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28 October 2004

Powell Honors U.S. Firms' Corporate Stewardship in Fiji, Brazil

Presents corporate excellence awards to Motorola, FIJI Water

Washington -- Secretary of State Colin Powell has recognized two U.S. companies, Motorola and FIJI Water, for their corporate citizenship and innovative social programs in Brazil and Fiji.

At an October 27 State Department ceremony, Powell presented the Secretary of State's 2004 Award for Corporate Excellence to officials of the two companies, selected from a group of 50 nominated by U.S. embassies for their good business practices and contributions to local communities.

FIJI Water's founder and chief executive officer, David Gilmour, said his company has built five kindergartens for Fijian village children and established programs to support students and teachers in the country. The company directs a portion of its revenues into a trust fund, which is also used to fund sanitation, environmental and infrastructure projects throughout the island, Gilmour said.

He said his company has benefited enormously from its cooperation with the government of Fiji and that he hoped FIJI Water's successful model will encourage additional investment in the island.

"Perhaps this model can be a model for other parts of the developing world," Gilmour said.

Secretary Powell presented a second award to Motorola for the work of its subsidiary, Motorola Brasil.

"Motorola understands that a crucial part of doing business in another country is becoming actively involved in the life of the local community," Powell said.

In Brazil, Motorola is an active participant in anti-crime efforts and has provided local police throughout the country with vehicles and radios to enhance vigilance, Powell said.

"Brazil's Ministry of Justice was so impressed that they asked Motorola to write a book about their creative policing program," he added.

The company also fights crime by reaching out to underprivileged youth through mentoring programs and after-school football classes, and has donated more than $230 million over the past decade to a technical college in Sao Paolo, Powell said.

On the environmental front, Motorola treats the wastewater produced at its Brazil plant to alleviate the country's shortage of clean drinking water and has led a nationwide effort to recycle batteries. The effort has succeeded in collecting more than 100 tons of old car and cell phone batteries so far, Powell said.

"The award is a timely reminder for Motorola that we play an important role in society beyond the obviously commercial contributions. Our values say just as much about us as our profits," said the company's chairman and chief executive officer, Ed Zander.

Motorola is the only company to have received the corporate excellence award twice, having been honored in 2000 for its work in Malaysia.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)