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Household & Personal Product Industry’s Response to COVID-19 – Strong Display of Corporate Citizenship by the House & Personal Products Industry

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G&A Institute Team Note: We continue to bring you news of private (corporate and business), public and social sector developments as organizations in the three societal sectors adjust to the emergency. This is post #11 in the series, “Excellence in Corporate Citizenship on Display in the Coronavirus Crisis.  #WeRise2FightCOVID-19   “Corporate Purpose – Virus Crisis”  –  April 6 2020 

By Kelly Mumford – Sustainability Reporting Analyst Intern – G&A Institute

The current reality around the world has shifted dramatically since the outbreak of COVID-19 a few months ago. As the number of confirmed cases and deaths continue to rise across countries like Italy, Spain, and the U.S., there have been many reactions across industries to help out.

As of today, more than 10,000 people have died in the US, and unemployment rates are now at the highest ever as I write this.

Overall, the economy is struggling and our healthcare system is overwhelmed. However, during this time, the corporate response has also been overwhelming.

Many companies and corporations across sectors are feeling the effects of this pandemic on their operations and at the same time acting to help those who need it the most during this time.

There have been some significant, well-publicized responses from U.S. tech giants Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon. These companies have donated millions to various response efforts across the country.

Many other corporations are also doing what they can to continue paying employees during this time.  Amazon is hiring tens of thousands of employees to help their delivery efforts.

Needless to say, corporate actions have been indicative of a commitment to corporate social responsibility during the coronavirus crisis.

This is a recap of recent actions by companies in the Household and Personal Products Industry.

In the Beauty Field: Estée Lauder Companies

The household and personal product industry is no different. Estée Lauder especially has been leading a strong example. Last week, Estée Lauder Companies announced it will being shifting production to hand sanitizer to help relieve the shortage that has severely affected those in the healthcare industry.

They are re-opening a temporarily-closed facility in suburban Long Island, New York to produce hand sanitizer and volunteer employees will be compensated. However, their efforts don’t stop there.

Estée Lauder is also donating US$2 million to Doctors Without Borders — the organization that is greatly helping countries around the world with less medical support fight the coronavirus.

Also, Estée Lauder made a $75 million dollar grant to support the establishment of The NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund. This fund unites many philanthropies and will go to support many vital community organizations and social services.

Estée Lauder Companies awarded $800,000 to relief efforts in China such as the Red Cross Society of China, the Shanghai Charity Foundation, and Give2Asia with an additional $1.4 million of donations to the China Women’s Development Foundation to support front line medical staff.

It is easy to see with these actions the Estée Lauder Companies’ strong values and family commitment to corporate social responsibility is admirable. Their actions are a promising example of the good that can arise during crisis.

SC Johnson Steps Up to Help

Another huge name in the industry — SC Johnson, another large company with deeply embedded family values —  is furthering their efforts against COVID-19 with a $5 million donation. The company will put that money towards the needs of the healthcare workers on the front lines.

They will be delivering care packages to police, fire and medical personnel including cleaning and disinfectant products made by SC Johnson. This donation comes in addition to the $2 million and $1 million they have already donated to the CDC Foundation’s Emergency Response Fund and to other efforts in China, Italy and the U.K.

The company said it was continually assessing the most urgent needs of people around the world, and acting accordingly. They have supported many healthcare needs across Europe, Asia, and Latin America to protect families from spreading the virus.

This support has come in the form of cash, product donations, and educational programs. As their headquarters in located in Racine, Wisconsin they have also made a special donation to the town to help support school children in the area and first responders.

Local focus:  The donation will be provided through a partnership with the Racine School District, the Racine YMCA, and Ascension All Saints Hospital.

Lastly, as a way to support the most vulnerable groups during this time the company has also made multiple $25,000 donations to food pantries and homeless assistance organizations to help ease the pressure on these already strained groups.

SC Johnson’s donations and efforts during this pandemic demonstrate a strong commitment to their corporate social responsibility efforts but more important, their assessment of placing aid to some of the most vulnerable groups reveals a targeted and strategic approach to CSR.

The Company is not just throwing money “anywhere” — but rather being strategic in their assessment, and loyal to the community of their headquarters..

Procter & Gamble – Relief Funds and Continued Production

Procter & Gamble, another one of the largest enterprises in the industry, has set up a special relief fund for COVID-19.

P&G has a long running record of CSR reporting and supporting communities so it’s not surprising that they have been working with their partner organizations to provide support and relief to people during this time.

They have created a donation portal for receiving donations — which they will match all donations up to $500,000 and give donations to support the healthcare providers around the world.

The largest P&G factory in Pennsylvania will start production of face masks during the pandemic. Employees will have regular temperature checks, will be socially-distanced, and there will be constant sanitization of all areas. 

Their factories are still open during this time, recognizing that the wide range of their products are necessary for many households, in normal times and during the crisis.

