Making a real and lasting social impact together

在我们的旅程中合作

Contributing to a sustainable society is part of SMBC Group’s mission statement. We are still quite early in our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) journey in the EMEA region and it’s been great to be able to tap into British Land’s community connections. British Land has made it much easier for us to respond to volunteering demand from colleagues and make an impact locally, right from the point of moving into our new head office in Broadgate.

例如, 通过我们在英国的关系, 20 colleagues from our HR team went to Hackney Community College to give speed interviews for young people and deliver a session on career progression. This was perfect for the team’s skillsets and had a direct impact for young people who live locally to us. Hopefully, one day some of them will come and work for SMBC.

促进本地连接

We have donated to the Broadgate Community Fund. This allows businesses on the campus to come together and pool their resources to make a real and long-lasting social impact. It’s also great to meet and learn from each other, as you tend to be in small teams when working in CSR, 所以听到别人在做什么是件好事.

Another organisation British Land has connected us to is social mobility charity East London Business Alliance (ELBA). ELBA has a decade-strong employment and skills partnership at Broadgate and offers businesses on the campus access to team volunteering days. ELBA is now our official volunteering partner and we’re looking forward to using this partnership to bring our colleagues together to support our communities.

激励和支持年轻人

There is some amazing talent around us in Tower Hamlets and Hackney, but many people in our local community face barriers into work, 出于各种社会经济原因. Often, they don’t have the connections or information to access roles in the city. At SMBC, we want to help young people to overcome those barriers.

In 2022, more than 200 students and nearly 30 colleagues took part in our first mentoring programme at SMBC, launched by our Black Employees and Allies network in partnership with Career Ready. 现在进入我们的第二年, 我们有42位导师, 加上各种大师班和工作坊, and are on track to host work experience students in the summer. British Land also has a partnership with Career Ready and we’re exploring how we can collaborate here too, such as hosting joint workplace visits to give students insights into even more career routes. This is important as we depend on many different skills, 包括企业社会责任, HR, IT, communications and security – a career in a bank isn’t only for bankers!

分享专业知识和经验

SMBC offers colleagues a generous six-day volunteering allowance and British Land is helping us to encourage colleagues to use it by sharing opportunities. I regularly meet with the Broadgate Community Manager to discuss what’s available locally.

We both emphasise skilled volunteering because it’s a powerful way to empower charities. Many non-profits prioritise focusing their funding on delivering their vital services, so hiring consultants to improve their efficiency or grow is often scarce. This means our colleagues contributing their expertise, knowledge and experience can make a real difference.

聚在一起

When we surveyed our colleagues on which CSR themes matter most to them, they highlighted two priorities: reducing inequalities and improving environmental sustainability. I’m excited that we are focusing our energy on these areas and coming together around a common cause.

所有的企业都会对社区产生影响, 无论是有意还是无意, 我们要确保我们的是正的. British Land has been a lifeline in helping us get our social programmes off the ground and as a collective we’re looking forward to achieving so much more.

麦迪森哈克 is Corporate Social Responsibility Manager (EMEA) at SMBC Group, 总部在利物浦街100号, Broadgate.