Just a Drop is honoured to have been recognised as the winner of the 2022 Charity Times ‘Corporate Social Responsibility Project of the Year’ Award, alongside the charity’s long-term partner, compressor firm Atlas Copco.  

At a star-studded event at London Marriott Grosvenor Square, the award came as a result of another successful year of partnership that in the last year alone has reached 5,704 through safe water and sanitation projects across Cambodia, Nicaragua and Uganda.  

Spanning a decade, the partnership between Just a Drop and Atlas Copco has seen the company donate over £350,000 to the international, safe water charity, mostly funded through staff payroll giving which is double matched by the company. With these generous donations, Just a Drop has been able to support almost 30,000 people across the world, funding over 20 transformative water and sanitation projects across seven countries.   

Over the past year, the company has used the projects as a catalyst to start conversations in their office around topics that can often be seen as taboo. As a predominantly male, engineering organisation, topics such as menstrual hygiene are rarely broached in day to day conversation but not only have the organisation voted overwhelmingly to support menstrual hygiene programmes across Nicaragua and Uganda, but they also marked International Women’s Day in March this year by running a campaign to celebrate the successes women have made across all aspects of society.  

Partnerships and Events Manager, Alice Mellar said of the partnership, “We are so delighted that this partnership is getting the recognition that it deserves.  

Atlas Copco and the Water for All Committee have been loyal supporters of Just a Drop over the last decade, and have truly made a transformation impact to the lives of so many community members across three continents through their donations and support.” 

The Charity Times Awards is an annual awards ceremony for outstanding achievements within the UK charity and not-for-profit sector. Now in its 23rd year, the Awards attract hundreds of high-quality entries, which are evaluated by an expert independent judging panel. In this particular category, Just a Drop and Atlas Copco faced tough opposition from partnerships in the sector including, Asda and Rethink Food, Credit Suisse and Plan International, Nivea Sun and Cancer Research and Patron Capital.  

The award was received by Just a Drop’s Alice Mellar, and Water for All Committee Chair at Atlas Copco, Alexandra Hatt who attended the London ceremony. On awarding the trophy, the partnership was praised by Judges, with the host commenting: "The partnership between Just a Drop and Atlas Copco demonstrates a clear global impact based on a working relationship that has been sustained to a very high level for many years".  

To find out more about the charity times awards, please visit: https://www.charitytimes.com/awards/host.php  

And for more details on our partnership with Atlas Copco and the projects they support, please visit their partnership page here: https://www.justadrop.org/atlas-copco