This year, as part of the partnership between the EDP Volunteering program and Junior Achievement Portugal (JAP), EDP has joined the European edition of the 'The Company' - 31st JA Europe Company of the Year Competition (COYC).

Portugal will hold the 31st final of Junior Achievement Europe's COMPANY OF THE YEAR COMPETITION, which will take place on July 22-24, 2020. And for the first time, the event will be entirely virtual, which means that anyone can watch it on streaming platforms. This European competition involves young people from 40 different countries, including the Portuguese team, which has qualified for the European final as part of Junior Achievement's Portuguese edition.  It will be possible to visit the stands of each project and event sponsor on the event page: https://www.jacompanyoftheyear.org/.

The event will be hosted by Catarina Furtado and will feature several speakers, such as Paolo Gentiloni (European Commissioner for Economy), Mariya Gabriel (European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education & Youth) and Martin Kern (European Institute of Technology Director).    

Besides the COMPANY OF THE YEAR 2020 award, there are other prizes focusing on the different areas that make up a business, such as innovation, sustainability, and customer-focused solutions. These are called signature prizes and are awarded by JAP's partners - EDP, Fundação Ageas, and SONAE. 

The EDP Green Entrepreneurship Award will be presented by António Vidigal, CEO of EDP Inovação, to the mini-company that best incorporates the principles and spirit of green entrepreneurship in its work. The mini-company must present a creative, innovative solution that addresses some of the challenges facing society today: tackling climate change, reducing CO2 emissions, championing energy efficiency, and encouraging the bridging of social inequalities. EDP is looking for young entrepreneurs who are particularly sensitive about the importance of sustainability and have created a mini-company whose products and processes have been specifically designed to be eco-friendly.

The jury of the award - consisting of EDP representatives from the Social Responsibility, Innovation and Sustainability areas - will assess the companies' Corporate Program results as well as evidence that they have spanned the entire life cycle of a company during the year-long Program. The jury will take into consideration the ability to learn throughout the project's various stages and not just the completion of a business planning exercise or of a single research and development phase.

THE COMPANY OF THE YEAR is more than a business competition for young people. It seeks to balance the business achievements of each team as a whole with the personal development of its members. Running a financially successful mini-company or creating an innovative product or service is not enough to win this award. The members of the winning mini-company must also show that they understand how and why the company operated the way it did and recognize the differences and similarities between their mini-company and the real companies in its respective market.

EDP and Junior Achievement
EDP is a partner of the oldest entrepreneurial education organization in the world - Junior Achievement, which has been in existence for 100 years.
This organization has been working tirelessly to bring education closer to the business world while also inspiring and giving young entrepreneurs the skills they need to develop a culture of individual responsibility.
If Junior Achievement's history goes a long way back, its partnership with EDP has 15 years under its belt; in fact, EDP is one of the organization's founding members in Portugal. It has been a fruitful journey of collaboration, sharing and mutual aid. This partnership is a good example of the company's ongoing investment in volunteering, especially in skills volunteering.
Overall, more than 600 EDP employees have participated in JA's volunteer initiatives, leaving their comfort zone and going to schools to put their knowledge and experience to the service of young people or receiving students at their workplace to share their everyday reality with them.