On 25th March, the Corporate Responsibility Club (CRC) organized an Afternoon Tea with the topic “NGOs and Business – Understanding Each Other”. The CRC has hosted them several times a year since 2010 and aims to share experience and best practices among NCCC Members, the institutions specialised in this area, and the public interested in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) theme.
The honored guest, Ing. Alena Plaskova, CSc. from the Czech Society for Quality, opened the evening with a few definitions of what Corporate Social Responsibility means. The most accurate could be “responsibility of corporations for their impact on society”. It is important to say that any of these activities should be voluntary not obligatory. Alena Plášková then presented the positive impact of the CSR on society, companies and individuals.
Following the presentation, Veronika Karásková, NCCC, shared with the audience the list of CSR activities of the NCCC corporate and patron members, comparing the real examples in the Czech Republic and worldwide, e.g. Ahold, Business Lease, CTP, CSOB, G4S, HEINEKEN, Hotel Hilton, ING, KPMG, LeasePlan, Shell, TNT Express, Unilever, Zatiší Group.
Next, four different non-governmental organisations, NCCC members, presented their projects and ideas for corporate support. More information about these projects can be found at their respective websites.
First was
Wild Geese Foundation (
www.divokehusy.cz), a non-profit organisation which rewards a large range of different charitable actions. Their aim is to double charitable proceeds from events (such as concerts or auctions) up to the sum of 60,000 CZK. This is the Dutch way to motivate people in need to be more active when asking for help.
Next was
AFS Intercultural Programs (
www.afs.cz), an organization offering ways for Czech high school students to study abroad in order to experience a different culture, language, and give them also a head start in life. By co-operating with corporates, AFS can afford to send students abroad, even if they are from difficult social conditions.
The next platform
EPLA (
www.epla.cz) is focused on helping younger children, offering school programmes, fun activities and games which lead children in learning about sustainability, the environment and healthy lifestyles, and being observant to their surroundings.
The last presenter was the
Salvation Army (
www.armadaspasy.cz), the largest organisation caring for the people without shelter. Their latest project is called Reshare (a cooperation with Reshare in the Netherlands) asking businesses and individuals to gather unused clothes in order to employ homeless people who collect and sort them for their own purpose or sell them as second-hand. Any profits from Reshare go towards the Salvation Army and their efforts to take care of homeless.
We would like to thank Business Lease for provided the premises and Ahold for refreshments.
It is not only Corporate but also Personal Social Responsibility. We all can and need help. And once we understand each other, we all get the benefits.
All projects mentioned above need all kinds of support. If you are interested in aiding any of the above organisations, contact Veronika Karasková at veronika.karaskova@nlchamber.cz, and she will put you in touch with the organisation.