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Kelly Mumford is a GRI Report Analyst Intern at G&A Institute. She is a recent graduate of the Development Planning Unit at the University College London. She holds an M.S. in Environment and Sustainable Development (with merit). Kelly led a group during their research on the water and sanitation practices of a coastal city community in Freetown, Sierra Leone. She now plans to pursue a career in sustainability, focusing on ESG and leveraging her research experience and the knowledge gained of sustainability reporting during her internship with G&A Institute.

Sources For Your Reference

G&A Institute Team Note
We continue to bring you news of private (corporate and business), public and social sector developments as organizations in the three societal sectors adjust to the emergency.

The new items will be posted at the top of the blog post and the items today will move down the queue.

We created the tag “Corporate Purpose – Virus Crisis” for this continuing series – and the hashtag #WeRise2FightCOVID19 for our Twitter posts.  Do join the conversation and contribute your views and news. 

Do send us news about your organization – info@ga-institute.com so we can share.   Stay safe – be well — keep in touch!

Estée Lauder Companies Actions in the Crisis

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Continuing the Series – Excellence in Corporate Citizenship on Display in the Coronavirus Crisis – Actions Taken By the Corporate Sector Leaders – #5 in the series

March 25, 2020
by Hank Boerner – Chair & Chief Strategist – G&A Institute and the G&A team — continuing the conversation about corporate and investor response to the coronavirus crisis.  From this post on, we are going to share news about the corporate sectors’ actions for ease of reference for our readers.  We’re sharing these posts through our social media and suggest you might do the same to help get the news around.

See the first post in the queue for details about this series – scan down to see that for information.

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“Guided by its family values and spirit of giving,” The Estée Lauder Companies and The Estée Lauder Companies Charitable Foundation (ELCCF) “stand with the global community” and are adjusting the traditional giving programs to provide aid to help limit the spread of the virus and help to ease economic hardships. Just announced:

The company and foundation are supporting the work of Doctors Without Borders/Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) with a financial grant of US$2 million. Among the many projects of MSF, the international medical humanitarian assistance has been lending aid to people in distress.

Such as in wartorn Syria, with one million people uprooted in the midst of war, suffering food shortages, lack of medical aid, and now the virus crisis. The MSF organization has to date provided specialized burn units, surgery, physiotherapy and psychological support in Syria and other regions of the world.

The Estée Lauder financial assistance will help Doctors Without Borders/Medicin Sans Frontieres in highly-impacted countries.

The company’s Melville, New York manufacturing plant (on the Nassau-Suffolk counties border) re-opens now to produce hand sanitizer for high-need organizations and populations – especially including front-line medical staff.

Note: compensated employee volunteers are doing the vital work here, as both counties are covered by the New York State “stay at home” guidance.

In New York City, where the company is headquartered, a grant was provided to support “The NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund”. This is administered by the New York Community Trust which manages hundreds of family and organizational trusts and makes targeted grants to worthy causes.

The new fund will (with at least US$75 million raised to date) support NYC’s vital social services and cultural community organizations.

The 90-year old NY Community Trust helps donors “make smart grantmaking solutions” that address the quality of life issues that align with the donors’ values. (The Trust staff is continuing their work remotely as New York City is mostly shut down.)

The various donors (individual and organizational) are typically investing in such buckets as those addressing poverty, justice, education, health, arts, environment, LGBTQ, elderly, and children and teens. More information is at: https://www.nycommunitytrust.org/

In China, over $800,000 was awarded by Estée Lauder to relief efforts – including the Red Cross Society of China, Shanghai Charity Foundation, and Give2Asia. $1.4 million was provided with in-kind donations to the China Women’s Development Foundation to support front line medical staff.

As the crisis evolves, ELC and the ELCCF will continue to align philanthropic resources based on needs – prioritizing food, medical and emergency assistance. The foundation focuses effort on health, education and the environment and makes annual grants to organizations that align with these.

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Congratulations to the global Estée Lauder team (in the USA and other nations, wherever you are working today).  These efforts reflect the values instilled early on in the firm from those earliest day by founder Estée Lauder and husband, Joseph, in New York City in 1946.  They created cleansers, oils, skin lotions, creams. Today grandson William P. Lauder is executive chairman of the global firm that makes fragrances, hair and skin makeup products, make up, and other products.   Founder Estée Lauder was named by Time magazine in 1998 as one of the 20 most influential business leaders of the 20th Century.

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G&A Institute Team Note
We are continuing to bring you news of private (corporate and business), public and social sector developments as organizations in the three societal sectors adjust to the emergency.

The new items are posted (beginning with this one) at the top of the blog post and the items then will move down the queue.

We created the tag “Corporate Purpose – Virus Crisis” for this continuing series – and the hashtag “#WeRise2FightCOVID-19“ for our Twitter posts. Join the conversation and contribute your views and news — email info@ga-institute.com. Keep up the good fight!