Target, Myer, Kmart, Swisse and David Jones are among major businesses across ANZ that have increased spending on community projects and initiatives (CCI), according to London Benchmarking Groups latest report.
Spending on CCI is now at over $222 million a year, which represents an increase of $34 million compared to 2014 figures.
“Even with a shaky economy, businesses are able to turn to CCI as a way to invest in their reputation – something which is essential to maintain throughout any financial instability in the market”, said director of LBG for ANZ, Simon Robinson.
The retail and wholesale sector is the second largest contributor to the community after financial services with total contribution from $42,926,401 ($43M). This equates to 19 per cent of the total. Retail contributes the largest proportion of its total in the form of goods, known in LBG terms as in-kind. Nearly 53 per cent of the total is contributed to the community in-kind. Comparatively the membership as a whole contributes 15 per cent in-kind.
Companies will continue to invest or maintain the amount they are spending on CCI over the next year, with 90 per cent of survey respondents expecting their CCI budgets to remain the same or increase over the next year. Though ANZ companies contribution is not at the same level as their contemporaries in European markets, the increase of pre-tax profits donated to 0.6 per cent is a promising sign for the region says Robinson. “Our members in Europe kept their CCI investment stable during the GFC and found this investment worthwhile as they continue to recover, so the evidence base and arguments are there for ANZ companies to do the same,” said Robinson.
Employees have also increased their workplace giving and volunteering effort with a marked increase in time devoted to community endeavours. “Collectively, this has resulted in the number of people participating in community projects and initiatives double this year to 7 per cent and an increase in the number of working hours increasing from 498,077 to 832,750 – a trend that’s set to continue,” said Robinson.
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