A Milestone Rooted in Meaning
At Pinnacle, our passion has always been to create recognition moments that matter. Every award, every trophy, every piece we design is a celebration of effort and achievement. But recently, the recognition came to us. We are proud to announce that Pinnacle has earned the ZED Gold Certification from the Government of India MSME Ministry, the highest recognition under the Zero Defect, Zero Effect program.
What makes this even more special is that we are the only custom awards and recognition design and manufacturing company in India to have achieved this honour. This certification is more than a badge; it is proof that the way we work matches the quality of what we create.
What is ZED Certification?
ZED stands for Zero Defect, Zero Effect, an MSME initiative by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. The goal is twofold:
Zero Defect – Deliver products of world-class quality, free from defects, right the first time.
Zero Effect – Ensure that every business process minimises environmental impact and maximises sustainability.
The certification comes in three progressive levels — Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Each level builds on the previous one, demanding stronger systems, deeper process control, and higher sustainability standards.
Pinnacle’s Unique Position
For over 25 years, Pinnacle has been designing and manufacturing custom awards for organisations around the globe. We have delivered over 3 million awards to 2,700+ brands, with every piece created in-house by our 110 member team. Today, this certification makes our position clear:
- Largest in our niche in India.
- Most process-driven, with structured systems for everything from concept to delivery.
- First and only in our industry to earn ZED Gold.
It was probably around 2013 or 2014 when we started documenting processes at Pinnacle as we started to scale. Writing, rewriting, upgrading, streamlining everything we did at Pinnacle. With just one central theme. Deliver creative custom awards to our customers flawlessly.
Though it was only a decade later that we realised around 2024 that we should seek external validation of all our written processes and make them even stronger. We always say awards and recognition is a zero error business. Even if we are shipping 5000 personalised trophies and just 5 of them are shipped with a wrong name for those 5 people it is 100% wrong delivery. Something they will always remember. And this is not the memory or experience we want to ever deliver to our customers. So we began our search to make our processes even stronger and better. And as our first step we started with ZED certification.
We earned our ZED Silver in 2025 Feb. It was not easy. We had to make a few changes but I would definitely say it was relatively easier as compared to ZED Gold. The leap to Gold was far more demanding. The journey took nine months and involved:
- In-depth audits of every department.
- Upgraded workflows to eliminate inefficiencies.
- Enhanced quality control at every stage, from design to final assembly.
- Sustainability-focused initiatives to reduce waste and conserve resources.
It was a true team effort from designers to production team from Quality assurance to Quality Check and finally the dispatch team… every department was pushed, and in the end it elevated everything we did.
The 20 Gold Parameters
To achieve ZED Gold, a company must excel in 20 key areas:
- Leadership
- Swachh workplace practices
- Occupational safety
- On-time delivery performance
- Quality management
- HR practices
- Daily work management
- Planned maintenance and calibration
- Process control
- Product quality and safety
- Material management
- Energy management
- Environmental compliance
- Measurement and analysis
- Supply chain resilience
- Risk management
- Waste minimisation
- Technology upgrades
- Conservation of natural resources
- Corporate social responsibility
Meeting these parameters is not just about passing an audit it’s about integrating these practices into the DNA of the company. By no means we are perfect in each of these twenty category. But we are trying to improve. Trying to take small steps continuously to make us better. Better for our customers and better for the people who receive beautiful awards and trophies from us.
Why This Matters to Our Customers
Quality You Can Feel
From the sharpness of an engraving to the smooth finish of a custom mould, every detail meets world-class standards. Whether you order 50 pieces or 2000. You will receive consistent quality all across.
Sustainable Craftsmanship
We use responsibly sourced materials, reduce waste, and make conscious environmental choices. This is one area which definitely needs a lot more work and we will keep making changes for our ultimate goal is Net ZERO by 2030.
Reliable Delivery
With structured processes in place, we can commit to timelines confidently and deliver on them.
Creative Freedom
Our process discipline frees us to focus on what we do best creating meaningful, unique designs that make people feel valued.
We feel so happy and proud when people place order on us from cities across India. Be it Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata, Vizag, Coimbatore and more. We currently ship to over 500 plus cities. Even though our customers have options of supplier within their cities, they know and trust Pinnacle. They know that if they place an order on Pinnacle. It will be delivered in time as per the agreed quality standard. And this means the world to us.
Our customers know and trust Pinnacle for they know they are partnering with a company that doesn’t just make beautiful awards, but also makes them responsibly.
Earning ZED Gold is not the end of our journey. It’s a reminder that our work is never done. Standards will keep rising, and so will we, because recognition, like excellence, is a continuous pursuit.
Let’s Create Something Together
If you want awards that combine creativity, sustainability, and uncompromising quality, let’s talk. Your recognition moments deserve nothing less than the very best.
