Three businesses and one nonprofit from Northern Colorado and Wyoming have been named recipients of the 2021 BBB Torch Awards for Ethics by the Better Business Bureau Foundation Serving Northern Colorado and Wyoming. The virtual celebration was held Thursday, April 22nd and featured a panel discussion of local business and community leaders, recognition of the second class of BBB Ethics Scholar Interns, and the announcement of this year’s Torch Award for Ethics winners. FNBO was the 2021 Torch Awards for Ethics presenting sponsor.
This year’s Torch Award winners in the business category are:
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Blue Federal Credit Union, Headquarter in Cheyenne, WY, with branch locations along the Front Range
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Coffey Engineering and Surveying, Headquartered in Laramie, WY, with an office location in Loveland, CO
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Spine and Injury Clinic of Laramie, Headquartered in Laramie, WY
And the Torch Award winner from the nonprofit category is:
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Animal Friends Alliance, with two locations in Fort Collins, CO
Winners of the BBB Torch Awards for Ethics are evaluated and judged by an independent panel composed of board members and past Torch Award winners who review entries based on BBB’s six TRUST! Principles:
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Transformation at the Top: Leadership Commitment to Ethical Practices,
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Reinforce and Build: Communication of Ethical Practices,
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Unite the Team: Organizational Commitment to Ethical Practice,
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Steer Performance: Organizational Commitment to Performance Management Practices,
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Treasure People: Organizational Commitment to Ethical Human Resource Practices, and
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!Enthusiastically Reinvest: Organizational Commitment to the Community.
In addition, nonprofit nominees must have met BBB’s 20 Standards for Charity Accountability. This year’s nonprofit award was sponsored by the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado.
“We are so proud of all the winners, candidates, and Ethics Scholar interns who worked through some unique circumstances this year in the Torch Awards process,” said BBB president and CEO Shelley Polansky. “The challenges of the past year-plus show just how important it is for business to be built on trust and ethics and the competitive advantage those principles can provide in even the most demanding environments.”
Deciding the Torch Award winners is a year-round process which starts as soon as the previous year’s event is over. Businesses are nominated by peers, employees, colleagues, and customers. Nominated businesses are then thoroughly vetted to ensure they are in good standing with BBB and free of advertising issues and government actions. Nominees who pass vetting are then invited to compete for the award, which involves working with Ethics Scholar Interns from Colorado State University, University of Northern Colorado, or University of Wyoming to prepare the application for judging.
Nominations for the 2022 BBB Torch Awards for Ethics are now open. To nominate a business or nonprofit, visit our nomination page. The deadline to nominate an organization is July 9, 2021.
