Community

Hallmarks of a leader in community affairs

  • The organisation understands that thriving communities and local sustainability are vital to its licence to operate, and its governance structure places these issues close to core strategy.
  • The organisation supports the development of sustainable communities through long-term partnerships that enable people to determine their own future.
  • Community projects are designed through engagement with target groups, to assess their needs, and are aligned to core business and global strategy.
  • The business measures the benefits of its community activities and is able to provide tangible evidence that the communities, its people and the business are all better off as a result.
  • The community strategy is aligned to big global or local challenges, for example the ‘Millennium Development Goals.’ Activities take place throughout the supply chain, encompassing local projects in both developing and developed countries.
  • The business has moved beyond traditional philanthropy, using employee engagement and skills exchange to add value to local communities. All activities are in line with either the core business or company values.

Case studies:


Cadbury has been sourcing cocoa from West Africa since 1908. In marking the 100th year anniversary, the company announced its Cadbury Cocoa Partnership.
 
The initiative hopes to ensure the economic, social and environmental sustainability of approximately 1 million cocoa farmers around the world. Cadbury is initially investing £1m in 2008 as a seed fund to establish the partnership, with annual funding levels rising to a steady rate of £5m by 2010. Over the next ten years the company plans to invest £44 million in this programme.
 
The Cocoa Partnership, that includes the UN Development Programme and several NGOs, was set up following research into sustainable cocoa production in Ghana. Funded by Cadbury, the research found that for some farmers production of cocoa had fallen to 40% of potential yield and that farming had become less attractive to future generations.
 
The centenary partnership will aim to address the root causes of the decline in production, improve the income of cocoa farmers and enhance the quality of life for communities dependent upon the crop. As part of the initiative Cadbury's is investing in research, tools, education and training in helping farmers understand how to get the most from their trees.
 
Research has also revealed that cocoa yield is increased with greater biodiversity, such as growing mangoes beneath cocoa trees and inter-cropping with coconut to provide shade. As well as improving cocoa production, this increases the financial security and revenue streams of farmers and decreases an over dependency on cocoa.
 
The management of sustainable cocoa is essential to ensure Cadbury maintains high quality raw ingredients and that the livelihoods of cocoa farmers are protected for future generations.

Nike and Ashoka, the leading association of social entrepreneurs, teamed up in 2007 to launch a worldwide search for projects that aim to use sport and creativity to bring about social change.

Nike’s Sport for a Better World competition, organised in partnership with Ashoka’s Changemakers initiative, invites entrepreneurs and organisations to enter innovations that use sport to provide a solution to the most serious problems facing society.

The 2008 winners included an initiative to use soccer to reach youth in South Africa and educate them on HIV/AIDS; a Brazilian project that uses SMS mobile phone technology to communicate life opportunities for sports, jobs and culture to young people who otherwise lack access to such information; and Sports4Kids, a US programme that provides structured physical activity and conflict resolution training for low-income children (US).

The Changemakers competition promotes sport as a driver for social change. It encourages people to innovate in the area of social welfare and social justice using sport as a medium. This type of competition is designed not only to reward best practice but also to draw out the most effective initiatives that can be applied in different areas of the world and to promote collaboration in building successful community projects.


The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) appreciates the opportunities arising from aligning its community efforts with its core business.
 
The group’s dedicated community development banking team runs a highly successful initiative called Face2Face with Finance, an education programme designed to teach secondary-school children (and the wider community) about financial issues to help them become “more financially capable”. Under the scheme, school banks are set up, linked to real branches. The children are trained as cashiers and most open savings accounts, learning vital budgeting skills for the future.
 
Working with the Community Development Finance Association (CDFA), RBS focuses on four markets – the social economy, social enterprise, small businesses in the 5% of wards that are most deprived, and community development finance. Notably, several hundred new ATM cashpoints have been installed to offer fee-free cash withdrawals in disadvantaged areas where lower-income residents otherwise suffer disproportionately from ATM charges.
 
