Our research shows that the business sector, year after year, significantly supports its communities, both in crises and in ordinary circumstances.
In Serbia, for example, in 2021, the business sector was the second largest donor in the amount donated and philanthropy actions. More details can be found in our annual report Giving Serbia 2021, while we are still working on reports for other countries. Follow us because new reports await you very soon.
In the meantime, remember what CSR actions which marked the spring looked like. In the rest of the text, read stories about social responsibility and strategic support that companies throughout the Western Balkans provided in the previous months.
Support for education through the "School as designed for you" project
The project "School as designed for you" has been implemented by Eurobank Direktna for four years and continued smoothly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In four years, the bank equipped 11 computer cabinets in nine cities in Serbia, and more than 9.4 million dinars were set aside for this.
The realization of this project is supported by the employees of the bank and its clients. By proposing schools where the project would be implemented, employees volunteer and hold professional lectures to students of economic schools to which the equipment is donated. Clients help every time they use the "Eurobank Direktna Big Heart" Mastercard credit card because the bank allocates a particular part of the funds and directs them to secondary schools throughout Serbia.
At the beginning of the year, Eurobank Direktna also introduced something new into the project, aiming to provide students with access to cultural content and museum settings that are not common in their cities. That's how the "Traveling Museum" was created. The first one was realized at the School of Economics and Commerce in Bor, where high school students had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with part of the "Jevrem Grujić's House" exhibits. After that, the High School of Economics students in Loznica were given the same opportunity. Thanks to the curator's lectures, the students had the opportunity to learn about Serbian history and culture. At the same time, the practical work and workshops conducted within the "Traveling Museum" brought them closer to various artistic skills.
A donation that will facilitate the education of young car mechanics
Another story about the investment of the business sector in education comes from Zagreb. The company CIAK Auto donated a diagnostic device and a package of motor oil to the Industrial Engineering School in Zagreb, which will be extremely useful for students during practical classes. The donation package is worth more than HRK 26,800.
In addition, students will have the opportunity to do an internship at CIAK Auto. From next year, professional education will be provided for students and professors of the Industrial Engineering School.
The company also announced that the best trainees would be offered employment.
We were among the first to recognize the importance of investing in future generations and therefore decided to cooperate with the High School of Industrial Engineering in Zagreb, whose students are potential employees of high levels of expertise., said the director of CIAK Auto Dalibor Bagarić.
UNIQUA Insurance in Bosnia and Herzegovina supports young talents
With the desire to help young musical talents in their education and training, the insurance company UNIQA Insurance dd Sarajevo recently donated musical instruments and additional equipment in the value of 10,000 KM to the Primary Music School "Mladen Pozajić."
Thanks to the donation, this educational institution, which about 440 students attend, is richer with twenty new instruments that are necessary for teaching to take place adequately.
Since its founding, UNIQA Osiguranje has carried out numerous projects in the field of culture. Thus, the company recently sponsored the second Matusia Blum international piano competition, securing prizes for the best young pianists. According to UNIQA Insurance, this year's focus is on youth and culture, and many more sponsorship projects are planned to strengthen cultural events throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Kaufland Croatia and Unicef Croatia signed a three-year cooperation agreement
Kaufland Hrvatska and Unicef Hrvatska are an example of a long-term partnership between the business and non-profit sector, which continues with the recently signed three-year cooperation agreement.
Kaufland Croatia supports programs that Unicef has been providing in this country for many years. Since 2010 HRK 878,761 has been donated to various projects, such as UNICEF's humanitarian race, the Milky Way, and equipping inclusive classrooms at higher education institutions throughout Croatia.
As one of the largest retail chains in Croatia, we are well aware of our impact on the communities in which we operate. An important part of our sustainability strategy is continued investment in projects that contribute to children's health. Therefore, we are extremely glad that we have found a reliable partner in UNICEF, with whom we can jointly build a better future for children in Croatia., said Patrick Rudat, president of Kaufland in Croatia.
We are happy to sign a cooperation agreement with our long-term partner Kaufland Croatia - a company that recognizes UNICEF's work as a valuable legacy for future generations. With its continuous support, Kaufland Hrvatska clearly shows how cooperation with the corporate sector can significantly contribute to improving the quality of life for children. We are especially glad that they proudly carry the title of 'main star' of the UNICEF humanitarian race Milky Way, said Regina M. Castillo, Director of the UNICEF Office for Croatia.
