Giving time and money
We are keen to make a positive difference where we can. This involves providing volunteering opportunities, encouraging and rewarding people who do charity work in their own time and supporting those employees who wish to make charitable donations to, or fundraise for, good causes.
The challenge
We need to encourage our employees to undertake volunteering and donate their time in ways that benefit them: developing new skills, fostering contacts, understanding an issue or gaining confidence. We need to be aware of the key issues faced in the communities and, by taking a partnership approach, help them to find sustainable solutions.
We also face the challenge of measuring the effectiveness of the funding support we provide. It is often difficult to judge the effectiveness of small or one-off donations that represent only part of the funding for a project, but we do provide annual feedback from recipients about the perceived value of support made through our Capital Commitment Fund.
As part of our CR community engagement programme, funds are made available to make financial donations to charities and community groups. This is done to provide positive recognition and acknowledgement of Land Securities' alignment to key national and local Government targets, to create a favourable reputation with residents and communities surrounding our holdings. As a major stakeholder within London, we make philanthropic contributions to support the communities in which we operate.
The Land Securities Foundation
Through the Land Securities Foundation, which was relaunched in 2006, we coordinate our community engagement through four key areas of focus: education, environment, employability and enterprise.
Our intent has always been to support our employees in gaining new skills through volunteering. As part of their personal learning and development, volunteering allows them to get more engaged with their local communities and share their skills. The key activities of the Foundation are:
- to support our employees in their volunteering endeavours
- to provide bursaries towards kit and equipment
- to encourage donations to charity via our Give as you Earn (GAYE) scheme.
Employee volunteering
We believe that volunteering supports personal development, builds community spirit and demonstrates our CR principles, so we actively encourage volunteering and offer up to two days off as 'matched time' in return.
Our long-term aim is for every Land Securities employee to do at least one day of volunteering every year, and the Foundation makes it easier for our people to get involved by lining up a number of volunteering partners and opportunities. Through our volunteering partners, we can facilitate mentoring and volunteering opportunities for our employees that not only help the communities in which we operate, but also expands the professional and personal experiences of our people.
Volunteering opportunities are featured on our intranet for individuals and departments to get involved with organisations such as CityAction, Young Enterprise and Centrepoint.
Employee volunteering
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|
| 42% | 51% | 58% |
Our target for 2010 is to encourage 60% of employees across the Group to volunteer time and expertise through the Land Securities Foundation. In practice, 58% of our workforce (up from 51% last year) made a difference by volunteering for at least one day, either during work time or their own time this year. Their involvement totalled 6,289 hours.
Looking ahead, we hope that 5% of our employees will use their volunteer time to provide mentoring in schools, businesses or community groups.
Case study
Employee volunteering
Willow Brook Primary School hosted a team-building event last year. About 50 colleagues from London Development spent the day at the school in south London, painting a mural on the wall around the playground and running drama and art workshops with the pupils.
Another successful project saw our 50 of our Estates Team spend two days volunteering at the Centrepoint Homeless Hostel in Vauxhall. Our employees were so efficient that more work had to be found for them after they'd completed the project on day one!
"Land Securities managed and delivered a make-over of Centrepoint's Vauxhall project. The team went over and above our expectation by using their contacts as well as their expertise and time to make the service a better place to live and work."
Nicholas Connolly, Business Development Manager, Centrepoint
Bursaries
Each year, employees can apply for one of 15 bursaries, each up to the value of £500, to help the groups they support to contribute to the local community. In 2009/10, funds were given to 15 organisations, including a community-run play group, a school conservation area, and a number of football and rugby teams.
Through the bursary scheme, insurance manager Julie Bell successfully applied for a grant to set up a Home-Start charity in Welwyn Hatfield in Hertfordshire. Through a network of trained volunteers, Home-Start supports parents who are struggling to cope with illness, disability, bereavement or social isolation. The new charity wanted a mascot to give it visual appeal and presence, and thanks to the grant, Hope the Home-Start hippo was born.
Case study
ARISE initiative roll-out
We actively seek out ways to use our skills and experience for the benefit of the wider community, such as ARISE, a grassroots grants programme set up by our Retail business.
To date, ARISE South Leeds – a philanthropic joint venture launched in 2005 by Land Securities, Evans Property Group and Munroe K – has provided funds to more than 130 groups and organisations located in and around the White Rose Shopping Centre in Leeds. An estimated 40,000 people have benefitted from the grants made to recipients chosen by an independent Awards Selection Committee.
Given the success of this initiative, we are now rolling out the programme to other retail locations, including Bristol and Livingston: The Centre, a shopping and leisure destination that has also been a catalyst for regeneration of neighbouring areas. The initial fund for the first year will be £10,000, and will be made available through grants of up to £1,000.
Charitable donations
Our employees also go to extraordinary lengths to fundraise for charity. They include the 40 or so brave Princesshay employees in Exeter who abseiled 140 feet down the former Debenhams building to raise money for the NSPCC South West Child's Voice Appeal and those who slept rough to support the homelessness charity Centrepoint. Staff at our head office also supported Red Nose Day, Jeans for Genes Day and Wear it Pink fundraising events.
Land Securities has also been involved in the Give As You Earn (GAYE) scheme, through the Charities Aid Foundation, since 2000. Last year, 35 employees donated £75,601 of their pre-tax earnings to UK registered charities through payroll giving; additional matched funding boosted this total to £86,121.
Case studies
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£871,238
Total community contribution including charity committee funds
Going for gold
Did you know... that the 5% share of our workforce who participate in payroll giving qualifies us for a Silver Award under the Government-funded Payroll Giving Quality Mark scheme? We plan to double participation to 10% and achieve the Gold Award next year.
Rags to riches
Did you know... that Land Securities teamed up with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to launch The Big Donation, a national appeal for unwanted clothes? The campaign began with events at local BHF shops in 20 of our shopping centres, and will raise vital funds for research, education and care services for people affected by heart disease.