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Chelsea may not win the English Premiership title this year but it has
become the first prominent football club to produce a stand-alone CSR
report.
The London club, owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, believes it has led the footballing pack on CSR with its first report, covering 2005/6. Many British clubs, at the behest of the Football Association, now include brief statements on social responsibility in their annual reports, but until now none has issued a more detailed standalone report.
Chief executive Peter Kenyon said: ‘It’s not only the first of its kind for Chelsea FC, but we also believe it’s the first time a top football club has drawn together and presented all its work that comes under the CSR banner.’
The 44-page document, published in pdf format on the club’s corporate website, is not assured and does not refer to the sustainability guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative. However, Chelsea says it will examine how to bring the report ‘into line with those of FTSE 100 companies’ and ‘endeavour to engage all our key stakeholders better in terms of consultation’. It will also consider joining bodies such as Business in the Community.
Using formulae suggested by Deloitte and Business in the Community, the report shows that Chelsea spent £4.34million ($8.68m), or 2.8 per cent of its annual turnover, on community activities last year. The tally includes items such as the cost of donating services, facilities, football shirts, match tickets, and direct charitable donations.
The statement also covers Chelsea’s Football in the Community programme, which worked with more than 200,000 children and 113 schools in south-east England last year.
Kenyon said CSR was now ‘an integral part’ of Chelsea’s aim to be regarded as ‘the world’s number one football club’ by 2014. ‘We want Chelsea to be seen as a social leader as well as an industry leader,’ he said.
The London club, owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, believes it has led the footballing pack on CSR with its first report, covering 2005/6. Many British clubs, at the behest of the Football Association, now include brief statements on social responsibility in their annual reports, but until now none has issued a more detailed standalone report.
Chief executive Peter Kenyon said: ‘It’s not only the first of its kind for Chelsea FC, but we also believe it’s the first time a top football club has drawn together and presented all its work that comes under the CSR banner.’
The 44-page document, published in pdf format on the club’s corporate website, is not assured and does not refer to the sustainability guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative. However, Chelsea says it will examine how to bring the report ‘into line with those of FTSE 100 companies’ and ‘endeavour to engage all our key stakeholders better in terms of consultation’. It will also consider joining bodies such as Business in the Community.
Using formulae suggested by Deloitte and Business in the Community, the report shows that Chelsea spent £4.34million ($8.68m), or 2.8 per cent of its annual turnover, on community activities last year. The tally includes items such as the cost of donating services, facilities, football shirts, match tickets, and direct charitable donations.
The statement also covers Chelsea’s Football in the Community programme, which worked with more than 200,000 children and 113 schools in south-east England last year.
Kenyon said CSR was now ‘an integral part’ of Chelsea’s aim to be regarded as ‘the world’s number one football club’ by 2014. ‘We want Chelsea to be seen as a social leader as well as an industry leader,’ he said.
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