Businesses in vanguard of Haiti quake response

The business world has rallied to pledge relief to Haiti following the earthquake there that has killed more than 100,000 people.     

Dozens of firms have donated money and resources to charities and relief services working in the region after a tremor measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck just outside the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince.

Some companies already had disaster response mechanisms in place that have now sprung into action. The United Nations, for example, asked Ericsson to deploy its ‘Ericsson Response’ organization to aid relief work in the area. Ericsson has now sent some of its volunteers, who were on stand-by, to re-establish mobile communications in the country.

Others have also responded immediately to the crisis. US-based logistics firm UPS has pledged $1million, half in cash, to be shared among the Red Cross, Unicef and CARE. The firm will also provide support services to help relief efforts.

Walmart, whose senior leaders underwent a dramatic conversion to the principles  of CSR as a direct result of the firm’s involvement in responding to the 2005 New Orleans flood disaster, has donated $500,000 in cash to the Red Cross, and is sending $100,000-worth of pre-packaged food kits to Haiti.

Coca-Cola’s charitable arm has given $1m to the American Red Cross, while Bank of America, which received billions of dollars in US bank bailouts last year, will give a further $1m. The beauty products company Avon, the car manufacturer Chevron, mining firm ConocoPhilips, the banks Credit Agricole and Credit Suisse, the Digicel telecoms company and Microsoft have all pledged in excess of $1m.

Many businesses have also agreed to match employees’ contributions – some, such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, promising to double workforce donations.

Pharmaceuticals companies in particular have been stepping up their efforts. Both Novartis and Abbott say they are providing more than  $2.5m in cash and medical supplies, while GlaxoSmithKline has come up with medicines valued at $1.4m, and the biotechnology firm Amgen has announced a $2m cash donation to the relief effort. US pharmaceuticals firm BD has pledged $5m in medical supplies.

Companies from Haiti’s richest neighbour, the US, have been the most active in getting money and resources to the country. The US-based Business Civic Leadership Centre estimates that American ‘corporate-driven aid’ stands at more than $122m.

Donations services have been provided by some companies, with AT&T and Verizon running text-message donation initiatives for customers, Google adding special pages for donations, and Apple setting up a donation system within iTunes. The American Spirit Airlines has offered free flights to Haiti for relief volunteers in exchange for a $5 donation to charity.

The Haiti earthquake has affected three million people  in the country, which is the poorest in the western hemisphere.