CHICAGO,
IL-November 6, 2012 – Eight Chicago-area businesses have been selected as
recipients of the 2013 Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics by the Better
Business Bureau serving Chicago & Northern Illinois (BBB). The Torch Award
spotlights companies that exemplify ethical business practices. The 16th annual
awards luncheon will be Thursday, November 29, at the Hilton Rosemont Chicago
O’Hare in Rosemont, Illinois. Receiving recognition will be:
Access One, Chicago; Andrea A. Raila & Associates, Chicago; The Boeing
Company, Chicago; Eva’s Bridal of Oak Lawn, Oak Lawn; Imagetec L.P, McHenry; LTD
Commodities, Bannockburn; Passages Hospice, Lisle; and Scott Nelson Electric,
Inc., Mundelein.
“Companies
receiving the Torch Award do business the right way,” said Steve J. Bernas,
president & CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago
and Northern Illinois. "They know the
importance of their customers, employees and other stakeholders to business
success. And when this type of business succeeds the communities it operates in
succeed. This is at the heart of why the BBB conducts the Torch Award program.
We want to encourage businesses to do their best because it benefits everyone
involved."
Bernas
noted that the 2013 competition had the largest number of nominations and
entries since the program began, with more than 2,060 nominations from a wide
variety of businesses and consumers. Award recipients are selected by an
independent panel of judges.
“The
number and variety of businesses being nominated and entering the competition
reflects an increasing interest by companies in ethical business practices and
in self-regulation,” said Bernas. “This belief is the cornerstone of the BBB
system.”
Companies
are judged on ethical performance in seven general categories, and compared
against similarly sized businesses based on number of employees.
This
year's event has been made possible through the generosity of the following
sponsors:
AAA
Chicago, ABC TV, Abt Electronics & Appliances, Access One, Andrea A. Raila
& Associates, The Apartment People Ltd., Automated Data Processing (ADP), AT&T,
Bridgestone Firestone, BMO Harris Bank, N.A., CDW, The
Chicago South Loop Hotel,
Clune Construction, Combined Insurance, ComEd, Delaware Place Bank, DeVry Inc.,
Dex One Corporation, Discover Financial Services, Empire Today, Four Seasons
Home Services, Hallberg Commercial Insuror's Inc., Hanson Material Service,
Hilton Chicago Hotel, Imagetec L.P., The Inland Real Estate Group, Inc., Integrated
Project Management Co. Inc., Luna Chicago, LLC., Matthews Roofing Company Inc.,
Pampered Chef, Passages Hospice, Pinnacle, Plumbing Council, Tiffany & Co.,
Total Merchant Systems, Tribune Media Group, Sears Holdings Corporation, Urban
Imaging Group, U.S. Cellular, Walgreens, West Suburban Bank, Wireless Central, and
XSport Fitness.
Consumers
can nominate an ethical business on our website at http://chicago.bbb.org/torchnomination
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As a private,
non-profit organization, the purpose of the Better Business Bureau is to
promote an ethical marketplace. BBBs help resolve buyer/seller complaints by
means of conciliation, mediation and arbitration. BBBs also review advertising
claims, online business practices and charitable organizations. BBBs develop
and issue reviews on businesses and nonprofit organizations and encourage
people to check out a company or charity before making a purchase or donation.
