theBuzz 2020

PR PRISM-WINNING PARTNERSHIP:
OGILVY, KONICA MINOLTA SA & FTFA
Ogilvy Johannesburg, Konica Minolta South Africa and
Food and Trees for Africa (FTFA) have been awarded the
Prism Bronze Award for Excellence and Leadership in
Corporate Social Responsibility. Celebrating excellence in
public relations, the award was presented during the 23rd
Prism Award ceremony, held online on 15 May 2020.
It recognises the partnership’s longstanding tree planting
initiative, which has seen more than 50,000 trees planted
across South Africa over the past 12 years.
In 2008, Konica Minolta SA established a partnership with
FTFA to plant trees in order to offset the company’s carbon
footprint, and thereby combat climate change. The project
further aims to educate youth as to the importance of
planting trees, as well as inspire other companies to
implement sustainable initiatives and adhere to carbon tax
laws. The initiative has also sought to commemorate the life
of Nelson Mandela, by planting trees in areas connected
with his legacy. Ogilvy assisted in establishing a
partnership with the Robben Island Museum (RIM), and in
September last year, 101 trees were planted on Robben
Island, celebrating the 101st anniversary of Madiba’s birth
and supporting RIM’s long-term plan to rehabilitate
sustainable vegetation on the island.
More recently, Konica Minolta SA celebrated planting their 50,000th tree by donating 1,500 trees for planting across
Soweto, expected to offset an estimated 555.5 tons of CO e in their lifetime.
In addition to meeting – and frequently exceeding – the PR objectives set for the project, the initiative has had a
far-reaching impact on the communities and environments with which it has interacted. Over the past 12 years,
Konica Minolta SA has donated trees to 1,037 beneficiary organisations, including 985 schools, 52 community centres and
11,639 homes. The trees help to prevent both erosion and water overflow, and fruit trees play a role in supporting food
security. Around 3, 500 learners have been educated as to the importance of planting trees and 129 community educators
have been trained.
The PRISMs are Africa’s most sought after public relations and communication awards. They are awarded to individuals,
students, consultancies, companies, government organisations and NGOs that have “successfully fused strategy with
creativity and professionalism to achieve the best communications and business objectives in their public relations
campaigns”. More than 67 leading industry professionals judge the awards – along with ten up and coming young judges,
as part of the PRISMs Young Voices initiative.
The Bronze Award presented to Ogilvy, Konica Minolta SA and FTFA was the only award presented in the category of
Corporate Social Responsibility.
40
theBUZZ | issue #8 | December 2020