Community & Contributions news and comment by Stephanie Fleming
News and comment from the June/July edition of Corporate Citizenship Briefing, issue 106
Comment
Community contributions can be tricky for businesses to navigate. They have to grapple with business and social interests to achieve a win-win outcome. This is easier said than done.
This month, along with the classic community programmes and charitable donations, Deloitte and PepsiCo have entered into what PepsiCo calls “new strategic philanthropy” partnerships whereby companies donate their business skills and technical know-how to charities and development organisations to boost their programmes.
Partnerships of this type are by no means new but perhaps are taking on an increased relevance in the current economic climate when tighter budgets do not mean looser ethical standards. By combining skills and resources for a common cause, both sides benefit from increased efficiency whilst helping to combat the (alleged) limitations of CR in development.
PepsiCo and UN World Food Programme’s partnership offers a great example. PepsiCo have donated their supply chain, logistics and technological expertise – skills that the WFP may be missing – to improve capacity, efficiency and impact of the programme whilst strengthening WFP as an institution. This collaboration not only means that PepsiCo saves on the higher costs and commitment of implementing their own community programme, but their staff receive valuable skills and on-the-job training. Employees are also exposed to the workings of a development programme as run by the “experts”, increasing their capacity to implement future programmes.
In today’s economic environment there is more pressure on social initiatives than ever. ‘Strategic philanthropy’ partnerships can help overcome shortcomings of CR in development and increase the scheme’s impact. Programmes are less susceptible to business motives, partnerships solve the problem of the mobile and short-term nature of business, and they are more likely to have a wider focus and address the root of the problem rather than remain confined to the area of business operation. Strategic partnerships of this kind appear to offer a potentially ideal situation for all – increased efficiency and increased impact. That is, of course, if everybody is on the same page…
Business leaders celebrate progress and pledge to invest more in Africa
Global business leaders gathered in Cape Town at the World Economic Forum on 11 June to mark the one-year anniversary of the Business Call to Action International Partnership, which was launched in May 2008 in London by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Gordon Brown. In its first year, over 60 CEOs signed on to the Business Call to Action Declaration, committing their companies to invest in ending poverty. So far, 18 companies – including Coca Cola, Microsoft, PepsiCo and Cadbury – have launched initiatives creating thousands of new jobs, setting up hundreds of small independent businesses and boosting trade and sourcing from Africa and Asia. Business leaders met in South Africa to take stock of the company initiatives and to encourage more companies to join the Business Call to Action. Contact: UNDP www.undp.org
PepsiCo Foundation and UNWFP announce partnership
The PepsiCo Foundation and United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced on 16 June a strategic partnership aimed at enhancing the ability of WFP to deliver food and relief to the most vulnerable communities around the globe. The PepsiCo Foundation has committed $2.2 million for a programme that brings together global logistics experts from PepsiCo to help strengthen WFP’s response to growing hunger needs brought on by high food prices and the financial crisis, as well as improve its response time in crisis situations. Contact: PepsiCo www.pepsico.com
Deloitte donates its best thinking to nonprofits
Deloitte marked its 10th Annual IMPACT Day on 5 June, a celebration of its year-round commitment to workplace volunteerism, by contributing the highly valued business skills of its people to hundreds of nonprofits across the US. More than 40,000 Deloitte personnel from some 70 communities were encouraged to participate. Additionally, Deloitte is launching its new Pro Bono Fellowship programme. This initiative, an extension of Deloitte’s $50 million commitment to pro bono, will enable up to 10 high-performing managers and senior managers in the organisation to contribute their professional seasoning to a leading nonprofit for a three-to-six-month engagement, while receiving full pay and benefits. Contact: Deloitte www.deloitte.com
PwC sends 150 people to New Orleans
On 23 June, PricewaterhouseCoopers launched Project Make [responsibility] Count, a two-day community outreach initiative in New Orleans involving 150 partners, staff and college students from across the country to assist in the city’s ongoing recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina. The initiative is being coordinated locally with HandsOn New Orleans and will provide assistance at four locations in the city, each relating to one of the four core pillars of PwC’s Corporate Responsibility commitment: Marketplace, People, Communities and Environment. Students participating in the programme were randomly selected through a nationwide campaign that PwC conducted using Facebook and on-campus events at colleges and universities across the country. Contact: PricewaterhouseCoopers www.pwc.com
Cadbury launches cocoa CSR education resource
Cadbury, awarded Gold on 10 June for sustainable business practice by Business in the Community in their Corporate Responsibility Index, launched an online educational resource in June. ‘Skills Space’ supports the work of the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership and the Cadbury Dairy Milk Fairtrade certification. It enables students to learn about Ghana, how cocoa is grown, the lives of cocoa farmers, the interdependence between Ghana and chocolate manufacturers, and discover more about sustainable farming. Alex Cole, Global Director of Corporate Affairs at Cadbury said: “As a global company, we have access to a huge amount of information and resources that can inspire and have real value to young people studying business and associated subjects.” Contact: Cadbury Skills Space www.skillsspace.co.uk
Unilever and World Heart Federation new initiative
Unilever and the World Heart Federation announced a joint initiative on 9 June to promote awareness of Heart Age – a new, personally motivating way of expressing an individual’s risk of developing heart disease. Unilever also unveiled a new report entitled ‘What if people’s hearts stayed young?’ which publishes the theoretical effect if people estimated to have an elevated Heart Age were able to reduce it by three years. Unilever has developed an online tool to enable people to find out their own Heart Age and for health professionals to better engage their patients in their own heart health. The Heart Age Tool has been piloted in 18 countries. Contact: Unilever www.unilever.com
Sports volunteers programme clocks up a year
A nationwide volunteering programme to help young people from disadvantaged areas to develop their sports coaching and community leadership skills has received £1 million from The Co-operative Group. This announcement, made on 2 June, will ensure the programme’s funding until 2012. The Cooperative StreetGames Young Volunteers, which currently has over 400 volunteers aged from 16-25, have clocked up nearly 10,000 hours working in the community to date – more than one year. The scheme is a joint initiative developed between The Co-operative and national youth sports development charity StreetGames. Contract: The Co-Operative Group www.co-operative.coop
Bank tops the £500,000 mark for hospices
It was announced on 8 July that Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank employees have reached a milestone for their charity partner Help the Hospices, raising more than £500,000 in just over one year. Employees have raised £522,000 in just 15 months – which includes a top up from the Bank’s matched funding pot – through an array of fundraising activities for Help the Hospices and local hospices in the UK. Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank’s network of more than 340 head offices, branches and business centres are paired with local hospices to allow employees get involved with fundraising and volunteering in their local communities as well as on a national level. Contact: Help the Hospices www.helpthehospices.org.uk
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