This year marks the fifth edition of Giving Around the Globe, a leading report that explores Corporate Societal Investment (CSI) insights and cross-regional strategies among the world’s leading companies. The report is part of CECP’s continued efforts to study worldwide trends and better understand how companies, whether headquartered in the US or internationally, are pursuing strategies to be a Force for Good.
As in past years, Giving Around the Globe offers country-specific analysis and data. Key qualitative findings from this year’s report also include:
- Advocacy is a business imperative: In the wake of changing political and economic landscapes, the private sector is collaborating with different stakeholders to find solutions and extend its engagement for causes in key areas such as innovation and technology.
- The Sustainable Development Goals are informing business decisions: Solutions are being sourced from across sectors, unusual suspects, and disruptive technologies such as Big Data, the Internet of Things, circular economies, and Artificial Intelligence, which are emerging as business opportunities and could become powerful SDGs accelerators.
- Companies are levering technology for improved employee engagement and discovery of purpose: Better tools, stronger infrastructure, and innovation in HR software platforms are allowing employers to find more reliable ways to tap into employees’ passions, inspiring them to perform at their best.
- Reporting and regulations are widespread: Social impact measurement and reporting methods have doubled since 2013, growing faster than those that focus on environmental issues, although companies should be strategic with the reporting practices with which they engage.
This year, 120 companies provided data and information on their 2016 programs. Fifty-nine are headquartered in North America and 61 headquartered in countries including Afghanistan, Australia, Brazil, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. Companies provided data on CSI expenditure, Pro Bono programs, companies’ international end recipients among other areas that allowed to benchmark global corporate engagement activities in four regions; Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe.
Other key statistics from the report worth highlighting include:
- Compared to any region, South African companies have the highest offering of Company-Wide Day of Service: 100% of companies surveyed reported offering this program to employees. The country also continues its commitment to CSI, which increased from R2.9 billion in 2006 to R8.6 billion in 2016.
- Asian companies are the most likely in the world to offer Pro Bono Services (61%) and companies in this region saw more Flexible Scheduling volunteer programs than anywhere else.
- In Europe, almost all surveyed companies (95%) contributed to international end-recipients, and when looking specifically at France, Admical –Paris-based NGO and the Global Exchange Local Authority- found that the aggregate giving budgets in France increased by 25% in the same period, from €2.8 billion to €3.5 billion.
Giving Around the Globe is the result of a collaborative effort with CECP’s Global Exchange coalition, an effort initiated nearly two years ago, which seeks to unite country-based, mission-driven corporate societal engagement organizations to advance the corporate sector as a force for good around the world. Partners’ contributions were key to be able to reflect a global sample of companies’ data and trends. For more in-depth country-analysis, look out for the following resources which will be launching soon:
- Twentieth edition of The Trialogue Business in Society Handbook, a report that provides reliable data and thought leadership on CSI in South Africa. Trialogue, the South Africa Local Authority will be launching the report on December 6.
- Tenth edition of The Benchmarking Research Corporate Social Investment (BISC), a report that tracks corporate social investments and leading trends in Brazil. Comunitas, Brazil’s Global Exchange Local Authority will be launching the report on December 1st.
- First edition of Corporate Giving in Italy, a unique annual survey on corporate societal engagement which highlights data-driven insights and strategic goals considered a top priority for companies engaged in corporate giving in Italy. Dynamo, Italy’s Global Exchange Local Authority will be launching the research on November 14th.
CECP thanks our Global Exchange coalition, which combined covers 59% of the world’s GDP and 50% of global population for their collaboration and insights on their respective countries. They include Admical in France, Beyond Philanthropy in Germany, Cemefi in Mexico, Comunitas in Brazil, CSRone Reporting in Taiwan, Dynamo Academy in Italy, Trialogue in South Africa, Korea Productivity Center in South Korea, Samhita in India, and, SynTao in Mainland China and Hong Kong. Local Authorities work individually with some of the world’s largest companies to support their societal engagement efforts, offering cultural learnings and context, expert data-driven insights on country-specific social impact efforts, and opportunities to deepen corporate programs in regions around the world.