Djurens Rätt (Animal Rights Sweden) is voted national public champion for Sweden in European Business Awards

Djurens Rätt has been elected the National Public Champion for Sweden in the 2014/2015 European Business Awards sponsored by RSM following the first round of the public vote, which generated over double the amount of votes this year.

In the first phase of public voting, 156,573 votes were received for the video entries posted by participants online, and Djurens Rätt got the highest number of votes for Sweden. Djurens Rätt was elected out of 709 other businesses, and is one of 33 National Public Champions announced today from countries across Europe.

The National Public Champions will now go head-to-head in a second public vote which opens today and runs until 16 April 2015, and will result in the company with the most votes being announced as the ‘European Public Champion’ at a Gala Event on 26 May 2015 in London.

Camilla Björkbom, President of Djurens Rätt, said: “We are extremely proud to be named the National Public Champion of Sweden. This shows that NGOs are to be reckoned with. Where companies deliver economic growth, we in the non-profit sector are proud to show that we use the collected funds to make a difference. This award acknowledges that Djurens Rätt and all of our members and donors make a difference for the animals.”

Adrian Tripp, CEO of the European Business Awards, said: “It is a fantastic stamp of approval to be voted best in class by the public, and this voting stage has provided a wonderful opportunity to engage clients, staff, stakeholders, and potential new customers. Well done to all our National Public Champions.”

The European Business Awards is an independent Awards programme designed to recognise and promote excellence, best practice and innovation in the European business community. This year it engaged with over 43,000 businesses from 33 European countries.

The guiding principles of the Awards are Innovation, Ethics and Financial Success. These are the values which underpin the achievements of thriving businesses and very much align with the values of RSM.

Ethics -businesses need to demonstrate how they operate with a broad awareness of their role and impact in wider society

Innovation – the ability to innovate, pioneer and in some cases regenerate their operations

Financial Success – the ability to generate a financial surplus

These three points provide the framework for the judging process and enable organisations of all sizes to compete on a common set of principles that are applicable to all.

For more information and review the video entries please visit www.businessawardseurope.com.

The video entry of Djurens Rätt and further voting in the competition can be found on: http://www.businessawardseurope.com/vote/detail/sweden/10816