Community
Eagle Star's corporate citizenship efforts include participating in Plato,
supporting non-profit organisations and activities that serve the communities
in which we live and work and also encouraging employee volunteering. In the
following section we give a summary of some of the projects and charities we
have supported in 2003, demonstrating that as a company we have a positive impact
on the community in which we live and work.
Plato
Eagle Star has been actively involved for the last three years in an organisation
called Plato. Plato Ireland Ltd.
was established in 1995 to provide small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with
a unique business support forum for exploring business growth and expansion.
A unique aspect of Plato is the participation of large local parent companies
like Eagle Star that offer Plato participants access to the full range of management
expertise. Each participating parent company releases its executives on a part-time
basis to serve as Plato group leaders. Participation in Plato takes place during
a combination of company and personal time and currently one senior Eagle Star
manager gives freely of her time and expertise to the benefit of participating
SME's. A Management Forum Group has been set up recently by Eagle Star's representative
for a group of 16 SMEs who have already completed a two year programme with
Plato but wish to continue their development. This programme is being piloted
by Plato for 18 months. The programme involves monthly training meetings to
allow SMEs to extend their business expertise on issues of Staff retention,
motivation, tax audits and marketing. Every two months workshops are organised
covering issues such as cash flow, profitability, time management and negotiating
skills. So far the Management Forum Group has been a great success.
Another example of staff involvement in community issues was where a senior
company representative recently assisted with research* into the effects of
Flexible Working Arrangements - in collaboration with Adelphi University of
New York which went on to win 'Best Paper Award 2003' at the Institute of Behavioural
& Applied Management Annual Conference.
* Flextime Ltd, who carried out this research, are based in Dublin and Manchester
and specialise in developing innovative systems for the easier handling of all
aspects of working time and access control.
Practical Community Support
Eagle Star endeavours to respond positively to charitable requests, which have
a strong community ethos, making financial contributions to both local and national
causes on an annual basis. Some recent examples are the Irish
Youth Foundation, the Simon
Community and the Sunshine
Fund.
We also support charitable events through a number of employee 'casual' days
each year. Seven casual days were held in 2003 which requested staff to come
to work in casual dress and pay for the privilege. All monies generously donated
by staff were donated to various charities. The company also topped up these
contributions with a special donation. Urban Junction is a recent example of
a charity which fits well with our commitment to corporate responsibility and
was supported by an Eagle Star staff casual day.
Urban Junction is:
- A community based outreach project.
- Aims to improve the lives and outlook of local young people and future community
leaders.
- Provides development steps, guidance for people to follow and an opportunity
for spiritual growth.
In total monies was raised for Urban Junction were used to:
- Purchase arts and crafts for a two day non-residential children's camp for
7 - 12 year olds.
- Purchase equipment.
- Fund summer projects.
In 2003 Eagle Star Life continued its support of the Simon House of Cards Appeal.
Eagle Star donates money to the Simon Community's House of Cards Appeal instead
of sending corporate Christmas cards to customers.
"Eradicating homelessness in Ireland is about much more than providing
accommodation. It is about addressing the underlying causes of homelessness
and supporting clients as they develop the skills and confidence to re-integrate
into society."
Dublin Simon Community
"The money donated by Eagle Star since 1999 to the House of Cards Appeal
has been of enormous benefit to Ireland's homeless. It has helped Simon Communities
across Ireland provide a practical response to homelessness. Simon has moved
countless people from a chaotic lifestyle to independent living. That this
vital work can continue is thanks to the support of companies like Eagle Star"
Katherine Ayres, Corporate Fundraiser, Dublin Simon Community
In 2004 Eagle Star Life hopes to document a strategic charity policy in line
with our business objectives and with the needs of the community.
Employee Volunteering
Eagle Star actively supports and encourages employee volunteering although
we have more work to do in this area in terms of supporting staff volunteering
initiatives. We also allow staff a credit of up to two hours leave per person
to participate in the Workplace Blood Donor Ferry Programme organised by the
Blood Transfusion Service. 350 companies in Dublin have participated in this
scheme to date.
Involvement with the Business Community
As a member of the Chambers
of Commerce, Eagle Star supports their aims to be a voice in business, to
provide inspiring leadership, influence, and partnership in the community, in
which we live and work. The Chambers provide a cohesive and focused voice to
influence the Government of the day on the issues that are important for our
business and for the general economic environment. Our company representatives
participate in the Chambers' extensive networking activities.
Eagle Star Life is a member of the following Chambers of Commerce: Ireland,
Dublin, Cork, Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown and Blackrock.
"The Chambers of Commerce of Ireland are dedicated to making their communities
a better place in which to live, work and do business. As such they have always
had a real empathy with Corporate Social Responsibility. Experience has also
shown that when the business community engages as part of a solution rather
than simply complaining about the problem it elicits a much more effective
response from the public sector and the community."
Conor Brennan, Director of Brand and Chamber Development
Eagle Star has also supported local Chamber initiatives by hosting pension
seminars for members of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber
'works for business by promoting, developing and acting in the interest of local
business to develop the economy in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown'.
