ISRI has been recognized with a 2021 APEX Award for its COVID-19 Resource Hub. The hub provides resources for members in the areas of safe operations, state and local policies, federal legislation, economics, and recycling as part of essential critical infrastructure.

“ISRI was proud to provide the COVID-19 Resource Hub for members, ensuring they remained informed of all COVID-related safe operations resources as well as federal and local policy updates,” states Mark Carpenter, ISRI’s vice president of communications. “This was a combined effort across the organization including the advocacy, environmental, health and safety, and communications teams to provide information to members in real time and in an ever-changing environment.”

Through the COVID-19 Resource Hub, ISRI provides real-time updates on state policies as well as the latest safe operations guidelines. These updates take a variety of forms including podcasts, newsletters, videos, and member alerts. The hub also includes toolkits for recyclers to use with their employees to communicate safe operations. ISRI also provides a COVID-specific email address to prioritize pandemic-related questions from members. There are also resources to promote mental health and help people at home and work manage stress related to the pandemic.

“The concept of the hub grew based on need and ISRI’s ability to fill a void in the information needed by our industry,” Carpenter says. “When news began to break across the country about states implementing shutdowns and other policies, ISRI’s advocacy team sprang into action providing updates essentially in real time. Our EHS team also began receiving questions from members on safe operations. Meanwhile, ISRI had been advocating for the federal and states governments to designate the industry as essential. We needed an efficient way of providing this information to the industry. There were not any models out there we found that fit. The communications team built a dedicated website to house all the information, introduced regular email bulletins, and started a video podcast series to effectively deliver the content.”

Now in their 33rd year, the APEX Awards for Publications Excellence are an annual competition for corporate and nonprofit publishers, editors, writers, and designers who create print, web, electronic, and social media. In 2021, a special awards category was added to recognize those who exemplified communications excellence during the global pandemic.

Alexandria, Va.-based Concept Communications, Inc. sponsors the APEX Awards. The company helps publishing, public relations, and marketing professionals improve publications and communications programs through consulting services and reports on business writing and communications. APEX Awards judges included Ken Turtoro, APEX senior judge and Concepts executive editor; John De Lellis, Concepts editor and publisher; Christine Turner, contributing editor of the Writing That Works archives; and Bill Londino, consulting editor of Writer’s Web Watch.

“The hub continues to be updated with resources,” Carpenter notes. “And the feedback we have received from members has been phenomenal.”

Photos courtesy of Communications Concepts, Inc.