At the Conference on Social Responsibility held at Dom Pedro Golf Hotel, Vilamoura, FARO, Portugal between 16-18 February 2006, IGSSS won the Golden Peacock Global Award for Philanthropy in Emerging Economies. The award is given by The World Council for Corporate Governance, Trafalgar Square, London, under the chairmanship of Dr Ola Ullsten, former Prime Minister of Sweden. Thanks to the encouragement and the support of the President and the Board of Governors, the Executive Director was present to receive the award which was presented by Rt. Hon. Joe Clark in the presence of Dr Ola Ullsten, Fransisco Balsemao, Jose Socrates, Prime Minister of Portugal, Lata Reddy, the Indian Ambassador to Portugal among others.

Over 200 nominations underwent an elaborate two-tiered selection process. The first stage was the valuation by a panel of assessors, based on pre-determined criteria. The final ranking based on the marks obtained by each nominee was presented to a panel of judges comprising Dr Ola Ullsten, former Prime Minister of Sweden, business leaders such as James McHugh CBE, former Managing Director British Gas, distinguished academicians and jurists such as Justice MN Venkatchaliah, former Chief Justice of India, Justice AM Ahmadi, Chancellor Aligarh Muslim University, Justic PN Bhagwati Member UN Human Rights Committee, Viviane de Beaufort, Director Executive MBA Programme, ESSEC Business School, France, WIlliam Halal, Professor of Science, Technology and Innovation, George Washington University and James McRitchie, Publisher Corporate Governance, California. Six nominations made it through to the finals and each one was presented with a commendation. 

The Golden Peacock Global Award for Philanthropy has been set up to pay tribute to organisations and individuals who have contributed significantly by providing funds and managerial skills to give a better quality of life to less fortunate and deprived of the society. The Award recognizes the services and honours those who best represent the vision for community service and have demonstrated talent, stewardship and missionary zeal to dedicate towards helping civil society. 

The Executive Director was invited to present a paper on the occasion under the section Empowerment of the Poor. Since the Conference focused on the Role of Business in Alleviating Poverty, IGSSS chose to present a paper on an issue that is often at the root of marginalisation brought about by corporates - Land Rights. The paper titled "Land Rights, Entitlements and Corporate Social Responsibility" was well received and found mention in many subsequent talks and group discussions.