Through these seminars, Eagle Star works alongside the Chamber
of Commerce to educate Chamber members on important topical pension issues
such as PRSAs, staff pension schemes, funding for retirement etc. Our support
of Chamber activities and the seminars have been well received by members. We
hope to continue this initiative in 2004.
Enriching the Community through the Arts
"Eagle Star strongly believes in the benefits generated by business
and the arts working together. From Eagle Star's perspective, this fits well
with our commitment to good Corporate Citizenship in all aspects. One of the
key aims of the company through its sponsorship of the arts, has been to help
further an appreciation of the arts in the community as a whole."
Michael Brennan, Managing Director, Eagle Star Life Assurance
Case Study 1
Following the overwhelming and unprecedented success of the Monet, Renoir and
the Impressionist Landscape sponsorship with the National
Gallery of Ireland, Eagle Star in 2003 announced a new sponsorship, this
time in collaboration with the National
Concert Hall.
Eagle Star's relationship with the National Concert Hall began in 1991 when
the company became a Corporate Friend. Building on this partnership was key
to ensuring the sponsorship was both successful and rewarding, and reinforced
our shared vision to be linked with events of quality, prestige and excellence.
The Company sponsored the welcome return of Grammy award-winning orchestra,
the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra to the National Concert Hall, highlighted
by two concerts on May 7th and May 8th 2003 as part of the NCH/The Sunday Business
Post International Orchestral Series.
Under the direction of internationally acclaimed conductor Michael Tilson Thomas
the Orchestra performed a diverse programme of works and Grammy award-winning
violinist Hilary Hahn joined the Orchestra for a performance of Stravinsky's
violin concerto.
The sponsorship aimed to promote Eagle Star as a supporter of the arts, who
believes in the benefits of successful collaboration and arts.
"Talent, Teamwork, Performance" was the theme given to Eagle Star's
sponsorship of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra at the National Concert
Hall and endeavoured to reflect:
- Eagle Star's strong commitment to apply Talent and Teamwork to produce Performance
for our pension, investment and life insurance customers.
- The Talent, and Teamwork of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra which results
in performances that have made it one of the world's highly acclaimed orchestras.
A selection of staff and clients were invited to hear the orchestra perform.
By sponsoring the visit of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra to Dublin, Eagle
Star also helped benefit schools and colleges involved with the National Concert
Hall's Education & Outreach Department.
The Brass Quintet of the orchestra visited Scoil Catriona CBS, Baggot Street
and City Quay Primary School, for a workshop and performance. Both are city
centre schools with designated disadvantaged status. There were also exhibition
performances for third-level music students from Dublin Institute of Technology
and the Royal Irish Academy of Music by an ensemble from the San Francisco Symphony
Orchestra.
Another part of the unique offering of the sponsorship was the provision of
100 tickets for the orchestra's 'Open Rehearsal'. Eagle Star donated these tickets
to organisations involved with the National Concert Hall's Education and Outreach
Department. The tickets were warmly received and used.
Eagle Star's sponsorship of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra's visit to
Dublin gave the public, staff and customers the opportunity to see and hear
one of the world's best orchestras perform live in Dublin.
The sponsorship was nominated for a Business2Arts award in 2004.
Eagle Star strives to support projects that benefit the community, and through
its sponsorship of the arts, has been able to help encourage an appreciation
of the arts in the community as a whole. In line with this Eagle Star Life was
also involved as a corporate sponsor with 'EV+A 2004' - Ireland's premier annual
exhibition of contemporary visual art.
Case Study 2
EV+A was founded in 1977 by a group of Limerick artists as a way of bringing
their work as contemporary artists to audiences who share a common interest
in contemporary visual art. It encompassed a range of venues throughout Limerick
City, including Limerick City Gallery of Art. The exhibition involved over 50
international artists from 23 countries and guest curator ms Zdenka Badinovac,
Director of the Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana, Slovene. The exhibition bore
the hallmark of a curator keen to reflect geo-political perspectives with artists
from Bosnia, Slovakia, Ireland, Croatia, Russia, Turkey, the Middle East and
the United States represented in a broad range of work incorporating video,
photographs, painting, sculpture, installation and multi-media.
The wide-ranging programme of events has evolved to integrate local, national
and international audiences in a celebration of contemporary art and culture.
Community Summary
Eagle Star Life brings significant benefits to the community as a member of
Plato, by giving financial
support to local and national charities and through support of the arts. Our
445 staff working at our Head Office location in the centre of Blackrock need
the many services available from the local community, e.g. retail goods, catering,
professional services, etc., which has a positive impact on local businesses.
We also strive to develop positive relationships with the local community as
a member of the various Chambers
of Commerce.
In 2003, Eagle Star
- Increased the number of Charity Casual Days for staff
- Sponsored the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra which also helped to benefit
the National Concert Hall's Outreach and Education programme
In the coming years Eagle Star will aim to:
- Introduce a company policy in relation to staff volunteering
- Introduce a strategic charity policy
- Look at strategising our community involvement as a whole, particularly
in the area of volunteering
- Continue to communicate to employees the financial contributions we make
as a company to local and national causes via the Intranet.
