[Sponsored Report] Standard Chartered contributing to society

Citizens and students donate their voice talents to make audio books for the visually impaired as part of Standard Chartered’s “Good Library Project.” Provided by the company

Standard Chartered Korea has four main strategies with regard to its social contribution work. Firstly, it rejects one time financial donations. Instead it pursues continuous and regular support and encourages all of its employees to participate. It also visits neglected areas to offer support, as well as working with Community Chest of Korea and other social organizations.

Standard Chartered is also running the ‘Seeing is Believing’ campaign to help raise funds to pay for eyesight recovery surgeries and to provide medication to help prevent eyesight loss. In Korea the company is working together with Vision Care Service, the only organization that has been acknowledged by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), to provide ophthalmological examinations in Korea and overseas. So far there have been 8,725 eye examinations and 1,282 eye surgeries conducted in 2008.

The company also held an audio book and braille book making volunteer activity with employees. The employees donated their voice and typing talents to make audio and braille books for visually impaired children.

From December 2010 to March 2011 employees recorded audio books and created braille books for the children. It was the first time a company in Korea participated in making such books. There were 500 copies of the audio books and 100 braille books made and delivered to the special schools for visually impaired students and libraries.

Standard Chartered Korea donated three low-carbon high-fuel efficiency hybrid shuttle cars in April 2011 to Nowon welfare center for visually impaired people, meaning that they can be transported around more safely and conveniently.

There has also been a ‘Living with HIV’ campaign to try and help exterminate AIDS and to create a healthy social culture. With the know how from this campaign the company has produced HIV and AIDS education materials and has provided e-learning materials for free to the local community, providing accurate information about HIV and AIDS. In relation to this campaign the company has been chosen as the ‘World Leader’ in office HIV education activities. The company was also awarded the Business Excellence in the Workplace three times in 2001, 2003 and 2007 from Global Business Coalition on HIV and AIDS.

Standard Chartered Korea is supporting academics and education as well. In May 2009 it founded an initiative to provide sound financial common sense to children and teenagers. The team gave a lecture to elementary students on economic activities, the principle of income, desirable consumption and savings and the basics of economics.

The children’s economic education team visited 92 places including elementary schools, citizen centers and welfare centers in 2009 and gave lectures to 31,883 elementary students. Currently the lecture contents have been made into an e-learning video and are provided free through the Standard Chartered Web site.

In addition, the company is practicing ‘green management’ by emphasizing ‘environmental protection activities.

As part of their environment preservation and climate change prevention strategies the company has a tree planting activity every year. Standard Chartered Korea employees and their families have planted trees at Seoul Forest, Dream Forest and Gangseo Ecology wetland park, working together to make a beautiful environment for future generations. Since 2008 2,600 employees and their families have planted 5,500 trees.

By Lee Ji-hyun [concordia@joongang.co.kr]