UniCredit Foundation supported 52 non-profit organizations dedicated to children
The UniCredit Foundation also supports children as part of its socially responsible strategy. This year, through the Every child is significant competition, in 12 markets where the UniCredit Group operates, it supported 52 non-profit organizations that focus on helping children with 500,000 euros.
Grants within the donation are distributed in four areas: education (238,500 euros), social inclusion (104,500 euros), disability (94,000 euros), and health care (63,000 euros). Supported projects will be implemented in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
Each country was awarded €40,000 to be shared among local winning projects, and the Commission awarded an additional €20,000 to selected projects judged to have a particular impact.
In Serbia, five organizations and institutions were selected for the competition this year, namely:
- Elementary school "Vojvoda Živojin Mišić" from Rajković for the project "Let us be polyglots in the language laboratory"
- Association "Little Giant" for the conference "United for Little Giants"
- The organization "Friends of Children of Serbia" for the project "BUILDING TRUST - peer support for children's mental health"
- Organization "Oblutak" for the project "Adolescent - a small school for big people"
- Incest center "Trauma" for the project "I am with the child who survived sexual violence!"
Support of MK Group and AIK Bank to vulnerable children and families
Among the various socially responsible actions that affect the development and well-being of its community, support for children and families is one of the areas that MK Group has focused on for many years.
Thus, MK Group and AIK Bank have been supporting SOS Children's Village Serbia for ten years. For the last three years, they have been helping the work of their special program - the Center for Family Support "Guidepost "in Niš, to which they have donated 96,000 euros. The latest donation in the amount of 36,000 euros was recently handed over at the Town Hall in Niš.
MK Group has donated more than 350,000 euros in the past ten years to SOS Children's Villages Serbia for various programs and projects.
OTP Bank supported 35 projects on the territory of Croatia
OTP bank dd selected 35 projects for a total of HRK 500,000 in the recently held competition for the award of donations as part of its Green Light for... a better society program.
OTP Bank has been conducting this competition for 11 years, during which 473 projects were supported and HRK 4.7 million invested in community development.
This year, projects were supported in four areas: youth, education and science, preservation of cultural, historical, and traditional heritage, preservation of the environment, humanitarian projects, and sports.
Socially responsible actions of the company dm
The company dm has been implementing numerous humane initiatives for years, encouraging its employees and the wider community to get involved. Last year, the company donated 29.1 million dinars to its community in Serbia, of which 8.3 million dinars were in cash, and 20.8 million dinars were in the form of purchasing necessary equipment and goods.
Support and socially responsible activities continue this year, and only some of the projects are the continuation of the "Plant a Tree" project, which provided as many as 200,000 new seedlings throughout Serbia and support for the most vulnerable families in the new season of the "Working Action with Tamara" show.
Also, during the opening and re-opening stores in locations all over Serbia in the past few months, dm handed over donations to institutions that needed help. Thus, 2.5 million dinars were donated, i.e., donations in the amount of 500 thousand each for the "Petar Kočić" Elementary School in Inđija, the Institute for the Health Care of Children and Youth of Vojvodina, the Center for Accommodation and Day Care for Children and Youth with Developmental Disabilities - OJ Voždovac, KBC Bežanijska kosa, as well as the Institute of Oncology and Radiology.
When it comes to the initiatives implemented in 2021, the following stood out:
- Cooperation with the "Novak Đoković" Foundation for the reconstruction and equipping of kindergartens, in which the company invested 59,500 euros,
- Aid to institutions that care for children without parental care, for which the drugstore chain donated more than 15,000 euros.
- The campaign "With a cap to a smile," within which five combined playgrounds, adapted for children with disabilities, were provided in Pivnice.
- Healthcare support: as part of the traditional "Movember" action, the DM drogerie markt company, donated medical equipment worth 12,700 euros to the Urology Clinic of the Kragujevac Clinical Center.
- Traditional help to safe houses throughout Serbia.
Companies have this extraordinary power to move and motivate the entire society. All our previous initiatives aimed to improve the lives of all our citizens, and they have become a kind of tradition and trademark of dm. Each of us at the company is deeply proud of the fact that our various responsible activities have improved the lives of many people. We look forward to continuing to be a driver of positive change in our community, said Vesna Stojanović, director of dm Serbia and North Macedonia recently.
