doing social good

For us, corporate social responsibility isn't a trend, and it isn't just good business. It is how we were raised. We believe that we must do right by people, in the short term and the long term. In fact, integrity is one of our defining values.

We won't do projects to which we're morally or ethically opposed. That's a bottom line.

But we go further than that.

Empathy makes a very real and valuable commitment to doing social good. We donate time to a selection of projects that we feel will actively get New Zealand pumping and keep New Zealanders healthy and happy. This is particularly important in 2009, a year in which we believe donations of time and resources will pull the world from financial and emotional depression.

At the start of each financial year, we allocate a percentage of the last year's profits to working with organisations who are genuinely trying to do good by their community in the coming year. We use the allocated money to subsidise our time on projects that meet our Do Good Criteria. We charge out one key Empathy consultant at half the usual rate, and cover the cost ourselves.

As we grow, so too does the amount of social good that we can do. That's a good thought.