Aussies Underperform in Global Corporate Giving Benchmark
9 April 2014 at 10:24 am
The corporate community investment by Australian companies is falling shy of their international counterparts, figures from a global benchmarking program reveal.
Despite a 2013 annual review showing a rise in Australian corporate giving, the first International Benchmark Report by corporate community investment benchmarker LBG suggests Australian and New Zealand member companies are still contributing less than the global average per employee and less as a percentage of pre tax profit.
Globally, LBG members contributed $688 per employee and 1.46 per cent of pre-tax profit, compared to $420 per employee and 0.59 per cent pre-tax profit in Australia.
It is a disparity LBG Australia and New Zealand Director Simon Robinson has previously attributed to “a greater importance being placed on the value of community contributions in the predominantly European-based membership of the global group, where drivers to invest are thought to be more powerful and some companies are more advanced in their thinking”.
Australian and New Zealand companies were more likely to contribute time (12 per cent of contributions) and management costs (11 per cent) compared to the global averages of seven per cent and six per cent respectively.
They contributed less cash (62 per cent compared to the global average of 67 per cent) and fewer in-kind donations (16 per cent compared to the 21 per cent global average).
Globally, the contributions of LBG members, valued at $3.6 billion, benefited over 80,000 community organisations in more than 130 countries.
The report showed that 43 per cent of corporate contributions came from Europe, followed by 35 per cent in them Americas, 18 per cent in Asia Pacific and 3 per cent in the Middle East and Africa.
The data, which details the global impact of companies using the LBG framework to measure and report their contribution to the community, was sourced from over 220 companies in the international network.
Established in 2005, LBG’s Australia and New Zealand branch boasts the largest membership of more than 50 companies including NAB, Wesfarmers, Coles, Optus, QANTAS, ANZ, Myer and Woodside Energy.
The branch’s 2013 annual report showed that corporate giving had risen by more than 25 per cent in Australia with more than $237 million contributed to the community following a major dip in 2012.
More than 1.7 million Australians benefited from LBG member contributions to more than 4,500 community programs. Contributions included cash, volunteered employee time, in-kind support and management costs.
The report also demonstrated a growing trend towards investment in long-term community initiatives rather than one-off donations. The report showed 56 per cent of all contributions were towards long-term projects, up from 53 per cent in 2012 and 47 per cent in 2011.
LBG is named after the London Benchmarking Group, the group of UK companies who worked to develop the model in 1994.
Download the report here.
