Young Professionals and Corporate Social Responsibility
by S.J. Dawson

When I was at University, I was questioned for being sponsored by a multinational chemicals company whilst being the chair of our GreenWorld environmental society. I remember distinctly having to get up in the debating chamber and talk to people about my choice of either being the person outside waving a banner (which I would happily have done!) or being inside industry trying to make a difference. I was studying Chemical Engineering with Environmental Management and I firmly believed that I was making the right choice.There was a definite role, especially in the mid 90's, for people on the outside questioning and pushing manufacturers to make the right choices, but you needed someone who cared on the inside so that real changes were made and not just the bare minimum to keep the protesters from the door.

This is a choice I have never regretted from an ethical point of view. Working in industry, I have had the opportunity to do projects such as removing noxious gases from the atmosphere, improving emergency control measures to prevent pollution incidents and reducing energy emissions from factories. Probably much more than I could have achieved from the outside, although I have always tried to maintain great links and networks with people working on the environment and sustainability to "keep me real". Also, all great things for my company - each project contributing to profit.

At IYPS 2004, I spoke in a workshop about a Corporate Social Responsibility project I had been involved in whilst working at Unilever in Leeds. An "opportunity" had crossed my desk in that I saw a memo from head office saying that people were to be allowed to spend one day out of the office or factory to work in the community during "Vitality Summer". I call this an "opportunity" because it is the type of thing a Young Professional working in industry always keeps an eye out for - an opportunity to leverage working in the corporate sector to make a wider contribution. During a fortnight over 2500 employees across Europe each spent a day working on community or environmental projects. Practical help was given to all sectors of the community, but predominantly the young,elderly, disabled or disadvantaged, by running school health fairs,renovating buildings, creating playgrounds and gardens and setting up befriending projects. The natural world was also supported with a large number of man-hours spent on conservation work. The Leeds site had played a big part in the success of this event, with my team arranging 25 different events and more than 300 people taking part.We had taken everyone from senior managers to factory operators out into the community doing activities such as creating a school conservation area; painting a drop-in centre; hunting for dark-bordered beauty moth larvae; shopping with the elderly and running a soup kitchen.

In organising this, I found that the "Young Professionals" around me had the desire, passion and knowledge to make the biggest contribution. It was qualified people, mostly engineers, in the 20 to 30 age bracket I could count on to organise the different activities,to get their teams involved and to drive the work on the day. These individuals gave me their time and energy without question, and brought me the skills I needed (such as project management, risk assessment and communications) to get the job done.

I found myself wondering why they were doing this. Was it because they thought they would get recognised for it - not really, a lot of what they did went unrecognised because it was in their own time and they didn't make a show of their contribution, rather celebrated with their team when success was achieved. Did they do it for me? Perhaps a little, friendship always goes a long way, but asking people to commit that amount of time and effort just for a mate is maybe a bit much. Was it for Unilever? Again, perhaps a bit, our leaders had shown foresight and care in setting up the project, and I guess people like to work for a company they think cares. However, I think the main reason was that these Young Professionals cared themselves. They wanted to make a difference and they knew they could. They wanted to use their skills and experience for the advantage of others. They were just like me - they saw the "opportunity" and they took it.

A short while later, I was fortunate to be invited to the Business in the Community Awards for Excellence 2005 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The Vitality Summer project was nominated for, and actually won, the European Community Engagement Award. I looked at the programme. All the great and good of British industry was there,doing the "Corporate Social Responsibility" thing. Awards were given for promoting healthy communities, protecting the environment,driving diversity in the workplace, impact on society, skills for life programmes and cause related marketing. These included a supermarket chain who had set aside an area for local suppliers (within 50 miles radius) who were too small to supply nationally to showcase produce and crafts, a multinational investing heavily in HIV education programmes "to help contribute towards the MDGs" and a Skillseeker programme for 16 to 17 year-olds from disadvantaged areas.

It seemed the projects were in fact very aligned to what we want to achieve in the IYPF. Sure, the businesses will be getting something from these projects (increased skills of their workforce, teamwork,advertising), but it was really apparent that the people who got up to speak about their projects really believed in them and were doing them because they were the "right thing to do". I asked around why they had worked so hard to set up these projects and found their ideals roughly the same as mine. They worked for big companies and wanted to use this to "do good". They had found their companies supportive of this and they too "took the opportunity".

If you work in a big corporation, don't let this stifle your aspirations for a fair and just world, without poverty or hatred,where the environment is cherished and protected. Seize the opportunity it presents. What could you and your colleagues achieve in a day? You are in a great position to make a difference. Remember CSR is usually good business from a financial, legal, moral and ethical perspective and companies will normally support it. Use the IYPF or other networks to understand what are the important issues in the World today and use your position in work to help effect a change.

This article is taken from the IYPF's November / December 2005 Newsletter. To subscribe go to www.iypf.org and sign up through the subscription box.