For the successful implementation of the Prime Minister’s Hibiscus Award, it is important for assessment procedures to be simple, clear, efficient and reflective of current trends in environmental management practices. The assessment is carried out in two stages:
Stage I: Submission of a written questionnaire by the participating company.
The responses are evaluated against a set of criteria drawn up by the TC.
Stage II: Site visit to verify Stage 1 submission and the company’s environmental performance and commitment.
Participants short-listed for Stage II are required to provide additional facility information if necessary (e.g. site layout, history, etc) for the site visit. A team of not less than two members will assess each site. The duration of each site visit would not exceed two days. At the end of the visit, the assessors would debrief the participant on the site assessment, in accordance to the guidelines provided to the assessment team.
Stage I – Assessment of Submissions
The Stage I Questionnaire requires the company to provide information in fourteen broad areas. These areas which are based on some key principles issued by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)’s Business Charter for Sustainable Development are:
1. Leadership, priority and commitment
2. Managing environmental issues
3. Training and communication
4. Legal and other compliance
5. Environmental emergencies
6. Environmental improvement
7. Product/service communication
8. Employee participation
9. Supply chain
10. Environmental social responsibility
11. Environmental accounting
12. Life cycle Analysis
13. Eco-design
14. Eco-labelling
The above areas cover a broad range of environmental issues that companies should be addressing. Each area is provided a numerical score which allows the TC to carry out the initial screening of applications and to select the companies for Stage II assessment.
A company does not have to score highly in every section. The Questionnaire has been designed to be flexible so that weaknesses in some areas can be counter-balanced with strengths in other areas.
Submissions will be short-listed at the end of Stage I.
Stage II – Site Assessment of Short-listed Submissions
The TC will assign members of the expert panel into small teams to visit the sites of each of those companies that meet the selection requirements of the Stage I Assessment. The site visits will be limited to two days per site. The teams will consist of two or three assessors who will assess the accuracy of the written submission (provided at Stage I) by walking through the site and interviewing relevant personnel randomly.
A confidential assessment report for each site visited will then be produced based on this site assessment. The report is an internal Hibiscus Award document and will not be made available to the company or any third party.
The Award is organised to the highest possible professional standard. All submissions to the award organisers and any additional information provided by participating companies are treated in the strictest confidence and will not be seen by any third party. The site management will be debriefed on the site assessment at the end of the site visit. The AOC, would make decisions taking into consideration the findings and recommendations of the TC and assessors.