Social responsibility of the company A1 Macedonia
Within the framework of the ESG project, which the A1 company implements in all countries where this group operates, common sustainable business goals for the period up to 2030 have been set, which are in line with the global goals of sustainable development.
ESG - Environmental, corporate, and social governance project is focused on three main areas - reducing the impact on the environment and mitigating the effects of climate change, educating young people and adults about digital literacy, and promoting social diversity and gender equality.
Under the motto "For a better world," the company A1 Macedonia implemented a series of projects aimed at achieving these goals. Through the award-winning project "Click Safely,"... the Internet is not just a game, the company is focused on educating the youngest on security when using the Internet.
In the past five years, the volunteers of this company have trained more than three thousand children as part of this action.
In addition, A1 Macedonia supports recycling.
With A1 Green Call, a platform for recycling old mobile devices, users showed great awareness of recycling. They delivered over a thousand old devices to special boxes placed in A1 sales halls across the country, says Elena Dimitrovska, head of the Department for Social Responsibility in this company.
Trans Adriatic Pipeline invests in the preservation of cultural heritage in Albania
The Trans Adriatic Pipeline Company and the Albanian Ministry of Culture have signed an agreement on a project that will catalog, preserve and archive archaeological finds and artifacts discovered during the construction of the gas pipeline in this country.
It is an investment of 1.4 million euros to protect Albanian cultural heritage.
Thanks to TAP, many archaeological sites, important prehistoric settlements, and archaeological and cultural heritage finds have been identified in Albania. More precisely, near the gas pipeline route in Albania, 12 excavations were found, with over 44,000 artifacts and 1,000 skeletons.
TAP passes through countries rich in history and culture. I am proud that the discoveries made by TAP have enriched our knowledge of Albanian and European history. We have carefully selected a competent and experienced contractor who meets all the requirements for the successful implementation of the project. We believe that, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, the contractor will ensure that the task is completed on time in full compliance with the contract terms, said Luca Schieppati, director of Trans Adriatic Pipeline.
14 tons of waste from nature were removed by the action of Lidl Serbia
Another company that cares about environmental protection, and shows it in practice, is Lidl Serbia. In cooperation with the organization Čepom do osmeha, the company Lidl Serbia conducted cleaning actions in 8 cities of Serbia, during which more than 12 tons of waste were collected, of which even 2 were sent for recycling. In parallel with that, the company Lidl Serbia provided financing for several smaller, local actions in Serbia, which removed about 2 tons of waste.
As a socially responsible company, we strive to motivate the public by our example and initiate positive changes in society. This environmental action reminds us that love for nature should be and remain pure. We are very happy that we gathered over 600 participants and that among them, there were 40 of our colleagues who spent half of their working day on one of the actions by which Lidl, as a company and they as individuals, uniquely helped the community, said Martina Petrović, head of the Corporate Communications and CSR sector in the company Lidl Serbia.
Galenika donated EUR 80,000 to the Dedinje Institute
When talking about company donations, it is important to point out their long-term impact, i.e., strategic. One of these is the donation made by the Galenika company to the Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases "Dedinje." The amount of 80,000 euros is used for the purchase of the latest generation endoscopic video column, which in 3D mode enables the operation of patients who have problems with heart valves.
The essential advantage provided by this medical device is that an almost invisible surgical incision is created during the operation, the surgical trauma of patients is reduced, and it enables much faster recovery and continuation of normal life. In addition, the new device allows a significant increase in the number and shortening of the duration of operations.
In the year when we celebrate 77 years of successful business, Galenika shows its permanent commitment to responsible business with this donation. It is a special honor for us that we had the opportunity to help such an important institution as the "Dedinje" Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases. We believe that acquiring a new device enables the Institute to improve the conditions for treating patients. The great charter of the Institute for exceptional contribution to the work and development of the Institute, which we received from the Institute on this occasion, assures us that as a company, we remain persistent on our path of commitment to people and loyalty to health, Jelena Parojčić, executive director for human resources of the company, said on this occasion.
Know of an important socially responsible action that we forgot to add to the list? Please let us know, and we will write about it too.
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