Our community initiatives are central to our values of making an unselfish contribution to society
Our approach:
Our vision to create enduring worth depends on a thriving economy with active economic participants and a healthy planet. Our community initiatives are central to our values of making an unselfish contribution to society, nurturing an entrepreneurial spirit, valuing diversity and respecting others – all of which support our commitment to reducing inequality (SDG 10) and underpin our aim to be a responsible organisation. In addition, our corporate social investment (CSI) initiatives include our passion to preserve biodiversity through our conservation efforts and greening our communities, acknowledging the clear link between climate change and biodiversity loss.
We understand that no single business can address the many socioeconomic needs that continue to present everyday challenges for many in the geographies in which we operate, so we have focused on that which we believe is better aligned to our philosophy. Our approach focuses on three categories of impact: education and learnerships, entrepreneurship and job creation, and environment and philanthropy.
We focus on creating education and learnership opportunities within our communities contributing to SDG 4 (Quality education).
We aim to create jobs for young people through quality work experience placements. Through our entrepreneurship and job creation programmes we contribute to SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth).
We have a strong commitment to ensure we live sustainably, within the planetary boundaries. We do this by protecting biodiversity, promoting a clean environment and supporting high-quality, carbon reduction initiatives.
Through our staff volunteering programme we support and encourage staff participation. We believe that far more can be achieved through our collective knowledge, expertise and influence than through cash donations alone.
Performance against our targets
At 31 March 2022 CSI spend as a % of operating profit* was 1.3% against a target of >1%
* Before goodwill, acquired intangibles, non-operating items, taxation and after other non‑controlling interests.
- In South Africa, Promaths continued to achieve exceptional results in maths and science for our learners
- In South Africa, we awarded high school bursaries to assist maths-inclined outliers from grades 10 – 12 to attend a high school of their choice that they might otherwise not afford.
- In the UK, we continued to fund Arrival Education that supports young people from challenging backgrounds and minority ethnic groups, encouraging social mobility
- In the UK, we continue to be the sole funder for the Bromley by Bow Centre’s Beyond Business Programme.
- Leverage off our business, staff and culture to maximise social impact
- Advance CSI interventions with emphasis on quality rather than quantity
- Adopt a long-term view to our interventions
- Facilitate more focused interventions as opposed to being everything to everyone.
Key learnings in 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions, challenges, opportunities and realities have had a marked impact on the past two years. It had an enormous impact on not just the education sector, but on the whole corporate social investment space. How we sought to bring about meaningful change in the lives of many was affected, and we continuously looked for ways in which we could make a difference.
2022 highlights
£8.9mn*
4018
9001
* Before goodwill, acquired intangibles, non-operating items, taxation and after other non‑controlling interests.