Tuesday, April 8, 2008

CSR- Today’s Key to Business Ethics

What is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)? How do companies/organizations demonstrate this in their everyday business ethic? These are questions you have to ask yourself when trying to understand how and why today’s businesses are using CSR. The definition of Corporate Social Responsibility is “a concept where organizations consider the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on consumers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, communities and the environment in all aspects of their operations”, but I’m not here to bore you with the details and definition of CSR; I want to tell you about an organization I found that exemplifies great ethical CSR values.

Looking at CSRwire, the leading global source of Corporate Social Responsibility news, I found many of different companies/organizations and their latest “acts of kindness” to the community. The one that appealed to me the most was the MetLife Foundation because of their generous contribution of $815,000 to the Alzheimer’s Association for Hispanic Outreach and Safety Initiatives. I chose this association because my grandmother suffers from Alzheimer’s and I feel that the more money out there for research the closer we get to a cure for the future of our families.

MetLife and the Alzheimer’s Association have been working together for over two decades. The Alzheimer's Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care, support and research. It has a mission to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the development of research, to provide and improve care and support for all affected and to decrease the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health.

For those of you who don’t know about the MetLife Foundation, they are an organization that MetLife established in 1976 to carry its long-standing tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement. MetLife has a long-standing commitment to the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. They have invested more than $15 million for Alzheimer’s research and public information programs, including $10 million through the Awards for Medical Research program. Working with the Alzheimer’s Association, the Foundation has supported care giving videos, resources for the Hispanic community and the Safe Return identification program, which addresses the problem of senior wandering. The Foundation has expanded its focus on aging issues, including helping people remain physically and mentally fit and remaining engaged in the community. It also supports programs addressing issues of care giving, inter-generational activities and volunteer opportunities.

The April 3, 2008 contribution from the MetLife Foundation of $815,000 was divided into two different grants. One of $400,000 funds an extensive media and outreach campaign for the Hispanic population that includes radio and Internet messaging; also the introduction of a Family Caregiver Resource Kit which uses existing and new Spanish-language educational materials that raise awareness about the disease. The second of $415,000 for the Emergency Responders Outreach Initiative supports the development of a national training program for emergency responders, including law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and others.
The way that the MetLife Foundation donates their time and money to the Alzheimer’s Foundation demonstrates how committed they are to the community. Like Sibyl Jacobson, president and CEO of MetLife Foundation, says, "Alzheimer's affects millions of individuals, and the Alzheimer's Association is a leading resource for the general public for accurate information about the disease, MetLife Foundation is pleased to support these initiatives, which will provide much-needed resources to communities across the country." Even though the practices of CSR in today’s businesses are subject to much debate and criticism, this organization has found a way to show its public that they really do care and are in it for the long run.

* To visit the MetLife Foundation CSR Profile click here

* Pictures from Google Images

2 comments:

Aaron Buchbinder said...

I think you did a great blog especially since you were very pasionate about it due to your family. I never really thought highly of met life but you have def. changed my oppinion about what they do.

College Bloggers said...

Good subject for examining CSR. And you did a nice job of providing background. Try to reduce some of the extraneous wording. This is very wordy. Also get rid of some of the "to be" verbs (like "is") and replace those with strong active verbs. Lastly, read over carefully and correct some of the language mistakes. Good links here.