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Businesses take on European poverty and social exclusion

2010 will be the European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion.  Today, 16% of the European population live below the poverty line, adding up to a staggering 79 million people - a fourth of which are children. The planned activities for the year involve awareness campaigns, creative solidarity schemes, meetings, discussions and conferences, and competitions highlighting achievements and successful experiments in the field. The 2010 European Year aims at reaffirming the importance of collective responsibility in combating poverty and hopefully give a voice to those who daily experience poverty and social exclusion.

In line with the theme of the Year, poverty and social exclusion has long been a concern for many of CSR Europe's members, and the business case for combating social exclusion is clear: cohesive society and thriving economy go hand in hand. In practice, companies can engage in a number of ways, for example by promoting equal opportunities in their recruitment and HR management practices, helping people from disadvantaged backgrounds to develop the skills needed in today's job market, fostering the creation of new jobs in the communities they operate in, and engaging in innovative partnerships to combat social exclusion in particularly deprived areas and of particularly marginalised groups.

With Dassault Systemes and IBM involved, mobi³ is a collaborative project where volunteers from businesses work with disadvantaged middle school students in Paris to create and market a mobile phone. Youth unemployment rates in the areas of Paris where the project is based stand at 30% - over three times the national average. mobi³ aims to raise the aspirations of these young people, give them opportunities to develop their full potential, and forge links between underprivileged neighbourhoods and the work of business.

The KPMG Mentoring Refugees programme prepares refugees with skills to work in the UK, specifically those who have qualifications in the financial sector in their own country, to prepare them for accountancy and finance work in the UK. KPMG volunteers act as mentors for the refugees. Of the refugees who have participated in this programme in London, the 2005 and 2006 sessions resulted in 13 out of 28 participants finding employment. In 2007, of the 31 participants 25% have found work, another 25% are reported to still be looking for work.

Business Action on Homelessness/Ready for Work is the only business-led employment project for homeless people in the UK. Supported by a wide variety of companies across the UK, from large corporations to local businesses, Ready for Work is led by Business in the Community and aims to break the cycle of homelessness by helping homeless people attain  the skills and confidence they need to gain and sustain employment and to a live an independent life.

Businesses may target poverty in other ways as well. Under the umbrella of European Alliance for CSR, several CSR laboratories have been conducted to seek improvements in this particular area by bringing together business practitioners, stakeholders and representatives of the European Union to share experience and explore joint operational projects. These include:

• Business' Involvement to Enhance Social Inclusion at Local Level - This Laboratory focused on ways businesses can facilitate social inclusion on a large scale, and special attention was given to the banking sector.
• Financial Inclusion: Sustainable Services for Underserved Potential Customers - The main objective of this Laboratory was to develop a framework that can increase the economic inclusion of un-banked and undeserved segments of society, including migrant and temporary workers, low-income families
• Skills for employability - This Laboratory aimed at contributing to the foundations of employability and inclusion in Europe by providing access to IT, technical and other employability related skills to groups ‘at risk'.
• Skills for Employability Enhanced Through Community Engagement - By highlighting how employee engagement enhances skills for employability throughout Europe, this Laboratory wished to show how this in turn contributes to the main drivers and goals of the European Jobs and Growth agenda, particularly in the areas of education, skills and employability.

For more examples on business initiatives addressing poverty and social exclusion, search our CSR solutions database or get in touch with us for more information. See also our article on business efforts to fight poverty on a global scale.

Text: Laura Maanavilja/Lisa Hyder, CSR Europe 

23 November 2009