The CSR’s Journey (Part I)

Creating new CSR programs

Today, many companies are recognizing the need to balance environmental, social, and governmental issues. And, even most of them have begun to implement practices in their day to day operations, demonstrating how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) should be a fundamental value. Because we know the importance you give to your company’s Corporate Social Responsibility performance, today we decided to guide you through a brief journey through the history of CSR for you to see how it has evolved and changed according to the societies’ needs.

In 1960, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development convention was created to promote policies with the intention to achieve sustainable economic growth and employment.

In 1975, the "Impact and Benefit Agreements" between Canadian Aboriginal groups and extractive sector companies started. This time, the objective was clear: to create commitments by the company for employment, and training about projects constructed near Aboriginal communities.

Year later, the International Union for Conservation of Nature created The World Conservation Strategy, which identified the main responsible actors of habitat destruction such as:

Creating policies to promote great projects

• poverty,
• population pressure,
• social inequity, 
• and the terms of trade.

After that, the UN Earth Summit was held in Brazil, where a new business model, as well as the idea of using sustainable development to a company's competitive advantage was applied.

Later, in 1993, the launch of the Whitehorse Mining Initiative took these initiatives to the signing of the WMI Leadership Council Accord in 1994 in order to achieve a sustainable mining industry within the framework of an evolving and sustainable Canadian society. Five years later, Canada, along with Natural Resources Canada, IDRC, and the leadership of IISD, organized a workshop in Peru. The event brought together 11 countries from Latin America and Canada in order to work towards a sustainable future in the region. 

CSR ideas for the future

Rafael Nunez Aponte: Easy Ways to Keep your Children Safe

As we have discussed in previous posts, Internet represents a risky tool if you are not monitoring what your family has access to. If that is your case, you probably want to consider these fast and easy tips to prevent online child sexual abuse. This is a help to prevent other cybercrimes so popular today and to protect your family. Today, we will show you some details on how to avoid crimes online:

Creating different accounts on the computer

Create different accounts

It is a good advice to establish different users and allow your children to have their own account and profile; by doing this, you can avoid accesses to programs or unwanted files. It is important to have an adult account like “administrator” (for complete control over the computer) and the child has a “limited user” with which the child will not change or install new hardware or software, games, music players or chat programs that can be risky most of times.

Using chats and messaging programs

Chat, social networks and instant messaging services can be the means that children use to share interests and build friendships. Nevertheless, the anonymity of the Internet can put children in the way of abusers or imposters.

Denounce any irregularity

Acting against any irregularity

If you think your child or any child is endangered on the Internet, you better go to the police or search for help in online agencies or institutions such as Counter Pedophilia Investigative Unit and denounce the situation. We also recommend you to inform the authorities if you see any inappropriate content on the Internet. Remember that we all have to be part of the solution.

Do not share personal information

Using Internet at home

Control personal data requested by children’s pages and pay attention to those that ask for personal information. Talk to your child for he/she understands the dangers about providing certain information publicly and also discuss about sweepstakes and promotions online. It is always important to tell your child that nobody is going to give something for nothing.

Good Initiatives for Everyone at FundaSitio

FundaSitio helping every organization

In order to link non-profit organizations and collaborators to create online spaces that help contribute to the welfare of society FundaSitio was born jointly with an initiative of Rafael Nunez, who motivated by his social sensitivity has decided to promote the dissemination of activities of charities, through the creation and donation of websites.

The origin and motivations of FundaSitio

Rafael Nunez

What FundaSitio is today is a concept that was created at the first time because of the awareness about the clear digital divide between organizations dedicated to the service of others and those people or organizations in need.

For the organization, concepts of Creation, Strengthening and Multiplication of the presence and the identity in the digital world are the main core of the hard and committed work of FundaSitio. The organization achieves all this by creating websites and advising on social networks on the foundations and nonprofit nongovernmental organizations, in order to promote their proper online presence as a platform to disseminate and comply with the approach of their social welfare objectives.

FundaSitio aims to be a non-profit organization recognized nationally and internationally for its excellence in supporting the digital expansion for strengthening social welfare, by donating webpages for other foundations. Some of the benefited organizations promoted by FundaSitio are:

·         Recreation Center K-rricitos Cooperative Association

K-rricitos Recreation Center

This organization was incorporated as an alternative for parents who live in the El Palmar and neighboring communities in Caracas; the Recreation Center K-rricitos Cooperative Association stands out as an institution for serving children with disabilities, ensuring their wellbeing and improving their quality of life.

·         UMA Association

UMA Association

It is possible to find an organization that provides humanitarian aid oriented child, adolescents and adults care in underserved communities in Venezuela. That organization is called Civil Association Una mano amiga (A Helping Hand in English), created in the year 1998.

Rafael Nunez Aponte: Volunteering Programs and Its Benefits

Volunteering for more benefits for everyone

What is the meaning of volunteering programs? Do you think its impact goes beyond the benefit of a brand or company? Is that impact only related to the members of the communities involved or companies responsible for the activities can also be benefited? There are more information and good results related to volunteerism than we think. That is why, today we brought details about it; you will learn more about each aspect in order to know how your company or brand can also be benefited thanks to volunteering programs for the community your company operates.

Communities are not the only part of the society that can receive a benefit (economic, educational, regarding to health, etc.), but also your brand or company as well as all your work team as a whole. Workers and employees in general are the main responsible for these activities and the ones that will receive the best benefits.

