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Scotiabank - Building Relationships, Fulfilling Responsibilities
We measure success not only in terms of financial criteria, but also in building customer satisfaction, employee engagement and supporting the communities we serve.
COMPANY CSR PHILOSOPHY
Our CSR philosophy is to integrate environmental, social and governance practices into our day-to-day business activities. We measure success not only in terms of financial criteria, but also in building customer satisfaction and employee engagement, and supporting the communities we serve.
Building Relationships and Fulfilling Responsibilities
CSR is fundamental to the way Scotiabank does business
Each year they congregate - like flamingos, pink flocks of women who share a common concern of the impact of breast cancer on the lives of grandmothers, mothers, daughters, sisters and friends. Over the last 15 years, Scotiabank has partnered with the women of Trinidad and Tobago to create a powerful force for promoting awareness of breast cancer, promoting a healthy lifestyle for all and raising funds towards the early detection of the disease that affects many women.
In 2013, more than 6,000 mothers, daughters and friends joined the annual race for life and defiance against breast cancer.
Anya M. Schnoor, Scotiabank’s Managing Director said in the company’s 2013 Annual Report at the end of yet another successful year of operations, “At Scotiabank, we believe our business has a responsibility to operate ethically and with integrity for the benefit of all stakeholders and we understand that there is a direct link between our success and the communities we serve. Through the work of the Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobago Foundation and our team of Scotiabank volunteers throughout the Group, the Bank is able to give back to the communities in which we operate. We are proud of the tremendous role we have played in advancing the awareness of breast cancer and in the preservation of our environment, promoting our cultural heritage and providing our children with opportunities for advancement.”
The Foundation
The Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobago Foundation was established in 2008 as a registered non-governmental organisation (NGO) with oversight of the Bank’s philanthropic efforts and the direction of funding. Scotiabank’s corporate responsibility activity is delivered under the umbrella of its Bright Future Programme, a communitygiving programme which supports causes associated with the well-being of children, the Scotiabank Women Against Breast Cancer Programme, sport and culture and general philanthropy. The Bank is also the Official Bank of West Indies cricket and proudly sponsors the Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket Programme, which teaches children the rudiments of cricket, a game which is an inherent component of West Indian heritage.
In five years, the Scotiabank Foundation has provided support of some $8.6 million to various community and youth-based initiatives. Its objectives are: to relieve poverty, deprivation and distress among economically disadvantaged persons and their dependents; to foster public understanding of and
education on health issues, conditions and diseases such as breast cancer; to support education through assistance to students, the enhancement of school infrastructure and scholarships at the tertiary level. The Foundation also assists in the organization and provision of facilities, which will encourage and promote community participation in healthy recreation and sport in particular, for the benefit of young people, and supports the promotion of Trinidad and Tobago culture.
Engaged Employees
Scotiabank boasts of a high level of employee engagement. Recent surveys indicate that 83% are ‘engaged’ i.e. knowledgeable of and supportive of the Bank’s strategic direction and 52% strongly so. The reach and success of The Scotiabank Bright Future Programme no doubt owes much to high levels of employee engagement, as volunteerism drives many activities spear-headed by staff of the Bank’s extensive network of 24 branches, 5 Sales Centres and numerous support departments, ensuring that Scotiabank Bright Future reaches every area of its operations. Each year, employees design and execute youth focussed projects in their communities. The Bank provides a minimum of $10,000 to each eligible project and encourages employees to undertake fundraising so that they obtain more funds towards their selected causes. Some of the approved projects employees undertake involve the upgrade of library facilities and other infrastructure enhancement at schools, computer literacy programmes, the introduction of solar energy for electricity, agriculture and environment awareness programmes.
Bright Future Programme
Scotiabank’s CSR focus
Public Education on Health issues
The pink ribbon of femininity and hope that has become the symbol of the global fight against breast cancer since 1991, is also a metaphor for what good can be achieved when institutions like Scotiabank use their considerable resources and leverage positive relationships in support of causes of importance to the community. The funds have been used to underwrite the full cost of breast cancer screening for some 16, 833 women to date. The number of lives saved and families kept whole as a consequence of early critical information is immeasurable.
Scotiabank raises funds via several initiatives that include a golf tournament, the sale of memorabilia and its signature Women Against Breast Cancer 5K Classic. Funds raised all go towards the Scotiabank Women Against Breast Cancer Fund, which is used to meet the costs of the services of doctors and nurses to conduct the initial examinations and any follow up mammograms and ultrasound tests. Where necessary, the cost of psychological counselling for the patient and family is undertaken. The Scotiabank Foundation constantly strives to improve its fund raising effort and provision of breast cancer screening, and this has resulted in the modification of the screening programme within the last 2 years.
Support for Education
Statistics supported by a 2006 study undertaken by the MacArthur Foundation and researched by Sarah B. Miles and Deborah Stipek, show a correlation between low literacy skills and anti-social behaviours. The study also determines a similar correlation to drop outs from school, unemployment and crime. Collaboration by the Scotiabank Foundation with the A.R.R.O.W Foundation, which has a proven track record working with thousands of children in over 70 schools in Trinidad and Tobago, is viewed as a key partnership in the sustainable development of communities in which the Bank operates. The Aural, Read, Respond, Oral, Write
(ARROW) is a six week programme in literacy development.
Promoting Community and Sport
Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket - Introduced in Trinidad and Tobago in 2000 through a partnership between Scotiabank and the WICB, targets primary school boys and girls, ages 7-12. The programme used the medium of a game rooted in West Indian culture to teach young players, maintaining a tradition. At the same time, it helps with the development of motor skills and provides lessons in team-play, leadership and good sportsmanship. In Trinidad and Tobago, the Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket Programme is also taught in the classroom sessions in accordance with the curriculum in Mathematics, Social Studies, Language Arts and IT. Scotiabank continues to support the sport of cricket, which has been lauded
as the one feature that truly unities the Caribbean region.
Scotiabank has also partnered with the Scout Association of Trinidad and Tobago on a youth enhancement project for young boys. The initiative targets 50 boys between the ages of 7 – 11 from six primary schools, inclusive of a school associated with a home for children. The boys will participate in various activities and events which began in March 2014, aimed at teaching them the important life skills of goal-setting, teamwork, and discipline, to name a few. Activities include reading assessment and improvement sessions, field trips, camps, kayaking lessons and weekly sessions with scout leaders.
In 2014, Scotiabank celebrates its 60th anniversary in Trinidad and Tobago and its 125th anniversary of service to the Caribbean as a group which operates in 55 countries worldwide. Of its CSR initiatives, Scotiabank asserts, “We measure success not only in terms of financial criteria, but also in building customer satisfaction, employee engagement and supporting the communities we serve. The Scotiabank Bright Future Programme brings together the passion of our employees, the insight of our partners and the spirit of our communities.”
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