Tickets to the Australian Drinks Awards have now sold out. Here is all you need to know about the awards being handed out on Thursday, 5 August at the Ivy Ballroom in Sydney. Forty-two awards in all will be distributed across Brand, Supplier and Contribution to Industry categories. Awards to be presented on the night include:
Brand Awards
The thirty-five brand awards are divided across Fan Favourite and Gaining in Popularity categories and include beer (classic, contemporary, premium, craft), cider, wine (red, white, rose, Champagne and sparkling), spirits (dark, white and aperitif/liqueurs), RTD (dark and white) and new to the awards this year, non-alcoholic.
The top 200 drinks brands in the country are automatically entered into the competition and Thrive Research determine the winners via a survey of 4000 consumers.
Supplier Awards
The highly esteemed Supplier Awards are determined by the results of the industry wide Engagement Program, facilitated by Advantage Group. The category includes: Supply Chain Management Award, Category Management Award, Most Improved Supplier of the Year, Supplier of the Year.
Contribution to Industry Awards
Drinks Association’s CEO, Georgia Lennon says, “We expect this year’s Contribution to Industry awards to be like no other and for the competition to be tough. Across the board we have seen the industry lift and adapt to the most extraordinary working conditions. We cannot wait to hear our members’ stories of how they not just survived but performed and thrived in the year that was 2020."
Corporate Social Responsibility Award: Recognises an organisation's unique initiatives and strategies demonstrating a commitment to socially responsible principles such as responsible drinking, environmental sustainability or community, charity and corporate values.
Inclusive & Diverse Workplace Award: recognises organisations that prioritise diversity and recognise the value of an inclusive workplace for individuals and their organisations.
Most Improved Gender Equity Award: The gender equity award has changed this year and been renamed: Most Improved Gender Equity Award. In past years, the Gender Equity and Inclusive & Diverse Workplace Awards received very similar applications, indicating the criteria were not separate enough. Gender equity is really a part of Inclusive and Diverse workplaces so there was some duplication.
For greater clarity and to ensure that large and small companies can be considered alongside each other, the Drinks Association undertook to redefine the award. This includes using WGEA data to measure gender parity and an assessment of how and what measures have been taken by organisations in order to achieve it.
Pernod Ricard’s HRD, Christian Campanella explained, “This new award measures progress in D&I using measurable data points based on the WGEA model. So, it’s not about where you are at but rather the progress you have made.”
As the Embrace Difference Council’s scorecard is now reaching a level of maturity and incorporates real data in relation to gender equity, the decision was made that this was a good starting point to recognise companies that have moved forward in their gender equity development. Data from WGEA is first assessed and then finalists’ submissions explain how the organisations have pushed their businesses along on their gender equity journeys.
Judging panels convene to decide on each of the three Contribution to Industry Awards and each panel includes members of the Drinks Association Board, members of industry and experts in the space of Diversity & Inclusion and Corporate Social Responsibility. Any judge whose organisation has put forward a submission for a particular category of an award, is not eligible to participate in the judging process for that award.