BSkyB has refined its social responsibility strategy to align its support for community initiatives more closely with the company’s core business objectives.
Following a six-month review last year, the UK-based satellite and digital TV broadcaster has decided to concentrate on community projects involving young people and sport, and to work more closely with charities and government agencies.
Next year it plans to begin providing sports coaching to disadvantaged youngsters, improve community sports facilities, and to run UK roadshows designed to help teenagers build their self-esteem.
‘In the past we’ve had a lot of ad hoc initiatives, so we wanted to come up with a co-ordinated strategy,’ said Ben Stimson, head of corporate affairs at BSkyB.
‘The review told us that stakeholders felt we had special responsibilities towards young people and sport because we have a younger audience than other TV channels and we have a lot of sports programming.
‘We will try to align what we do more with our brand. From now on we will focus on inspiring young people between the ages of 11 and 17, and help them to reach their potential. This will mean reaching a good number of those not in the mainstream, although we don’t want things to become ghettoized.’
As a result BSkyB will make fewer charitable donations, but will instead channel the money into more collaborative community projects. At present the company gives away around £600,000 ($850,000) a year.
The roadshows – details of which have yet to be finalized – will be run in conjunction with the young people’s charity Weston Spirit, which was set up by Falklands veteran Simon Weston, and possibly with a government education agency.
The review concluded that BSkyB should increase its community involvement in Scotland, where 8000 of its 12,000 employees are based. To help achieve this, BSkyB facilities around the country will be given devolved budgets by the middle of next year to support local community initiatives.
Some of BSkyB’s existing community projects that fit the new strategy will continue – including its Reach for the Sky initiative, which gives career advice to teenagers through workshops and a web site.
The review, carried out with the UK-based Corporate Culture consultancy and overseen by an advisory group that included eight BSkyB directors, involved more than 50 interviews with senior executives, as well as focus groups of employees, customers and others.
The advisory group is now known as the CSR Forum and will meet regularly to discuss how BSkyB can improve its social and environmental performance.
Stimson, who is a member of the forum, said it would shortly look at supply chain monitoring.
The company’s six-strong corporate affairs department will also publish an environment report by the end of this year and a community report in 2002, with a single, combined CSR report likely in 2003, he added.