The FINANCIAL — ICC Georgia (International Chamber of Commerce) is expanding its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme for 2015. ICC will develop employee programmes that its members, with a focus on small and medium size businesses, will be able to implement within their CSR activities. ICC will also continue to raise awareness on environmental best practices in the corporate sector as well as focus on sustainable development programmes.
“More specifically for 2015 in terms of projects for ICC Georgia, we will continue cooperating with our members to develop their community day programmes (such as Dechert Georgia’s Service Day for the Environment), as well as developing a healthcare programme for our member companies for their employees and continue our training programmes and work with our members to implement a CSR Charter within their companies,” Nicola Mariani, Co-Head of the CSR Commission of ICC Georgia and International Resident Partner of Dechert Georgia LLC, told The FINANCIAL.
“In the past three years Georgian companies’ CSR programmes have grown steadily. As more companies participate, we expect that participation will continue to grow. However, while Georgian companies are opening up to CSR, a number of challenges remain,” he added.
ICC Georgia members had a successful 2014 and in addition to developing specific CSR programmes, a number of events were held throughout Georgia by our members, these notably included:
• Collective Cleanup Campaign June 2014 (ICC Members and Partners along with Youth cleaned up an area in Mtskheta)
• Tree Planting with British American Tobacco (November, 2014)
• ICC Georgia and GiZ Fair Competition, Compliance, Ethics, and CSR Conference December 2014 (Raising awareness and education in these fields)
• ICC Georgia Youth Charity Run October 2014 (Raised funds for WeHelp to provide finances to those lacking the ability to pay for serious medical assistance)
• ICC Georgia Career Fair October 2014 (Career Fair Targeting Youth Unemployment by bringing companies offering entry level jobs and training before the event in CV and Moto Letter Writing to prepare)
• Dechert Georgia Day of Service – Community Clean-up.
Q. How long-term should the CSR projects be and in which spheres should Georgian companies make the main investments (environment, education, sport)?
A. In my view, Georgian companies should invest in projects that focus on the employees, the environment, education and healthcare in Georgia.
A good example of a success story that has enabled a number of Georgian companies to recycle is a recycling company that has recently been established in Georgia. Coop.ge is a market leader in the field of recycling and has been visiting schools around Georgia to educate students on the importance of recycling and the effect of recycling on the environment as well as the materials that can be recycled. Coop.ge has also been working with restaurants and hotels around Tbilisi to reduce the amount of waste produced through a recycling collection programme.
Q. What kind of CSR activities can be the most stable and long-term in Georgia? And also, what kind of CSR activation could be beneficial for Georgia?
A. The concept of serving the community is relatively new in Georgia. The projects that focus on the long-term health and wellness of the community, such as healthcare, environment and education, will likely be the most stable and beneficial in the long term. Companies should develop long-term programmes for their employees (healthcare, childcare, etc).
Q. How can companies in Georgia benefit from Social Responsibility projects?
A. When a company puts energy and effort into its employee programmes and into its community, this tends to create a strong relationship and sense of loyalty between the company, its employees and the community (including its customer base). One way that a company in Georgia can benefit from Social Responsibility projects is through increased awareness of the company in the community and an increased client base. Not only do social responsibility projects help the community, they can also add to the overall wellbeing of a company’s employees as well. This can lead to increased productivity for its workforce.
CSR programmes should not be viewed as “expenses” by companies. In fact, a number of studies have shown that a good CSR programme can translate into a solid investment and contribute to the growth of the company notably by improving the employees’ productivity.
Q. How should companies develop employees and the future workforce to build successful working lives?
A. Talented individuals are key to the success of any organization. While employee compensation is a key factor, it is not always a factor that will ensure loyalty towards an employer. In fact a number of recent studies have shown that employee loyalty is built on a strong connection between the employee and the employer’s values and beliefs. It offers them a strong reason to stay engaged. More and more employees want for their employer to behave responsibly towards society. A recent survey showed that businesses that invested in CSR would likely have a higher level of employee engagement and that the staff would consistently say positive things about their employer and tend to be more loyal to their employer.
This is key for Georgia in a context of growth and search for talent; CSR programmes will influence the best employees in their job search efforts and in their loyalty towards their employer.
Q. Do you think the CSR message is only being heard and acted upon by large companies?
A. Yes, the leading companies in Georgia are developing a number of programmes with the Georgian financial institutions being market leaders.
Discussion about this post