We recognise the importance of social, environmental and ethical (SEE) matters and, during 2012, continued our work on complying with the ABI disclosure guidelines on social responsibility. We believe that our work is part of a continuous improvement to develop standards and working practices that represent tangible improvements in the way in which we undertake our business and also meets our responsibilities to the wider community and all our stakeholders through initiatives at a corporate level as well as individual employees in their roles as ambassadors for CSR. At a corporate level, this includes the impact through our operations on the environment, on the safety and well being of our employees, and end users of our products as well as those who contribute to the process of the development and manufacture of our products through our suppliers, distributors and customers.
SEE matters are considered an integral part of the philosophy of the Company. The Board and its committees receive reports as part of their routine business on aspects of SEE issues in addition to other reports from those directors responsible for such matters as may be appropriate from time to time.
2012 saw an increase in our social responsibility activities with many CSR offices getting involved. This has always been an area of importance for us, and the further emphasis given to this area during 2012 has supported our objective of sustaining and building on a cohesive, formal social responsibility policy.
For CSR, Social Responsibility (SR) means acting responsibly and contributing positively to the communities in which we operate. This involves working closely with our people, their families and the local community. A fundamental principle of SR is that CSR behaves as a responsible neighbour to our stakeholders.
CSR supports the FTSE4Good Index Series. This policy is designed to objectively measure the performance of companies that meet globally recognised corporate responsibility standards.
Our global SR policy is built on four pillars: Community, Workplace, Marketplace and Environment.
These pillars follow the guidelines of Business in The Community (BiTC), a London-based not-for-profit organisation which is helping us establish and grow our SR credentials. BiTC believes that all companies should:
- act responsibly by understanding the local environment;
- treat employees fairly, equitably and with respect;
- observe basic human rights;
- protect the environment for future generations;
- manage the business’ impacts on society and the environment.
Community
The Community pillar focuses on four key opportunities:
- reviewing local purchasing and supplier opportunities;
- working in partnership with community organisations and charities;
- listening and engaging with communities and the public;
- working collaboratively with other businesses to benefit the community.
During 2012, we made several adhoc donations to help fund the first responses to natural emergencies close to CSR locations. This included a contribution to the Red Cross, to support efforts to help the lives of people affected by hurricane Sandy on the east coast of America in October. In the month of November, CSR employees globally also took part in the Movember initiative, which encourages men to grow and groom moustaches throughout November to raise vital funds and awareness of prostate and testicular cancer. CSR matched the funds which were raised by employees.
Appointing Charities
Many CSR locations have appointed a local charity of the year that is linked to engineering and the sciences. Employees are invited each year to nominate charities, with the successful charity being selected following a location-wide voting process. In association with their chosen charity, various locations continue to provide regular volunteering through direct involvement of our employees.
For example in the UK during 2012, for the second year our employees chose to support MapAction. MapAction is a UK based charity which delivers vital information in mapped form, from data gathered at disaster scenes around the world. In this way, they are able to direct essential life saving resources to the right areas on the ground quickly.
MapAction is a natural partner for CSR because the technologies we deliver complement critical components in MapAction’s disaster response. Each MapAction volunteer is equipped with a GPS unit using CSR’s technology to help them to navigate a disaster scene and collect data about priority needs. This information is then transferred into mapped form, so aid agencies can quickly and accurately see where they should focus their efforts.
In China, our Shanghai office has selected a number of projects which have received strong employee support. One such charity supported in 2012 was Hands on Shanghai. This charity assists young people with mental disabilities. Hands on Shanghai makes it possible for the young people to interact socially and to enjoy various activities. During 2012 the work has broadened to take in ‘Make a Difference Day’ which saw CSR volunteers paired up with individuals to provide educational and recreational support during a trip to the local zoo. These two activities were supported by 32 CSR employees who gave over 140 hours of their own time.
Another project initiated by staff in the Haifa office was to provide support for the Haifa Women’s Crisis Shelter. CSR Haifa provides various social and leisure activities for women and their children, of all faiths, who fall victim to domestic violence. Activities include: celebrating the children’s birthdays, donations of clothing, food and household goods, a guided tour for the women. Employees also donate gifts as part of a “Wishing Tree.” Also, during the Jewish holidays (Passover & Rosh Hashanah) fund raising amongst CSR Haifa employees is held for the purchase of food packages for these families.
Further information is available from the SR area of our website under ‘About Us’, which is not incorporated into this annual report.
Working with students
We are keen to give back to the community in a variety of ways, including using our own expertise to help others learn about engineering or science.
In Israel, CSR initiated a ‘Think Positive’ tutoring programme which matches volunteers to improve math skills of junior high school students. Each week one to one lessons take place at the CSR Haifa office. The programme is lead and driven by “Haifa Coalition for Social Responsibility” partnered by CSR Haifa, Intel, IBM, Phillips, Taro and the regional Ministry of Haifa. “Think Positive” has shown proven success in providing meaningful improvement in the math grades for the students who participate
Match funding
We seek to match the funds raised by our employees where possible, and will consider all applications including those outside the engineering/science remit. During 2012, the UK offices made several matching donations, including a donation to the Police Community Clubs of Great Britain.
Further information on all these initiatives as well as a range of projects globally is available from the SR area of the site under About Us.
