Doğan Organic Products Returns from the Corporate Responsibility Marketplace with Two Awards

At the 4th annual Corporate Social Responsibility Solutions Marketplace, Doğan Organic Products was presented with the Corporate Citizenship Award, and selected as the runner-up for the International Jury Award. The Marketplace event is sponsored by the Corporate Social Responsibility Association of Turkey (TKSSD) under the “Enterprise 2023, Corporate Social Responsibility on the Republic’s Centennial” banner.

 

After assessing the top 500 Turkish companies in terms of their integration of a Corporate Social Responsibility approach in their respective business processes during the 2011-2012 period, the association solicited Corporate Social Responsibility solutions from 18 companies  for this year’s event.. Doğan Organic Products is proud to have earned the prestigious Corporate Citizenship Award for the farm-based sustainable growth model it developed in Kelkit.

 

Doğan Organic Products was also selected as the runner-up for the Jury Award, which is bestowed by a Board of Evaluators consisting of Corporate Social Responsibility Association of Europe (CSR Europe) national partners, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) members and international Corporate Social Responsibility experts.

 

Doğan General Manager İlhan Başaran commented on the awards received: “Ten years ago, our Honorary Chairman Aydın Doğan broke ground in his hometown of Kelkit for this Organic Dairy Farming Enterprise. His dream was to prevent the younger population from migrating into  urban communities by creating sufficient economic value within Kelkit. The fact that Kelkit, where livestock farming is the primary source of income, is actually one of the best regions within Turkey for organic farming allowed us to engage in organic livestock farming at EU standards. We thus commenced with organic milk production in the area, while respecting the life cycle involving the land, crops, animals and people. We also gained strength in the form of farmers joining our ranks from within the community,  and forged a bond with them by providing classroom training as well as hands-on applications, financing, and equipment support. Today, we are the largest organic milk producer in Turkey along with our contract farmers, and Kelkit has earned its place in Northeastern Anatolia as a center of attraction. We are truly delighted to have been found worthy of accolades in the form of awards from both the Corporate Social Responsibility Association of Turkey and the international jury that formed under the Association’s umbrella.”

 

On a fun side-note, Corporate Social Responsibility Marketplace visitors had a chance to sample milk and ayran served by Doğan Organic Products throughout the day.