‘Social Business Map’ charts charities and business CSR
“Social business map” collects information on the work of charities and social programmes undertaken by companies
Moscow, 15.04.2015
The company “One for all” and the Russian Business Club have launched the “Social Business Map” initiative. This is an information and analytical log on which data on social projects undertaken by important businesses, together with specialist and analytical material, assessments, and results of research of social activities carried out by Russian firms, NGOs and private donors can be presented using the Navigator format. The log will also include interviews, latest news and information relating to corporate social responsibility and charity issues in Russia.
The main feature of the programme is an interactive cartographic Navigator that shows charitable activities undertaken by businesses working closely with charities. By searching on the programme’s website, it will be possible to keep track of social projects being carried out by Russian and western firms that fall within the area of national corporate social responsibility. With the help of a classification system, it will be possible to filter projects according to location, topic and target audience.
Among the companies and charities that already appear on the map are the Siberian Coal and Energy Company, PepsiCo, “Our Future”, “Your Chance”, Russian New University, “Flying Animals” and “Road to Life”.
The project’s authors are planning to introduce a sponsorship command option, peer reviewed by “The Road Together” charity. Using the extensive search engine feature, a potential sponsor will be able to choose events which fit the target audience and range of activities undertaken by a particular company, as well as gaining an idea of the details and likely costs involved in any sponsorship arrangement.
According to Anastasia Popova, CEO of “One for All”, one of the tasks for this new project is to highlight the presence of large, medium and small-scale businesses in the information world, and their commitment to corporate social responsibility within their various work areas.
“There is strong and very interesting expertise that exists within the world of corporate social responsibility and charity, together with many experts who have conducted considerable national research in these areas. There are also a great many case examples to be found within corporate social responsibility practices. Our task is to look for, package and correctly apply the knowledge derived from these cases. The idea of bringing all this information together enables us to get our message across to our main target audience, namely the Russian Business Club”, Anastasia added.
According to experts from Evolution and Philanthropy, there are obvious advantages for NGOs to take part in this project, but whether businesses will agree to fully participate is still unclear. “On the one hand, there is a demand for high quality research and analysis in the area of corporate social responsibility and charity which can undoubtedly justify resource commitment. This work would provide an understanding of current trends, an evaluation of current practice, and an opportunity to compare performance with that of others, not forgetting PR of course. On the other hand, businesses are not renowned for having a clear commitment to their charity work or for being prepared for the inevitable flurry of calls to their “hot desk”, according to Evolution and Philanthropy experts.
There is a separate issue around keeping the project’s database up to date, together with the willingness of companies to provide and update information on their charity programmes on a regular basis say the experts from Evolution and Philanthropy.
Author: Yulia Vyatkina
