. The company also waived training and enablement fees for its partner ecosystem, ensuring organizations could continue building capabilities during a time of global disruption.
PTC actively shared best practices through webinars, industry articles, and social media, helping other organizations navigate crisis response and digital transformation. These efforts exemplify alliance best practices—rapid mobilization, resource sharing, and a commitment to societal good.
By combining cutting-edge technology with a spirit of collaboration and openness, PTC created a scalable, high-impact model for crisis response. This commitment to innovation and social responsibility earned PTC the 2021 ASAP Alliance Excellence Award for Corporate Social Responsibility.
2020 - "i on Hunger" Alliance
Protiviti’s “i on Hunger” alliance exemplifies the transformative power of corporate social responsibility through its innovative and far-reaching approach to alleviating world hunger. Since its inception in 2014, Protiviti—a global consulting firm—has partnered with non-profit organizations Feeding Children Everywhere and Rise Against Hunger, as well as 165 additional partners, to deliver over 10 million meals across 26 countries by the end of 2019. This achievement is the result of a scalable and flexible alliance model that empowers local offices to organize impactful events tailored to their communities, while remaining aligned with the United Nations’ “Zero Hunger by 2030” goal.
The program’s success is rooted in its openness and collaborative spirit. Protiviti’s turnkey event system and technology consulting contributions have enabled rapid expansion and deep engagement, not only among employees but also with clients and university partners. The alliance’s outcomes are transparent and mission-focused, with clear metrics that demonstrate tangible social impact.
Protiviti’s commitment to sharing best practices and lessons learned is evident in its public website, media coverage, and thought leadership. The company’s leaders openly discuss the alliance’s achievements and encourage others to adopt similar flexible, inclusive models. By fostering a culture of transparency and community engagement, Protiviti has set a new standard for how for-profit organizations can drive lasting social change through strategic partnerships and innovative practices. This narrative of measurable impact, openness, and collaboration is why Protiviti was honored with the 2020 Alliance Excellence Award for Corporate Social Responsibility.
2019 - Cambridge Assessment English
2018 - Cisco and Dimension Data (now NTT Data)
2017 - The Synergist and Sanofi
2015 - Valuing Nature in Business Decisions
Dow and The Nature Conservancy were honored for their groundbreaking collaboration that integrates the value of nature into corporate decision-making, transformative approach to sustainability. This alliance moved beyond traditional philanthropy to embed environmental considerations into business strategy, creating a model for other corporations to follow.
The partnership developed a framework and methodology for identifying, measuring, and valuing ecosystem services, such as clean water, flood protection, and biodiversity, within business operations. By quantifying these benefits, Dow demonstrated that investing in nature can deliver both environmental and economic returns. This approach influenced Dow’s long-term sustainability goals and set a precedent for incorporating natural capital into corporate planning.
The alliance also produced practical tools and research to help businesses worldwide assess and integrate nature-based solutions. These innovations enable companies to reduce environmental impact while improving operational efficiency, proving that conservation and profitability can coexist.
This collaboration exemplifies alliance best practices: shared vision, measurable outcomes, and scalability. It created a repeatable model for embedding sustainability into corporate culture and decision-making processes. By aligning business performance with environmental stewardship, Dow and The Nature Conservancy delivered profound social and ecological benefits—earning them the 2015 ASAP Alliance Excellence Award for Corporate Social Responsibility.
2014 - Alliance Against Malaria
The Sanofi and Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) alliance is an outstanding example of how collaboration can deliver measurable social impact. Formed between a global pharmaceutical company and a non-governmental organization focused on neglected diseases, the alliance aimed to develop an affordable, high-quality malaria treatment tailored to African patients, especially children.
The result was ASAQ Winthrop, a fixed-dose combination therapy that simplified treatment to one or two tablets per day and could dissolve in water for easy administration to young children. This innovation improved compliance and outcomes while meeting World Health Organization standards. The alliance adopted a tiered pricing model, offering treatments at “no profit-no loss” prices for public health systems, less than $1 for adults and $0.50 for children, making life-saving medicine accessible to the most vulnerable.
By mid-2013, more than 200 million treatments were distributed across malaria-endemic countries, enabling the treatment of over 200 million malaria cases. The drug was registered in 30 countries and prequalified by WHO, demonstrating rapid adoption and global impact.
The alliance exemplifies openness by rejecting patent protection for the medicine, allowing other manufacturers to produce it and expand access. Educational tools on malaria prevention, diagnosis, and treatment were made freely available without copyright restrictions, enabling Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and governments to adapt them to local needs.
Sanofi and DNDi actively shared lessons learned through publications, webinars, and conferences, including an article in Malaria Journal. They emphasized best practices such as setting measurable objectives early, defining governance structures, and aligning tasks with broader health system needs. This transparency and willingness to share knowledge reinforced their leadership in advancing alliance management and global health.
By combining innovation, measurable impact, and openness, Sanofi and DNDi set a benchmark for socially responsible alliances.
2013 - BIPBOP Electrician Training Program
Energy poverty affects over a billion people worldwide, limiting access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunity. Schneider Electric’s BipBop (Business, Innovation & People at the Base of the Pyramid) program tackles this challenge through alliances that combine resources, expertise, and local knowledge to create sustainable solutions. A cornerstone of this initiative is the Electrician Training Program, which equips individuals in under served communities with technical and entrepreneurial skills to deliver safe, reliable energy.
The program’s success is rooted in collaboration. Schneider Electric partners with NGOs, vocational schools, and community organizations to design culturally relevant curricula, provide hands-on training, and ensure certification standards. These alliances enable scalability and local ownership, critical for long-term impact. By leveraging complementary strengths, the program has trained thousands of electricians globally, empowering them to install and maintain modern energy systems and start small businesses that support community development.
This alliance-driven approach creates a ripple effect: improved energy access for homes, schools, and clinics; economic empowerment through job creation; and progress toward global sustainability goals. By fostering partnerships across sectors, Schneider Electric demonstrates that solving systemic challenges like energy poverty requires collective action, not isolated efforts.
Through innovation, measurable outcomes, and strong alliances, Schneider Electric’s BipBop Electrician Training Program exemplifies how collaboration can transform lives and communities—earning recognition as a model for corporate social responsibility.