Yesterday, Symantec was named to The Civic 50 list of the most community-minded companies in America. In the technology sector, we were ranked number three.
The Civic 50 – featured in this week’s edition of Bloomberg Businessweek measures how a corporation's policies, activities, and employees affect the civic and social fabric of a community. Sponsored by Points of Light and Bloomberg LP, the survey ranked S&P 500 companies committed to using their time, talent, and resources to improve the quality of life in the communities where they do business.
Every time we’re recognized with an award or ranking, I feel proud of the progress we’re making against our corporate responsibility goals, and proud that that progress is being recognized externally. But I’m especially gratified by this award, because it’s a direct reflection of the culture we’re building here at Symantec, as well as of the commitment and passion of all our employees around the globe.
Across the world, our passion for community service comes through in our people. Employees execute on our corporate responsibility strategy through local-level community relations committees, Green Teams, and employee resource groups. They build relationships with nonprofit organizations in their communities, allowing us to make an impact on our philanthropic focus areas not only at the corporate level, but also on a local level in the communities where we have a business presence. And collectively, employees have volunteered more than 31,000 hours of their own time in support of the communities they call home.
Over the last year, we made measurable impacts in our communities through the launch of initiatives like the Symantec Cyber Career Connection (SC3), designed to bring underserved young adults into the in-demand field of cybersecurity. We also introduced the Symantec Service Corps, a month-long pro bono initiative that sends a team of employees to a developing nation to help local nonprofits fulfill their charitable missions more efficiently and effectively. We also just launched an initiative that trains employees to deliver online safety training to students in K-12 schools in the US. A similar curriculum is in development for the UK.
Why is community so important to us? In the old, narrow view of capitalism, companies seemingly prospered at the expense of the broader community. But today more than ever, we’ve seen how the success of a company and the health of communities are closely intertwined.
We’re in the business of protecting the world’s information. By harnessing the collective power of our nonprofit partners, employees and leadership – we can use the strength of a successful business model to continually help the communities we’re part of. I believe that the more you invest in others, the more successful you can be yourself. It sounds simple, but it’s key to how we approach business: serving our communities creates a positive cycle of company and community prosperity.
A key component to our philosophy around corporate responsibility is continuous improvement. We don’t see inclusion on this list as an end result – it’s a launching point from which we’ll set ever more aggressive targets, and continually push ourselves to find innovative ways to give back to the communities of which we’re members. As part of the recent launch of our 2014 Corporate Responsibility Report, we set a goal of achieving 84,000 employee volunteer hours – an average of four hours per employee – by 2020. Reaching this goal will take creativity, commitment, and the collective passion of all our employees. We’re committed to helping our employees apply their unique talents toward making the world a better, safer place – and I challenge each of you to think about how you can help.
Cecily Joseph is Symantec’s Vice President, Corporate Responsibility