Locations were selected after extensive consultation with relevant stakeholders, including MPs, credit unions, community leaders, housing associations, Community Development Finance Institutions, sub-postmasters and the public.

Anglo American has the world’s largest HIV/AIDS employee treatment programme providing 4,500 employees In South Africa with free anti-retroviral drug treatment. 

South Africa has the sixth highest prevalence of HIV in the world with over 5.5 million people suffering from HIV/AIDS.  The high cost and demanding clinical requirements of drug treatment frequently makes it out of reach of the people who need it most.

The business sector, particularly the mining industry, started to recognise the potential impact of HIV/AIDS from the mid 1980s and responded with awareness and education programmes.

In 2002, Anglo American realised that it made sense to look after the health of their workers who were infected with the virus, and implemented anti-retroviral drug treatment programme.  This is seen as an important incentive for workers to find out their HIV status.

All employees who test positive are enrolled into a wellness programme to ensure ongoing support and monitoring, and in 2005 94% of the employees receiving treatment were well enough to work and support their families.

Anglo American has not only taken the lead on community affairs ahead of other large corporations, but also ahead of the government. Other large multi-nationals are now following Anglo American’s lead in providing care and education for employees in South Africa.


As a global provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services, Cargill recognises that the economic success of its business depends on the health of its workforce, and its response to local health challenges. In recognition of this and reflecting Cargill's core business, health and nutrition forms one of the three focuses of their community investment programme.With employees across 66 countries, ensuring the health of its workforce requires delivering appropriate responses to local challenges. In Papua New Guinea the spread of HIV/Aids is a growing problem with clear impacts for Cargill’s workforce.

Cargill’s programme is providing practical support on the ground from health education in schools, to the provision of health care workers with training on HIV services. Local partnerships with the National Department of Health for Papua New Guinea and the Asian Development Bank help to ensure the appropriateness of the approach and alignment with other regional programmes.

Cargill also provides services for both employees and the plantations’ local communities, establishing free health clinics that serve almost 70,000 people each year and providing free day care for children of employees.

Reflecting the global nature of the organisation, autonomy for local area initiatives is devolved to the 200 local Cargill Cares Councils. Consisting of local employees, these groups focus on building engagement between employees and their local communities, arrange volunteer activities and often make decisions about how local charitable donations are allocated.With ‘enriched communities’ as one of Cargill’s four corporate measures of performance, the impact of these activities is seen as contributing directly to the business’s ability to deliver profitable growth.

With an emphasis on natural food, created freshly in-store, Pret A Manger aligns its charitable activity closely with core business and visible local social challenges. At the end of each working day un-sold sandwiches are offered to homeless charities for distribution. The recipients receive fresh, natural food, environmental impact is reduced, and Pret avoids costly landfill taxes, preventing over 250 tonnes of food going to landfill every year. As a founding partner of the award-winning food poverty charity, FareShare, Pret has helped to export this charitable model to other retailers. To support efficient and safe redistribution of FareShare food, the Pret Foundation Trust provides financial support for the Pret Charity Run, consisting of a fleet of electric vans that collectively deliver over 12,000 meals to homeless shelters in London every week. Prominently displaying Pret’s brand and the purpose of their journey, these vans highlight Pret’s charitable work, whilst emphasising the link between the Pret brand and freshness. Other charities collect directly from Pret shops on a daily basis, resulting in an annual combined donation of over 1.7 million products to charities for the homeless.

Pret’s focus on customer engagement, most visible through in-store messaging, is extended to the work of the Pret Foundation Trust. Customers are quietly encouraged to support the Trust through in-store customer donations and purchase of a number of labelled Pret products that support the Trust’s work (Lemon-Aid, dolphin-friendly tuna baguette and Christmas sandwiches). The Pret Foundation Trust has extended its programme of activities from food redistribution to more broadly support the homeless, however its activities remain closely linked to the company’s view on the importance of freshly prepared natural food, and build on its heritage of assistance to the homeless.