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Across our businesses globally, our employees are passionate about being part of the community. It is something that we support without hesitation. Now and in the future it will keep us connected.
Community involvement
Generating profits brings with it responsibilities to our communities and other stakeholders. The National has had a long-standing and established commitment to creating and delivering value to our communities.
Active community engagement, not just through charitable donations, assists us in building strong communities. It is also a unique opportunity for both our people and the community to work in partnership and collaborate in finding solutions for many social issues.
Financial literacy and financial and social inclusion are two major platforms that have particular relevance for us as a financial institution. Many of our programs are helping to build social capital and empower local communities.
There is a wide spectrum of programs and activities that we support through donations, developing community partnerships, facilitating fundraising appeals, enabling employees to donate to charities via direct salary deductions, paid and unpaid volunteering, forgoing interest, supporting not-for-profit organisations and cause-related marketing and sponsorships. The chart below shows the breakdown of our 2004 Corporate Community Investment (CCI).
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Corporate Community Investment (CCI) 2004
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$
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Charitable gifts
- Intermittent support to charities that is not linked to the Group's community
or commercial strategies |
1.4m |
Community investment
- Long-term strategic investment in community partnerships to address specific issues.
Includes fees foregone on accounts for not-for-profit organisations |
2.6m |
Eco projects
- Support for bio-diversity (including green commercial) |
0.8m |
Commercial initiatives in the community
- Activities in the community to directly support the success of the Group |
3.3m |
| In-kind/Volunteering |
2.4m |
Management costs
- Costs incurred in developing and sustaining CCI initiatives |
1.5m |
| Total |
$12m |
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Volunteering
Our 40,000 employees globally interact with a diverse range of customers across different communities. We encourage our people to volunteer for a variety of programs. In Australia, this includes an entitlement for every employee to two days volunteer leave. The variety and breadth of programs are profiled in the following pages. Other key initiatives include:
Public Interest Legal Clearing House (PILCH)
Group Legal and Wealth Management in Australia support the Public Interest Legal Clearing House (PILCH), a community-based organisation that facilitates pro-bono legal services to people who may be socially or economically marginalised, as well as a range of not-for-profit organisations.
A particular initiative supported by Group Legal in Australia is the Homeless Persons' Legal Clinic Project, which involves providing free legal assistance and advocacy by firms and companies to the homeless or those at risk of becoming homeless in Melbourne. Lawyers also provide a range of services for not-for-profit organisations who approach PILCH.
Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation
In Australia, we support the Foundation's work in the identification and early detection of the disease by encouraging staff to sell silver ribbons, in addition to providing cash donations. For further details of our community involvement, refer to our community booklet on www.national.com.au
Kiwi Recovery Trust
Refer to page 29 to read about Bank of New Zealand's support in saving the plight of the kiwi.
Garvan Institute of Medical Research
Refer to page 25 to learn about Wealth Management's association with the Garvan Institute.
Money Talks
Refer to page 27 for Northern Bank's financial literacy program, in addition to other initiatives for FSE.
Click here to download a PDF of the Corporate Social Reponsibility Report 2004 (388KB)
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