Call for Recommendations: 2022 Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence
Office of the Spokesperson
On behalf of Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs is soliciting public input for recommendations for this year’s Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE). Now in its 23rd year, the ACE honors U.S. companies demonstrating leadership in their overseas operations, and whose operational practices and decision-making exemplify American values and international best practices. Recommendations should be submitted to embassies and consulates by June 1, 2022.
For 2022, the ACE categories are:
Award for Corporate Excellence in Responsible Business Operations
This category recognizes a company’s commitment to upholding American values abroad in all its operations, including respecting human rights and labor rights, ethical supply chain management, and promoting democracy. Candidate companies excelling in this field embrace core American values at home and abroad, including those emphasized during the Summit for Democracy.
Award for Corporate Excellence in Climate Resilience
This category recognizes a company’s commitment to using methods, investments, and approaches that enable its business and the communities in which it operates to adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis. Candidate companies excelling in this field address shared climate challenges by contributing to global emissions monitoring, abatement, and adaption, and thus to global economic and human development. Of particular focus is the candidate company’s efforts to implement solutions and initiatives to protect its own operations as well as communities from the impacts of the climate crisis.
Award for Corporate Excellence in Inclusive Economic Growth
This category recognizes companies that, through their business and outside efforts, emphasize equity and sustainable development in their host country, including through promoting sustainable, inclusive and equitable economic growth, creating greater opportunities for all, raising basic standards of living, and fostering social development. Candidate companies excelling in this field promote American ideals and values such as equality and fairness and are taking concrete steps to ensure under-served populations are not being left out by the economy.
Details on Submitting a Recommendation
ACE nominations are focused on the exemplary operations of a company in a specific country and nominations are officially put forward to the Secretary of State’s office by Chiefs of Mission from U.S. embassies and consulates. As such, recommendations should be directed to a specific U.S. embassy or consulate for the operations of a U.S. firm in that country.
Stakeholders should contact the U.S. embassy or consulate switchboard during normal business hours and ask to speak with the economic section regarding the Award for Corporate Excellence. Contact information can be obtained on the website of the respective embassy or consulate. Chiefs of Mission will evaluate recommendations and determine which to send forward as nominations to the Secretary of State. Stakeholders are asked to put forward recommendations to embassies and consulates for their consideration and should refrain from lobbying for a particular recommendation once it has been submitted.
Compelling recommendations will include proof of positive impact, particularly with metrics when available; show alignment of core business operations with the category for which the company is being nominated; and demonstrate commitment to the communities where a company does business. Nominations of small-and-medium-sized firms are encouraged.
For further information, please go to www.state.gov/ace or visit us on Twitter @EconAtState.
