Best Six Global Initiatives for Social Good

We live in a world, where companies strive to give back to the community. Corporate social responsibility refers to the contributions of money, social time, and environmental good to the community with the aim of improving their living standards.

It can be quite hard to figure out how companies provide services that cater to the needs of the immediate community.

Thus to create clarity on this subject, we are here to give you a clear outline of how some companies have carried out corporate social responsibility and improved society.

1. Nu Skin

Nu Skin Enterprises is based in America and deals with skin care products and dietary supplements. In 2002, it launched the ‘Nourish the Children initiative that seeks to feed malnourished children around the globe.

Customers are required to purchase VitaMeal –a highly nutritious food and donate it to organizations involved in distributing food to cater for famine and poverty needs.

This initiative has helped malnourished children in Malawi, Thailand, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Haiti, and Guatemala.

Also, when a purchase of eight packages of VitaMeal is made, Nu Skin donates one free package to a charitable organization.

2. LEGO

LEGO is a company based in Denmark that specializes in the production of toys made of interlocking plastic bricks. This company started the ‘Build the Change‘ initiative in 2007 which advocates for social interaction and creativity in children.

It benefits society by encouraging children to solve problems through creativity wherein in each event a theme is developed such as ‘build your neighborhood’ or ‘building your school.’

Interestingly, this initiative was born out of a letter sent by a nine-year-old, which stated that “When I grow up, I want my kids to grow up in a healthy world.” They sought to create a platform where children are given a voice to provide solutions for society’s challenges.

2. TOMS Shoes

This company was founded by Blake Mycoskie in 2006 with a mission to provide a new pair of shoes for needy children with every purchase made. It was mainly established as a way to take companionate action after Mycoskie saw children in Argentina walking without shoes.

Its ‘One for One initiative has been able to provide shoes for more than 50 countries globally.

In 2011 and 2014, TOMS Shoes established a sunglasses line to raise money to cater to individuals’ sight needs and a coffee line to help build wells for water accessibility, respectively.

Also, it largely contributes to the environmental and social sectors in realizing a better society. It uses organic cotton, recycles polyester and natural hemp for its production as well as recycled post-consumer waste for its packaging boxes.

4. Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic is an airline based in the United Kingdom that established ‘Change is in the Air’ initiative program that seeks to create a carbon-free environment and improve the community.

This initiative has seen a 22 percent reduction in aircraft carbon emissions and also it’s working on future strategies to establish low-carbon fuels.

Additionally, the Brandon Center for Entrepreneurship gets $200,00 every year from Virgin Atlantic to support the young people in business in Jamaica. Through the Virgin Atlantic Foundation, it has been able to raise funds through the Change for Children online appeal to support WE Schools that work towards providing free educational material.

5. Starbucks

With its many years in business, Starbucks has positively impacted the global community. It established the ‘Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices’ initiative that seeks to provide ecological production of green coffee. The C.A.F.E practices provide guidelines to ensure quality products, environmental leadership, and economic accountability are met. It has also dedicated to giving farmers a million coffee trees

Moreover, it supports Ethos Water which seeks to create clean water accessibility to over one billion people. They have set goals to achieve by 2025 including hiring 25000 veterans and 10000 refuges in 75 nations to be part of the workforce.

6. Nestlé

Nestlé has operated in Malaysia for more than 100 years with the aim of delivering its promise of Good Food, Good Life to the Malaysian people. It developed the ROCKS (Reaching Out To Community and Kids) initiative that seeks to nourish Malaysian society by making economic, environmental, and societal contributions through an employee volunteer program. It purposes to raise various funds to help charitable homes such as Pertubuhan Kebajikan Yesuvin Mahligai Selangor and Pusat Jagaan Mesra Limpahan Kasih among others, for the underprivileged children. This initiative has been able to help over 25 homes for needy children around Klang Valley.

Also, their initiative has helped to better the lives of single mothers and underprivileged women by organizing workshops to train them to bake ‘Kuih Raya’ recipes to get income to sustain their children. Additionally, a ‘back to school mums’ campaign was launched to help mothers get an education just like their children.

Take away…

These companies’ commitment to their corporate social responsibility has had a huge impact on the society. It doesn’t matter the type of initiative taken, no matter how small, so long as it makes a positive difference in the world. Innovating and adapting for social change makes a difference to the organization too.