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Monash student awarded for corporate social responsibility

27 April 2005

Monash postgraduate student Ms Donna Lorenz has been awarded a commendation in the Prime Minister's 2004 Corporate Social Responsibility Essay Competition.

The annual competition, part of the Prime Minister's Community Business Partnership, offers students an opportunity to express their opinions on corporate social responsibility.

Ms Lorenz was invited to Brisbane earlier this month to accept her award from the Minister for Family and Community Services and deputy chair of the partnership, Senator Kay Patterson.

One of 11 finalists, selected from nearly 100 entries, Ms Lorenz's winning essay was a mock speech aimed at convincing a group of corporate shareholders to be socially responsible.

"I was undertaking a Graduate Diploma in International Development and Environmental Analysis, which included several corporate sustainability subjects, at the time I wrote the essay," Ms Lorenz said.

"The social and environmental impacts of business are of great concern to me and I hope to make an impact on them in the future.

"It was also a good opportunity to translate what I had learnt into a real-life scenario and to benchmark my communication skills against students from all over Australia."

Senator Patterson said the essay competition encouraged Australian students to think about the impact of business on society and how corporate social responsibility could benefit communities and businesses alike.

"The essays we received showed that the current generation of students care about the way businesses operate in their communities," Senator Patterson said.

Ms Lorenz is completing a Master of Corporate Environmental and Sustainability Management at Monash.