LG employees apply can-do attitude to help the needy

Singapore – Recognising the derivative benefits of corporate social responsibility, LG Electronics (LG) has partnered NUS Students’ Community Service Club to kick off Project C.A.N. 

This year, with support from its main sponsor LG Electronics, Project C.A.N.,  which stands for "Collection in Aid of the Needy", will be able to expand further into the heartlands and reach out to more needy families and welfare homes. 

LG employees will work alongside close to 1,000 student volunteers to reach out to more than 21,000 households including welfare homes and other beneficiaries. The initiative will be executed through a three-pronged approach using tactics such public educational and interactive programs as well as door-to-door collections. The company will also assist in the provision of the necessary materials needed to run the initiative.

“We are consistently looking beyond the immediate business environment to address larger societal issues. This concern springs from the belief that a true corporate vision must embrace the wider community rather than just shareholders, customers and suppliers.” Jae Bae, managing director of LG Electronics Singapore, says.

Acknowledging the concept of corporate social responsibility as an important aspect of corporate behaviour and crucial to an organisation’s sustainable development and future access to the global market, Jae adds: “We at LG believe that corporate contribution to society, [even] when guided by self-interest, results in long term goodwill building.”

Aside from the good reputation the company's contribution to the community will establish, LG also sees secondary benefit in improving employee relations and increasing their commitment and motivation to become more innovative and productive.

With project C.A.N., LG hopes to create a platform for its employees to not only participate in community volunteering but to also interact amongst themselves and with the public beyond what their work requires. LG believes that its employees' involvement in a team-building activity as such will nurture a team spirit that will translate to better collaboration in the workplace.

In the long run, LG also hopes that the CSR programme’s promise in aiding employee recruitment and retention will also lead to the benefits of cost reduction and less disruption caused by recruitment and retraining. “Today, having a CSR plan in place has not only become an integral part of an organisation’s brand-building strategy, but has also emerged as an important tool to enhance the organisation’s credibility, attract potential investors and clients and employ the best industry talent,” Jae says.