Employee engagement

Corporate volunteer activities, projects or programs can drive employee engagement. This means that companies that promote corporate volunteer programs can enjoy greater employee satisfaction and greater productivity and profitability.

Younger employees

Extending the help

Young population just coming out of college for the last several years is committed to changing the world for a better place to work and live. This is very different from the traditional or older models where benefits were almost the only variables that potential employees were interested in.

Corporate visibility

Giving does not mean there will not be clear financial incentives for the company at the same time. A perfect design and created and a corporate volunteer program that promotes employees skills can raise a company’s visibility in the community. As you may know, all this can improve your company’s reputation.

Younger employees 

However, those three previous benefits are not everything a company can earn through volunteering programs. The following are also some positive aspects your company will enjoy:

a.       Employee development.

b.      Encouraging teamwork

c.       Improved communication.

d.      Building brand awareness.

e.       Improved employee retention.

f.       Providing subject matter for corporate content creation.

What to Learn about Volunteering

Consider your employees to improve

While monetary donations and donated products or services can have a great impact on a worthy cause, many charities and nonprofits have actually noted that corporate volunteer programs have a huge value in the long run. Do you want to know why or how? This has to be with the increasing employee engagement, improving the ability to recruit younger employees, and increasing the company’s visibility in the community. Our today’s post is dedicated to this great way of making social committed activities. You will learn more about each aspect in order to know how your company or brand can also be benefited thanks to volunteering programs for the community your company operates:

Employee engagement

Corporate volunteer activities, projects or programs can drive employee engagement. This means that companies that promote corporate volunteer programs can enjoy greater employee satisfaction and greater productivity and profitability.

Younger employees

Involved employees

Young population just coming out of college for the last several years is committed to changing the world for a better place to work and live. This is very different from the traditional or older models where benefits were almost the only variables that potential employees were interested in.

Corporate visibility

Giving does not mean there will not be clear financial incentives for the company at the same time. A perfect design and created and a corporate volunteer program that promotes employees skills can raise a company’s visibility in the community. As you may know, all this can improve your company’s reputation.

Positive image

However, those three previous benefits are not everything your company or brand can earn through volunteering programs. The following are also some positive aspects your company will enjoy:

• Employee development.
• Encouraging teamwork
• Improved communication.
• Building brand awareness.
• Improved employee retention.



Everyone's invited to participate

• Providing subject matter for corporate content creation.

Rafael Nunez Aponte: What to Learn About CSR Campaigns

Thinking about sustainability and hard work

Corporate social responsibility is a term that an individual and a company has to perform to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystems. A trade-off can exist between economic development, in the material sense, and the welfare of the society and environment. Social Responsibility is about giving back to the communities that keep your business in a good position, maybe even ones beyond your reach. Having a social commitment and good culture allow employees to know they are working for something that is good and with a high impact. Business becomes something far from dimensional and more importantly, it cares about people.

As you already have noticed, we like to show you different great references and examples of what means to be a very responsible company or brand. We do this for you to have the best examples and know how to act when creating your brand or company’s CSR campaign:

Social commitment

1. The Promise of Healthcare is one of the tasks created and developed by Johnson & Johnson regarding their CSR activities. The company believes the best healthcare systems put the needs of people first.
2. Forever 21 Vendor Audit Program. While many of the brand’s vendors have worked with Forever 21 for a number of years and are trusted, all suppliers and vendors must provide factory contact information and all factories must participate in the audit program as part of the company’s CSR actions.

And, of course, never forget that you have to promote all the effort. Brands, with their big advertising budgets, have a big opportunity to educate consumers about important causes and issues and the nonprofit organizations that are making a difference. The tip for businesses is to distinguish the cause area they are impacting, the charity with which they are collaborating, and the tangible, measurable impact that is being made.

Considering the people and your business

Rafael Nunez Aponte: Learn How to Keep Your Children Safe

Control what your children see online

As you know, having Internet connection at home can be really helpful or a harmful tool. Check these easy tips to control what your children watch on their computer at home in order to help you preventing child sexual abuse and to protect all your family members. Today, we will show you the most important tips to be protected:

First, consider that you should avoid the problem. So, start by preparing the members of your family, specially your children, in order to be protected before the problem or the attack comes to them and talk about the issue.

Talk about it: children often keep the abuse in secret. This is because abusers manipulate and confuse children in order to make them believe that what they are doing is normal or even a game. Always talk about child abuse to your children, adapting the conversation to a child speech to remove the barrier of silence.

Talk about the topic

Stay alert: give a careful credit to different signs such as irritation, swelling or rash on the genitals, urinary tract infections, and even other problems like abdominal pain or headaches result of anxiety. It is also very important to recognize emotional signs such as withdrawal or depression, excessive self-imposed, unexplained anger or rebellion problems.

Once on the Internet…

Protect computers with passwords. To install a password for accessing to all devices will allow you to control the use of Internet at home.

Be always alert

Do not share personal information. Control personal data requested by children’s pages and pay attention to those that ask for personal information. Talk to your child for he/she understands the dangers about providing certain information publicly and also discuss about sweepstakes and promotions online.

Control the use of chats and messaging programs. Chats, social networks and instant messaging services can be the means that children use to share interests and build friendships. Nevertheless, the anonymity of the Internet can put children in the way of abusers or imposters.

Protect your family