On October 25th, Simpson Furones International was honored with a Corporate Good Citizen Award by the American Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Panama (AMCHAM).
The awards program was created in 2010 by the AMCHAM Corporate Social Responsibility Committee and in 2011 six companies were recognized for their service to the community. Simpson Furones International was awarded in the Small and Medium Business Enterprise category for their work in helping to establish the Panama Green Building Council. Other award recipients were Banco General, the Panama Canal Authority, Panama International Packers, AES and UP Cargo.
In October 2009, the initial steps were taken to create a Panama Green Building Council (PGBC) under the direction of the World Green Building Council. Jennifer Simpson, along with Alessa Stabile and Carla Lopez, formed the first Organizational Committee, creating a framework for future development. Jennifer Simpson implemented an aggressive membership drive and established the events framework consisting of monthly evening networking and corporate sponsored events, Lunch & Learn activities and Green Tours of best practices in Panama.
Between March and October 2010, the PGBC membership grew to over 80 company and individual members making it the fastest growing GBC in the world, which at that time consisted of 81 countries.
Jennifer Simpson now functions as Senior Adviser to the PGBC. In addition, she is the Director of the AMCHAM Environmental Committee which holds monthly presentations on current environmental issues in Panama. Her partner, Keith Furones, continues to devote his efforts to the sustainable harvesting of tropical hardwoods working with a broad range of stakeholders from lumber operations to international NGO’s and indigenous populations.
