Recently, the Aviva company released the Aviva Corporate Responsibility Report 2012. This report detailed their corporate objectives and their point of view on corporations and social change. According to the Aviva Corporate Responsibility Report 2012, corporations and businesses should “act as catalysts for social change.” That is, they should be the front-runners in the battle to make the world a better place in any way possible. Aviva is an insurance provider. They are committed to people rather than policies, though, and wish to help each unique customer in order to create a better life for them. The branch in the United States, or Aviva USA, has nearly a million customers, and has existed for over 100 years, and the company as a whole is worth abut $53 billion. They have the ability to create drastic social change given their powerful position, influential capabilities, and wealth.
The Aviva Corporate Responsibility Report 2012 is titled “Contributing to Society.” It reveals that Aviva has met many corporate milestones in regards to social change over the past year. One of their biggest contributions to society is through their Street to School community program, which managed to reach 500,000 children in 2012, which was an objective achieved two years ahead of schedule. As of today, they have reached over 600,000 children. The Street to School objective aims to help children who are homeless, and who live or work in the streets. The company aims to get youth back into education or training programs to create a brighter future for them. Aviva focuses on prevention and intervention; those who are at high-risk of dropping out of school and helped, as well as those who have already dropped out of school.
Aviva’s website states: “As a global insurer, making a contribution to society really matters to us.” Clearly, Aviva is committed to Corporate Social Responsibility, and the Aviva Corporate Responsibility Report 2012 reveals the details of that. They not only aim to help customers, but the community and society as a whole. Other contributions that Aviva has made to society includes reducing their carbon footprint by 12%, as well as being recognized as a top 5 company in the “FTSE4Good index.” This index is a list of companies that have made contributions to the social good. Plus, Aviva is now 32nd in the Stonewall equality index, which ranks companies based on their contributions to the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community.
Although Aviva’s pioneering program is their Street to School program, Aviva also partners with various NGO’s such as Railway Children, Save the Children, and the UN. The Corporate Responsibility Director of Aviva, Marie Sigsworth, has said that their purpose is to help people get back on their feet and to protect those who are most vulnerable in the community, such as street-children. Also in 2012, Aviva co-sponsored a report with the UN detailing the rights of children living and working on the streets, which was accepted by the UN Human Rights Council in March of 2012. Overall, the Aviva corporation is committed to helping their customers, as well as to create a sustainable business model, so that they can give back to society, and so that their employees are proud of their workplace.
The Aviva Corporate Responsibility Report 2012 can be found in full here, since Aviva is also committed to transparency.
– Corina Balsamo
Sources: Ethical Corp, Aviva Reports, Aviva Investors
Photo: RogerBickmore