Comment by Andrew Wilson. From the June/July 2010 edition of Corporate Citizenship Briefing, Issue 112.
Here we report recent research which shows the public are unsure of who was sponsoring the World Cup and what motives lay behind their actions. It would be unkind to suggest that the study was published by the University of the Blooming Obvious, but the findings are hardly earth-shattering.
The public believe that corporate sponsorship is driven by hard-nosed targets such as getting on television and selling more product – surely not! Ironically, at the same time they are not quite sure which brands are using these sponsorship opportunities to indulge in this corporate sales drive.
However, behind these rather banal headlines there are two important messages for corporate responsibility practitioners. For those who are investing resources in genuine programmes of social and environmental development, it is important that your audiences understand your motives. Why is your company supporting this particular cause? What specific skills, knowledge or expertise does your business have to address the issue? How does your activity link to the business strategy?
And if you can build a coherent case to answer these kinds of questions, it is important to make sure people know what it is you’ve done. How are the activities you support making a real difference on the ground in terms of the impacts? What has been the contribution from your company and why can you and your partners take credit?
It should come as no surprise that the public are sceptical about corporate sponsorship of global sporting events. However, it is wholly unhelpful if this sense of cynicism extends to attitudes about corporate investment in worthwhile social and environmental initiatives.
Andrew Wilson is a director at Corporate Citizenship Email him at andrew.wilson@corporate-citizenship.com to discuss new approaches to developing your organisation’s corporate responsibility strategy.
Corporate giant goes the extra mile to care
Deafness Research UK, the national charity for medical research into hearing impairment, has cited the ConocoPhillips Year of the Ear program as an inspiring example of UK corporate social responsibility. ConocoPhillips, the international integrated energy and refining giant, has been making global efforts to promote awareness of the dangers of noise-induced hearing loss and the ways of maintaining good hearing. ConocoPhillips partnered with Deafness Research UK, providing funding to enable the charity’s Bionic Ear Show to visit all sites, on- and offshore, including provision of offshore survival training for the show’s presenter. During the show, a 22ft working ear is built, with entertaining illustrations and audiovisual techniques used to teach people how to look after their hearing.
The latest poll by global reputation auditors Echo Research, conducted the day before the World Cup opening ceremony, shows that the British public are uncertain which companies are sponsoring the tournament and that people are sceptical about sponsors’ motives. People struggled to identify eight World Cup sponsors, with Coca-Cola the only company to be correctly identified by over half those polled (57%) and Hyundai by the least (10%). Nike was incorrectly identified as a sponsor by 30% of people. Respondents indicated a belief that companies are driven more by hard-nosed targets, such as getting on television or selling more product, than because they are committed to football, health and wellbeing or South Africa and its people. Sponsors need to do much work to raise their profile and highlight their concern for the host nation and for football and its supporters in order to realise the benefits sponsorship should bring.
On June 2 Deloitte announced two new initiatives: the Deloitte21 Fellows, and the Deloitte21 Competition. Deloitte21 aims to support new and existing initiatives that develop the skills young people need – leadership, ethics, problem solving, and global awareness – to meet this century’s most pressing challenges. By 2014, Deloitte21 aims to contribute $100 million worth of financial, volunteering, and pro bono support to 50 innovative community programs, providing new opportunities for underserved young people. Deloitte21 Fellows will drive volunteerism though a worldwide network of high-performing professionals, while the Deloitte21 Competition will select local programs, with which they are working hand-in-hand, to receive funding. Deloitte has a longstanding commitment to education and skills-building. In the UK, the Deloitte Employability Initiative has grown from training 35 students in 2001-2002 to 6,000 students in 2009-2010, and, with a train-the-teacher model, aims to support 10,000 students in 2012-2013.
IBM employees donate 10 million hours of volunteer service
On 29 June, IBM announced that in the last five years it has surpassed more than 10 million volunteer hours of service in communities around the world, more than any other company. IBM employees and retirees engage in volunteer activity through an initiative called On Demand Community. On Demand Community provides a set of resources that volunteers can use such as technology training for preschool teachers, an introduction to Web design, and mentoring. Since the launch of the On Demand Community, more than 150,000 IBMers have contributed more than 10 million hours of service in more than 70 countries. The program provides access to IBM’s technology portfolio as well as to IBM employees with the goal of transforming cities, schools and communities. In addition to the hours donated, IBM volunteers give $36.1 million annually in the company’s Employee Charitable Contribution campaign, with a further $180 million contributed by the company.
Contact: IBM www-03.ibm.com
Excellence Awards in corporate philanthropy
The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy presented the 10th Annual Excellence Awards in Corporate Philanthropy on 2. Programs were selected by an independent multidisciplinary jury according to criteria of demonstrated CEO leadership, dedication to measurement, successful partnerships, and innovation. The Excellence Awards recipients were: Intel Corporation for Intel Teach, a program designed to improve quality of education through teacher training around the world on effective use of technology in classrooms; General Mills for the company’s African Women and Children’s Hunger Program, working to eradicate the root causes of poverty; The Boston Beer Company for the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream program, supporting small food and beverage entrepreneurs; and the non-profit Partners In Health for its work to eradicate multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Russia.
The Reed Elsevier Environmental Challenge was launched June 29, inviting submissions of innovative ideas to improve access to safe and sustainable water supply for communities where access is presently at risk. The winning project will receive a prize of $50,000, with a second place prize of $25,000. Relevant Reed Elsevier products such as Water Research, the journal of the International Water Association, will be made available to help prepare competition entries, with the winning entries awarded June. According to the World Health Organisation, lack of water to meet daily needs is a reality for one in three people around the world.
COMMENTS