Awards from the United States, the United Kingdom, India, New Zealand, and the Arab region reflect the success of an institutional vision built on innovation and creating sustainable impact

When an organization wins six international and regional awards across five countries throughout 2025 and into the first half of 2026, it stops being a streak and starts being a statement. For Dubai Customs, that statement is this: an organization whose core mission — securing borders and facilitating trade — now sets the standard not just for operational excellence, but for how institutions communicate, lead on sustainability, and show up for their communities. From the United States to New Zealand, from India to the Arab region, recognition has followed a single thread: an institution that translates vision into practice, and practice into measurable impact. Each award adds another data point to Dubai's growing reputation as a world-class hub — not just for trade and logistics, but for the kind of forward-thinking governance that makes that reputation stick.

Through an advanced media strategy built on producing impactful content and sustained audience engagement, the organization achieved an annual growth rate of 82% in digital platform followers over the past three years, with an average engagement rate growth of 30%, and an audience satisfaction rate with its marketing campaigns reaching 97%. Dubai Customs also strengthened its media presence during 2025 by publishing 316 diverse media products across written, audio, and visual formats, with positive and neutral sentiment in media coverage reaching 98% — a clear reflection of the department's success in leveraging corporate communication as a strategic tool that supports its mission to protect society, facilitate trade, and enhance Dubai's competitiveness.

These achievements confirm that corporate communication, sustainability, and social responsibility are no longer merely supporting elements of institutional work, but have become key enablers for enhancing the competitiveness of institutions and consolidating Dubai's global standing across various economic and developmental sectors.

International Awards Affirm Institutional Leadership

The achievements included Dubai Customs winning the Harvard Business Council Award 2025 in the United States in the categories of Sustainable Business Model and Corporate Communication in Business, in recognition of its excellence in adopting best institutional practices and promoting sustainability and innovation.

The organization also received a five-star rating in the International Best Practices Competition (IBPC) 2025 in New Zealand for an innovative environmental initiative, affirming its success in developing sustainable institutional solutions in accordance with the best global standards.

In the field of social responsibility and sustainability, Dubai Customs achieved third place (runner-up) in the Government Institutions category at the Arab Award for Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability 2025, in recognition of its efforts to promote sustainable development and achieve a positive societal impact.

Dubai Customs was also honored with the Global Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Social Responsibility 2025 in India, in recognition of its distinguished initiatives and their sustainable impact on society and the environment.

Dubai Customs continued its journey of excellence into 2026, earning the Gold Level at the International Excellence Award in the United Kingdom in the category of Best Marketing, Public Relations, and Media Team, in recognition of the outstanding efforts made by the corporate communication team in developing media initiatives and enhancing the department's presence locally and internationally.

The Corporate Social Responsibility team at Dubai Customs also won the Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility Practices Award at the CMO Asia Awards 2026 in India, which honors leading organizations in achieving sustainability and enhancing institutional value.

These awards are not merely ceremonial achievements; they reflect Dubai Customs' success in building an integrated institutional framework that combines impactful communication, sustainability, and social responsibility, and in translating these concepts into practical results and sustainable impact that is recognized and appreciated at both the regional and international levels.

Rashid Al-Sharid: International Recognition of an Integrated Work Framework

Rashid Al Sharid, Executive Director of the Administration and Finance Division at Dubai Customs, affirmed that these awards represent the fruit of a strategic vision and a solid institutional approach that has made excellence, sustainability, and innovation the core pillars of Dubai Customs' journey. He noted that the achievements reflect the department's ability to compete globally and consolidate its position as one of the leading government institutions in adopting best practices and achieving sustainable impact that serves society and the economy.

He stated: "This prestigious international recognition is not merely the result of isolated successes, but a global testament to the efficiency of Dubai Customs' work framework and its ability to transform vision into tangible achievements that align with Dubai's ambitions and support its global leadership. We are proud that these achievements are an extension of the vision of our wise leadership, which has made excellence a firmly established culture and innovation a sustainable approach, and we will continue to develop distinguished initiatives that enhance Dubai's competitiveness and deliver sustainable added value to society and the economy."

Hadeel Al Bastaki: Corporate Communication as a Strategic Tool for Creating Impact

Hadeel Al Bastaki, Director of Corporate Communications at Dubai Customs, sees the awards as validation of a fundamental shift in how the discipline itself is understood. "Corporate communication has outgrown its traditional role," she said. "It's no longer about managing messages — it's about building the kind of trust and partnerships that make institutions genuinely competitive. What we've built here is a framework where communication, sustainability, and social responsibility aren't separate workstreams; they reinforce each other. These awards tell us that approach is resonating far beyond our borders."

For Al Bastaki, impact is never abstract. "The real measure of corporate communication is whether it moves people to act," she said. And the numbers suggest it has. In 2025 alone, Dubai Customs ran 210 community and volunteer initiatives — reaching roughly 199,000 people through community programs and another 139,000 through volunteer-driven efforts. Nearly 2,000 volunteers gave more than 35,500 hours of their time. "That's not a statistic," Al-Bastaki said. "That's a culture — one where giving and responsibility aren't values we talk about, but ones we show up for."

Al Bastaki affirmed that these awards represent international recognition of Dubai Customs' efforts in developing distinguished initiatives with a sustainable impact on society, the environment, and the economy, and reflect the organization's ability to translate the concepts of sustainability, social responsibility, and corporate communication into tangible results and practices that earn global recognition, contributing to the enhancement of Dubai's competitiveness and consolidating its global leadership across various developmental and economic sectors.

She concluded: "True excellence is not measured by the number of awards alone, but by the impact we leave on society, the economy, and the environment. We will continue to develop distinguished and sustainable initiatives that enhance quality of life and embed a culture of social responsibility, in alignment with the directives of the Dubai Government and its future vision for building a more sustainable and prosperous society."