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Corporate social responsibility
Commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an important element of good corporate citizenship, alongside sustainability and good governance. Modern CSR programmes are aligned with a company’s business strategy and its engagement with key stakeholder groups. In a similar manner support for industry initiatives, customers and end-use segments enables close engagement with these important stakeholders.
This is not a new approach for Sappi. Our support of the communities where we have an impact has prioritised educational, environmental and cultural projects. Our charitable donations are geared towards issues of importance to our staff (eg cancer, HIV/Aids and TB). Sappi also supports initiatives of the business community to help address the development needs of the country. Sappi’s efforts focus on supporting multi-year programmes to create sustained impact in communities. The majority of Sappi’s CSR spend takes place in South Africa, given the development needs of the country.
Customers and end-user groupings benefit from our sponsorships for the design community, for printers, for communication professionals as well as the advertising industry.
Sappi’s vision
To improve the quality of life of the people residing in the communities within which Sappi operates and where the majority of their staff reside, by enabling them to provide for their own immediate needs and empowering them to better themselves and their communities in the future.
Sappi’s mission
Sappi is responsive to the needs of the communities within which it operates and demonstrates its commitment to being a caring company through the support of and effective involvement in relevant and sustainable community activities and partnerships, which will effect meaningful change for significant and relevant sections of the population.
CSR Objective
- Education and literacy are focused on technology, mathematics, science and the development of teachers.
- Conservation and environment programmes serve to protect and sustain the natural habitat, whilst creating facilities for people to be educated about the world around them.
- Arts and culture programmes are focused on the development of individual and groups of artists and musical groups from previously disadvantaged communities and cultural exchange in the wider Southern African community.
- Health and Welfare related sponsorships will be handled as ad hoc/discretionary requests. These discretionary donations concentrate on the following health and welfare issues:
- HIV/Aids/hospice
- Child care/homeless
- Aged
- General - the merits of requests that do not conform to these preferred categories will be considered by the committee insofar as they meet the needs of the company and community wherein Sappi operates.
- Entrepreneurial skills development programmes focus on programmes that enable communities to provide for their own immediate needs and empower them to improve themselves and their communities in the future.
Applications for CSR funding
While Sappi welcomes requests for funding or donations of paper, please note that Sappi focuses on established, long-term projects in the communities where we operate. Our capacity to provide other donations is thus very limited and most requests unfortunately are therefore declined. Sappi prefers to consider requests from non-denominational, audited and registered (Section 18A) organisations.
Please e-Mail your requests to the following regional representatives.
Response times vary depending on the nature of the request.