Corporate Social Responsibility
We are working to become a truly sustainable business. This is an ongoing journey, and one of the core pillars of our approach is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). At Howden Group we are committed to making a positive impact - for our employees, our clients, and our global community.
The three Es
Whether we're fundraising, volunteering, or partnering with established charities, all of our initiatives are designed to support our CSR strategy. Our strategy has three themes:
Education
Education can be the key to a brighter future. Yet in almost every country in the world, children from more deprived backgrounds have less access to education and perform worse than their more privileged peers.
We believe that everyone has the right to education and the opportunities that come with it. Through social mobility projects and charity partnerships, we help young people and those not in work or training to access education and employment.
Enterprise
Howden Group was established by entrepreneurs, and we continue to grow through the entrepreneurial values of our employees. Enterprise is at the core of our very business, and we want to help others succeed as we have succeeded.
We support young, social and environmental entrepreneurs to get their businesses off the ground, offering feedback from established mentors and advice on how to get ahead in the professional world.
Environment
We only have one planet, and it is struggling under the pressures we place on it. As a sustainable business we make decisions with our eyes firmly on the future, and we want to ensure that our environment is healthy for the generations to come.
At Howden Group, we are committed to do our part for the world - through supporting environmental charities, volunteering, reducing our own impact, and increasing environmental sustainability through our day-to-day work.
Charity partnerships
We believe that our charitable work should have the greatest possible social impact. That's why each of our offices around the world supports their own charity partner, nominated and voted for by employees locally.
Volunteering and Fundraising
Everyone at Howden Group gets two days a year to give back through volunteering and fundraising. Our charity partners offer a wide variety of volunteering opportunities, and local teams regularly plan fundraising events from quiz nights and bake sales to hikes and bike rides.
Case studies
We celebrated Howden Group's 25th anniversary with the Million for a Million campaign - our biggest charity event to date. Over 12 months our employees organised bake sales, bike rides, quiz nights, hikes, and concerts. They sold crafts and they shaved their heads. They hosted raffles and they climbed mountains. And together, they raised over $1,500,000 - smashing our original target of $1 million.
The money was shared between 4 charity partners and 33 local charities, all chosen by Howden Group employees. We are proud to support their important work in mental and physical health, education and employment, and the environment.
DUAL, Italy
DUAL Italia joined the pyjama walk and run to fundraise for their long-term charity partner LILT (Italian League for the Fight Against Cancer). The team donated from their beds, strictly in their pyjamas, and raised funds for LILT's 'Heart Houses' campaign. This service is dedicated to families all over Italy in social or economic difficulty.
Dementia Friends Workshop, UK London
Whilst in lockdown, we have been working with our UK charity partner Alzheimer's Society to conduct virtual Dementia Friends workshops. These were insightful sessions helping us understand some of the issues people face when living with dementia. This interactive session not only raised awareness, but also gave employees great practical tips to take away.
DUAL, New Zealand
DUAL Auckland's partner charity is Key to Life, a charitable trust working to change New Zealanders' attitudes to mental health and suicide. To help Key to Life raise awareness of depression in New Zealand, the team participated in Gumboot Friday - wearing heavy boots all day to symbolise how depression can feel like walking through mud and make simple tasks challenging. They money raised will help provide free counselling for children around New Zealand.
Howden & DUAL, Singapore
Howden and DUAL joined forces with the Howden Group Foundation partner, Seven Clean Seas, to tackle the waste washed up on Singapore's shores. In just two hours we filled a skip with nearly a ton of ocean waste. We doubled our impact by sponsoring Seven Cleans Seas' clean-up crew in Indonesia to remove another KG of ocean waste for every bag we filled.
DUAL, North America
DUAL North America volunteered at their local Second Harvest Food Bank, sorting and inspecting donations. They were assigned to sort through boxes filled with goods from CVS Pharmacy, who donates anything that is still usable but beyond its sell-by date. They sorted through dozens of boxes of medical supplies, foods, toys, household items, hygiene products, and more.
Howden, Colombia
Howden Colombia started a recycling campaign, and bought food for families in need with the money they collected. The food was donated through the Heal Cancer Foundation. The team said "It has been a wonderful experience for all our collaborators and for the beneficiaries!"
Howden, Abu Dhabi
As part of their Global Group Giving Week campaign, Howden Abu Dhabi organised a yoga and wellness session, which raised $2700 for a special needs charity. Racha Moukayed, MD of Howden Abu Dhabi, said "Thank you all for making this week special to remind us of the important things in life. Our people, our responsibility, our success!"
Howden, Turkey
During Global Group Giving Week, Howden Turkey took part in an event called 'Happy Tales'. The team recorded themselves reading 'happy tales' for children who are in quarantine for long periods of time because of their cancer treatment. The team recorded fairy tales on mp3 players at their homes which were then delivered to the children at the hospital.
Awards
We are proud to have won a number of awards in recognition of our CSR work.
In November 2020 we were awarded the Gold Corporate Engagement Award for 'Best engagement of an internal audience in a CSR programme' for our Million for a Million campaign with Cancer Research UK, Black Dog Institute, Plastic Oceans and InteRed. We also won the Silver Corporate Engagement Award for 'Most effective one-off campaign'.
We were also honoured to win the 2020 Better Society Award for 'Best Scheme to Encourage Staff Fundraising' - again for our Million for a Million campaign.
