Corporate Responsibility, page 9
News on corporate responsibility and the NGO sector
Some organisations active in CSR and philanthropy in Slovakia
- Business Leaders Forum,www.blf.sk
Law on volunteering is in the pipeline
SLOVAKIA is one of the few countries in Europe which does not have a law dealing with the issues involved in volunteering. While other countries with different traditions may not face any problems in this area, Slovak organisations which seek volunteers have been asking for such a law for several years, as Slovakia’s labour offices have sometimes viewed volunteers as illegal workers and organisations using volunteers have had problems determining exactly how to account for peripheral costs involved with volunteer activities. It now seems that a law may be adopted in Slovakia during the European Year of Volunteering, as newly-drafted legislation is now undergoing the government’s internal approval procedure and it is expected to go to parliament later this year.
Leaving a CSR footprint
IN MID April the Pontis Foundation distributed its Via Bona Slovakia Awards to publicly recognise companies and entrepreneurs which had supported corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate philanthropy in Slovakia. Four companies were shortlisted for the main award for large corporations for their comprehensive approach to CSR, from which the jury selected Orange Slovensko as the winner for 2010.
Year of Volunteering in Slovakia
THE EUROPEAN Year of Volunteering (EYV) 2011, which the European Commission ceremonially launched on December 2 last year, is designed to celebrate the commitment of millions of people in Europe who work in their communities during their free time without being paid. Their efforts and those of the many thousands of volunteering organisations make a huge difference to people’s lives in countless ways. The EYV is also a challenge to those who do not currently volunteer. In Slovakia the national coordinator of activities during the EYV is Iuventa, the Slovak institute of youth, which together with NGOs and public administration institutions participated in the creation of the EYV national programme. The Education Ministry is also actively supporting the EYV.
Family-friendly awards announced
THE UNION Poisťovňa insurance company and the Union Zdravotná Poisťovňa health insurance company won first place in the 10th year of a programme called Employers Friendly to Family, Gender Equality and Equality, the TASR newswire reported. The two companies were recognised for their comprehensive support of equal opportunities in their companies and for authentic and self-sacrificing support well above the requirements of legal standards and best practices. The Institute for Labour and Family Research organises the annual competition and evaluates entrants.
Building better CSR with government help
WHEN discussing government responsibility, it is impossible not to mention transparent procurement processes which use public resources wisely and encourage environment-friendly products and technologies. But another important government responsibility is making sure businesses and public offices obey the law and also keep to the principles that are promised in their official documents and reports. Governments in some countries have dozens of years of experience in this latter responsibility and in some cases have crystallised the concepts into legislation or into accepted best practices.
'Our Town' volunteering event
OUR Town, or Naše Mesto, the biggest corporate volunteering event in Slovakia, will take place on June 17 and 18 in Bratislava, Žilina and Košice, and will spread this year also to Galanta, Hlohovec and Spišská Nová Ves, the Pontis Foundation, one of the organisers of the event wrote on its website. As part of the European Year of Volunteering, the Pontis Foundation and the Engage group of companies have set a target of getting at least 4,000 volunteers out onto the streets of Bratislava, Žilina, Košice and other towns. Apart from manual skills, they are also willing to use employees' experience in legislation, marketing, computers or personnel to broaden the knowledge of people working in NGOs. The Our Town event is a follow-up to previous successful volunteer events branded Our Bratislava, Our Žilina and Our Košice. In total more than 5,000 employees from 60 companies worked 18,589 hours, representing 10 man-years of work in these events. The value of such work was valued at almost €80,000.
Via Bona Slovakia awards for 2010
THE PONTIS Foundation distributed its Via Bona Slovakia awards for the 11th time to publicly recognise companies and entrepreneurs supporting corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate philanthropy in Slovakia at a ceremony in mid April. Awards were given in 10 categories this year to reflect the broader development of CSR and corporate philanthropy activities in Slovakia. In addition to the two Main Awards – traditionally given to a large corporation and to a small or medium-sized enterprise – the other eight awards were designed to recognise outstanding work in specific types of CSR and corporate philanthropy.
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Philanthropy becomes part of companies’ DNA
AFTER the global economic crisis hit Slovakia, concern arose that companies would severely curb their philanthropic programmes. Experience has not confirmed that dark expectation and companies, rather than throttling down their help, only began to consider more carefully how their financial assistance was to be used and whether it would be effective. After allowing for the impacts of the crisis on company revenues and profits, corporate philanthropy in Slovakia has been finding a firmer and firmer footing and is becoming part of the DNA of an increasing number of businesses. And 20 years after the market economy came to Slovakia, a significant number of business executives, after acquiring significant wealth, are searching for ways to add new dimensions to their lives through philanthropy.
First venture philanthropy projects take off in Slovakia
VENTURE philanthropy is an alternative model for giving which has already gained a foothold in Slovakia. Using this approach, non-profit organisations and companies have teamed up with the aim of using the latter’s business experience to help solve the problems of children in orphanages.
Volunteering Slovaks
SLOVAKS are eager volunteers who are active in working with children and teenagers as well as protecting the environment or providing help to those with health-care needs. But many Slovaks would not regularly define themselves as volunteers because recognition of voluntary activities is still very low in Slovakia and the status of volunteers is not yet properly addressed by legislation. A law on volunteering is under preparation which could help support more volunteering and the National Volunteer Centre is planning a new survey next year that will gather more detailed information about volunteer activities in Slovakia.
Corporate volunteering recognised
REPRESENTATIVES of Západoslovenská Energetika (ZSE), Orion Nova and Dell emerged as winners of the Employee Volunteering Awards Slovakia at the third Corporate Philanthropy Forum held on November 11. They were recognised for projects to involve their employees in volunteering. ZSE and Orion Nova also advanced to the European round of the European Employee Volunteering Awards taking place as part of European Volunteering Year 2011, the Pontis Foundation, the event organiser, informed The Slovak Spectator.
Volunteer centres in Slovakia
- C.A.R.D.O. – operates as the National Volunteer Centre,
Some organisations active in CSR and philanthropy
- Business Leaders Forum,www.blf.sk
Our Bratislava invites volunteers
THE PONTIS Foundation and the Engage group of companies are preparing their annual volunteer event, Naša Bratislava (Our Bratislava) 2010, which will be held on June 18 and 19. This year’s gathering will differ from prior events as volunteers from the general public are invited to join volunteers from companies. Organisers have prepared more than 70 activities for as many as 1,500 volunteers. So far volunteers from 44 Bratislava-based companies, organisations and embassies have enrolled in the fourth year of the event.
Slovak Donors’ Forum helps many
MEMBERS of the Slovak Donors’ Forum (SDF) provided 1,967 grants amounting to more than €7.8 million to support social welfare projects in 2009. The funds came from employees of the member institutions, additional private donors and from public resources. Compared with 2008, the amount distributed to organisations and people in need increased by almost €900,000, as did the number of projects supported, Lenka Iľanovská from SDF told the SITA newswire.
Over 400 volunteers helped in Košice
U.S. STEEL Košice in conjunction with eight other Košice organisations has completed its annual corporate volunteer event providing a range of public service events aimed at improving the quality of life in Košice.
Taking a lead from the parent company
CORPORATE social responsibility (CSR) has deeper roots abroad and began to be widely implemented in Slovakia only after the fall of the communist regime, with the arrival of the corporate culture of foreign investors. It is usually the parent company which defines the CSR strategy of its affiliates, but as countries and markets differ, it sometimes has to be adjusted to local conditions. Moreover, as CSR has become an inseparable part of many companies in Slovakia, they themselves have already come up with ideas that have inspired their parent companies.
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